Feminist Theory
Looks at the dominance of men over women and the impact it has on crimes by and against women.
Since criminology has been dominated by male researchers, who have concentrated on male crime, the issue of gender roles in explaining crime and the reaction to crime have been ignored.
Feminists aim to eliminate this bias in criminological research.
Meda Chesney-Lind and Kathleen Daly are two of the major proponents of feminist theory;
they emphasize that the traditional structure of patriarchy, with men dominating women,
is as important as social class in understanding crime.
Male dominance is seen in criminal justice systems as well as in criminological research,
as men discriminate against women in order to reinforce traditional female gender roles.