Emphasizes the subordinate position of women within
society’s economic structure in explaining the nature and
extent of female crime and the criminal justice systems’
reactions to those crimes. James Messerschmidt looks at
hierarchical structures of society as well as economic systtems. Women are viewed in most societies as subordinate
to men in both areas and thus engage in less crime and
the crimes they do engage in are less serious. Their possibilities in the criminal world are shaped by gender and class
as well as by economics. Messerschmidt adds what he calls
structured action theory to power control and strain theories in explaining female crime. He distinguishes between
sex and gender and introduces the concept of doing gender to the study of crime.
Jody Miller and Norman A. White studied violence
among adolescents and found support for the feminist theory of gender inequality in explaining criminal behavior.
Critical criminology is also used to explain gender differences in victimization and sentencing