Masculinity and Crime

The Criminal Male

It is so widely acknowledged that most crimes are committed by men that criminologists and other social scientists studying crime might not even consider sex or gender in explaining or predicting crime. It may seem such an obvious given premise that it may be missed entirely when theories of crime are developed. However, many scholars have recognized the importance of understanding the role of masculinity in crime. Traits such as toughness, defiance, dominance, power, and willingness to use violence have been identified as masculine traits that also serve as tendencies toward criminality. Research into gang activity has also demonstrated that projection of a tough, masculine persona is an integral part of peer acceptance within violent subcultures.

Scholars assert that because men hold different positions in society due to class, race, or social status, the manner in which they construct their masculinity will vary in accordance with their individual relationships and circumstances. Prominent researcher R. W. Connell developed the concept of hegemonic masculinity as an assertion of masculine tendencies that spins off into various effects, such as marginalizing the role of women. Although hegemonic masculinity is not thought to apply to most men, it represents a powerful force of global patriarchy that legitimizes male dominion over women. Although hegemonic masculinity does not explicitly condone violence, it assumes a legitimate use of force, and its effect has also been linked to the vast majority of crimes, including white-collar crimes. Proponents of the concept assert that hegemonic masculinity glorifies and normalizes the overall oppression of women by men and legitimizes it at a societal level.

Crime and masculinity have been historically linked, and early biological explanations held that traits associated with being male, such as dominance and aggression, were the result of evolutionary or physiological tendencies. Psycho-evolutionary perspectives hold that criminality among women was eventually suppressed by natural selection processes, just as aggressiveness was evolutionarily encouraged for men. However, the recent trend in rising criminality among women suggests that physiology and evolutionary processes may not be the sole factor in female offending. One study reports that female offenders scored higher on self-reported “masculinity” traits than did nonoffenders, although the source of these attitudes is not yet clear. Whether they come from overall cultural socialization, specific environmental influences (such as the upbringing or the experience of incarceration), or other sources, it is apparent that the idea of masculinity goes beyond one's actual physiological sex, at least when attempting to define masculinity for research purposes. Between 1996 and 2005 (the last year available at this time for complete FBI UCR reporting), women gained 7.4% in overall offense rates. The murder offense rates declined for women (-11.8%), but they did demonstrate an increase in aggravated assaults (+5.4%), burglaries (+5.5%), and other assault (+15.8%) offenses. Whether this is due to women becoming more “masculine” remains a subject to be explored by further research, but it is noteworthy that these offenses reflect a more aggressive, violent, and action-oriented dynamic than other offenses more traditionally associated with women, such as shoplifting.

...