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Sociological Explanation of Gender Differences in Pattern of Crime

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TITLE: outline and assess sociological explanations for gender difference in patterns of crime.
What is the relationship between crime and masculinity?
Crime can be described as an act that harmful to an individual as well as the society; such acts are against and punishable by the law. While deviance can be described as acting against social norms, for example a boy wearing a skirt would be out of place in the society
The sex role theory states that, when young males and females are younger they socialise in different ways, resulting in young males being more reckless and neglectful. There are several sociologist and different versions of the sex theory. Edwin Sutherland stated that the gender difference when it comes to socialisation is very obvious. Girls are treated with more supervision and control, while boys are treated not as strict as the girls and are emboldened to take more risk to be tough, which makes boys more inclined and a higher tendency of committing crimes. Talcott parsons believes that there are clear gender roles in a nuclear family, where the father performs the instrumental role which portrays him as a leader and provider, while the mother performs the expressive role of providing emotional support and talking of the children.
For girls, because their female role model who is their mother is always available unlike for boys who don’t not have as much access to the male figure in their lives (the father) because traditionally the father would be at work, making money for the family most of the times. Therefore socialisation of the boys would be by their mother figure and boys will tend to reject behaviour that is seen as feminine in search of masculinity. As a result of the emphasises society puts on grit and encroachment; encourages delinquency. Sociologist Albert Cohen believed that boys need their male role model readily available

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