Agender Comcepts

INTRODUCTION

DEFINTION OF KEY CONCEPTS

For the purpose of this paper gender will be defined as a social construction that is ever changing on a continuum of masculinity and femininity (CJ 654, 2005). Gender is something that individuals practice by acting certain ways established in gender roles (CJ 654, 2005). An example of these roles would be women as housewives, being dependent on the man, and being seen as helpless and in need of protection and men being out in the workforce, playing sports, and being tough. Discrimination will be defined as an action based on the stereotypes and prejudice of a certain group of people (Barak, 2001). Discrimination may occur at all levels of the criminal justice system including, police practices, court processing, sentencing, and conviction. Paternalism also needs to be defined when speaking to the issue of gender inequality. Paternalism refers to the "females need to be protected from their own good" (McShane and Williams, 1999: 251).

THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE

When researchers wish to find out explanations of gender differences, especially when referring to inequality, they most often turn to theories of feminism to aid them in their discovery. For the purpose of this paper I will draw upon two different feminist perspectives: liberal and radical feminism. Throughout this paper, these perspectives should provide helpful insights as to why this inequality between genders exists. Further, they should become particularly relevant for explaining the idea of juvenile justice processing and sentencing.

Liberal Feminism

For liberal feminist the primary problem of gender is discrimination through gender inequality (CJ 654, 2005). Primarily the discrimination happens to females because gender roles are shaped by society and enacted in way to produce females as unequal to men (CJ 654, 2005). When women step outside their "gender boundaries", sometimes they are criminalized in a way that men are not, specifically when exploring their sexuality. The liberal feminist perspective analyzes the notion of patriarchy, questions gender-based laws, and examines criminal justice processing for discriminatory and harmful practices (McShane and Williams, 1999). When considering the issue of gender differences in criminal justice processing such as sentencing, the liberal feminist perspective may be a way to help explain gender inequality.

Radical Feminism

For radical feminists the primary source of gender inequality is patriarchy through the subordination and sexual exploitation of women (CJ 654, 2005). Patriarchy is a way in which "men learn how to hold other human beings in contempt, to see the as nonhuman, and to control them" (Hurst, 2004: 84). In the criminal justice system, male police officers may hold true to this notion by criminalizing female sexual behavior, especially in regards to juvenile females and status offenses. "Once men dominate in areas outside the family and gain the economic and political resources attendant with those activities, they can use these resources to maintain patriarchy" (Hurst, 2004: 84). As it is common knowledge to the general population, men tend to dominate workplaces such as police departments, giving them the discretion and means to perpetuate the practice of patriarchy.

GENDER

To understand how the issue of gender inequality came to hold such a pivotal role in the criminal justice system, one must be aware of how these classes were created. This will be demonstrated by explaining the structural and institutional processes involved. It is also necessary to provide a brief overview of early gender inequalities in the criminal justice system.

Historical Context

Historically, women have been treated differently then men for as long as anyone can remember. These differences are rarely beneficial and mostly highly detrimental to womankind. Differences in the American criminal justice system are mostly seen during the height of the Progressive Era and perpetuated up until the present.

"The evolution of what might be called the 'girl-saving' effort was the direct consequence of a disturbing coalition between some feminists and other Progressive Era movements" (Chesney-Lind and Shelden, 2004: 167). Leaders and prominent women such as Susan B. Anthony led the brigade for conserving social purity among women and young girls (Chesney-Lind and Shelden, 2004). During this time women and girls were held as delinquent due to the nature of their sexuality and were criminalized by people with influential and political clout.

If young girls were deemed as delinquent, instead of going to jail or detention, they were sent to places that made them conform to traditional gender roles. Large numbers of girls were sent to reformatories where "training" of girls was shaped by the image of the ideal woman: women belonging to the private sphere, being a housewife, and caretaker of the children (Chesney-Lind and Shelden, 2004). This notion supports the ideas connected with liberal feminism by perpetuating gender roles.

Gender and Relation to the Criminal Justice System

"In status offense cases, many judges apparently fall back on one of the orientations built into the juvenile justice system: the puritan stance, whereby judges support parental demands more less without question, or the progressive stance, whereby they take on parental roles" (MacDonald and Chesney-Lind, 2001: 175). This helps provide current researchers with an insight as to why the present juvenile justice system operates in reference to the treatment of juvenile girl offenders. Sadly, efforts have been shortsighted and evidence of differential treatment between genders is still prevalent.

"The offenses that bring girls in to the juvenile justice system reflect the system's dual concerns: adolescent criminality and more conduct while historically reflecting a unique and intense preoccupation with girls' sexuality and their obedience to parental authority" (Chesney-Lind and Shelden, 2004: 170). This statement leads to the notion that the public is concerned with the sexual practices of females but not males. This becomes a dramatic problem when facing the issue of differential criminalization between juvenile girls and boys.

Gender plays an influential role in who the system treats unfairly. What is also important in the consideration of inequality between genders is the issue of discriminatory practices leading up to sentencing. Examples