Why do women commit crime?

The society, in which we live, is composed of many rules and values. Gender roles are no exception. These so-called 'roles' have been in existence throughout the centuries. As children, we are taught what is appropriate conduct for boys and girls. Boys are taught to be aggressive and masculine, while girls are taught to be passive and feminine. From day one, women are taught to conform to such feminine expectations. Although men provide more of a menace to society, women are instructed how to behave.

Studies of crime show that serious social problems are problems which are directly associated with a males behavior and are not considered to be expected to be a females behavior. The reality is that women commit and fully participate in terrible crimes and drug acts just as much as men do. But the fact that women get judges harshly is because they aren't expected to be committing these crimes as men are.

A good woman is to be a wife and a mother. The majority of women accept theses prescribed roles in life; however, there are some that refuse to conform. As women become more liberated in the modern day world, and more involved in full time jobs, the chances of them getting involved in types of crimes for which their jobs provide them with, increase. Some occupations such as bank managers, stock brokers, etc. provide greater opportunities for criminal activities.(Simon,22)

As women gain liberation and assume traditional male roles in society, they begin to assert themselves in male ways such as acting aggressively, being pushy and hardheaded. More and more women rebel against social inferiority and, aggressively pursue masculine goals of success and power. They learn to use crime as a short-cut to success. Economic pressures combined with increasing numbers of female headed households, lead women to seek benefits of criminal activity as alternatives to hard work.

Today women are more likely to become partners and entrepreneurs in crime than in the past. Traditionally women played subservient roles in the crime scene. They worked under the direction of men such as pimps, for example. Mostly their job was to entice victims, keep look-out, carry loot and provide cover. Women's participation in white collar crime like fraud, embezzlement, larceny and forgery increased as employment in higher status occupations expanded. Ironically, women's' involvement typically arises out of frustration, the subservience and the dependency which is characterized by the female role. When women can no longer contain their frustrations and anger, they sometimes kill the cause of their condition like their husband or children.

There are many different theories as to why there are a growing number of women that commit crime. Uunfortunately there is no simple cut and dry answer. A well known theorist of women and crime was Freud. His theory was that women who are not passive and not content with their roles as mothers and wives are maladjusted. The source of this is women have penis envy of men. Evidence for this masculinity complex ...