Deck 6: Feminism and Criminology

Question 1

Which of the following terms is used to describe the challenge of making mainstream theories "fit" female criminality?

A) the gender-ratio problem
B) the women's liberation thesis
C) the feminist thesis
D) the generalizability problem

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following theories is designed to explain the sex difference in delinquency by drawing linkages between the variations in parental control and the delinquent behaviour of boys and girls?

A) social Darwinism
B) power-control theory
C) women's liberation thesis
D) sex role socialization theory

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following raises the issue of why women are less likely than men to be involved in crime?

A) the gender-ratio problem
B) the generalizability problem
C) the feminist approach
D) the women's liberation thesis

Answer 3

A

Question 4

What is the general view of women within mainstream theories of crime?

A) Women are submissive,dependent,and dull where crime is concerned.
B) Men are compliant and make better research subjects than women.
C) Women provide new and interesting opportunities for sex comparisons.
D) Women are rarely studied because they are difficult to access.

Question 5

How did the theories of women's crime evolve after the early work of Lombroso?

A) They reflected more realistic perspectives based on the emergence of new research methods.
B) The basic assumptions and premises did not change significantly through the 1960s.
C) They gradually became less sexist,classist,and racist.
D) They took on a more scientific approach to women and their behaviours.

Question 6

Which of the following approaches to the study of criminality assumes that differences in the nature and scope of offending between men and women are biologically based?

A) liberal
B) mainstream
C) conservative
D) feminist

Question 7

Which of the following best represents the focus of early theories of women's crime?

A) Men's crime was so pervasive that there was little time to focus on women's crime.
B) Women were seen as less intelligent and more full of revenge and jealousy than men.
C) Women were physically weaker but cognitively superior to men.
D) Women were equally capable but not recognized as such by men.

Question 8

What term do feminist criminologists use to refer to women who commit crimes and who share many experiences with other women in society?

A) criminalized women
B) sexist victims
C) feminine offender
D) criminal women

Question 9

Which of these approaches views gender role socialization as the main factor for explaining female criminality?

A) conservative
B) feminist
C) liberal
D) medical

Question 10

According to Lombroso and Ferrero,which of the following best described female criminals?

A) They were excessively vile and cruel in their crimes.
B) They possessed male qualities like rationality and decisiveness.
C) They had far too much maternal instinct.
D) They appeared to be ladylike on the surface.

Question 11

In Hagan and colleagues' power control theory,a patriarchal family is associated with which of the following?

A) a cult of patriarchy
B) a cult of sexism
C) a cult of domesticity
D) a cult of masculinity

Question 12

Which of the following was at the root of early explanations of women's criminality?

A) psychology
B) sociology
C) biology
D) anthropology

Question 13

Which of the following statements is most closely associated with the view of feminist criminologists?

A) Framing explanations for women's criminality that isolate the source of the problem in women's bodies,ignores the cultural means and social contexts that are at play.
B) There are no biomedical tests for determining the existence of premenstrual syndrome.
C) The focus of theories needs to be shifted to biologically-based theories that show the subordinate role of women in a capitalist economy.
D) Labelling women with premenstrual syndrome is unfortunate but necessary as it enables women to gain access to medical treatments that can suppress criminal tendencies.

Question 14

What did Lombroso and Ferrero contend with their atavistic theory of female criminality?

A) Criminal women were more sensitive to pain and required more social reassurances than men.
B) Criminal women were considered more intellectually advanced and more skilled than men.
C) Criminal women were more advanced on the evolutionary continuum than men.
D) Criminal women were seen as less ladylike and genetically more male than female.

Question 15

In Hagan and colleagues' power control theory,an egalitarian family is associated with which of the following?

A) a cult of domesticity
B) a cult of equality
C) employment by both the husband and wife in authority positions outside the home
D) socialization of sons toward production activities and daughters for consumption

Question 16

According to Otto Pollak,a woman's devious nature was rooted in what aspect of her physiology?

A) menopause
B) ability to get pregnant
C) ability to fake orgasm
D) menstruation

Question 17

Which of the following represents the feminist critique of criminology?

A) It has poorly represented the similarities between women and men as offenders.
B) It has focused too much on women as both offenders and victims.
C) It has been sexist and women have been invisible in mainstream theories.
D) It has focused on women as offenders but not as victims.

Question 18

In criticizing early theories of female criminality,what did Heidensohn suggest?

A) They lacked any basis in empirical research.
B) They failed to account for individual motives.
C) They lent intellectual respectability to folk tales about women and their behaviour.
D) They focused entirely on the psychological state of the offender.

Question 19

In the 1970s,which type of academic framework did theories of women's crime begin to shift towards?

A) psychological
B) biological
C) sociological
D) economical

Question 20

Adler's women's liberation thesis posits which of the following ideas?

A) As women attain higher levels of education,they will commit more white-collar crimes.
B) Violence against women will increase as the equality of women increases.
C) As women supplant men in political and economic spheres,there will be a decrease in criminality.
D) The increase in women's crime can be attributed to the influence of the women's movement.

Question 21

According to the text,how has violence against women come to be perceived?

A) risky
B) rare
C) routine
D) taboo

Question 22

According to the 1992 amendments to Canada's sexual assault laws (Bill C-49),in which of the following circumstances is consent for sexual activities considered to have been obtained?

A) when the complainant is too drunk to be capable of consenting
B) when the complainant has engaged in sexual activity with the accused previously
C) when the accused shows he took reasonable steps to ascertain consent
D) when the complainant expresses lack of agreement in action but fails to express such feelings in words

Question 23

Which of the following is true of Indigenous women offenders in Canada?

A) They are overrepresented in Canadian prisons compared to non-Indigenous women.
B) They are less likely to be incarcerated for violent crimes than non-Indigenous women.
C) They are less likely to have had alcohol involved in their offence than Indigenous men.
D) They are less likely to have had alcohol involved in their offence than non-Indigenous women.

Question 24

How did the legislative changes to the old rape law impact police practices?

A) Police funding was decreased because the streamlined processes required fewer officers addressing domestic violence.
B) Police were encouraged to lay charges rather than leave the decision to the complainant.
C) Police were encouraged to do more intensive investigations into the past history of complainants.
D) There was no change to the role of the police as a result of legislative changes.

Question 25

The cultural construction of rape refers to which of the following?

A) the attitudes toward victims of rape adopted by the police and court workers
B) how myths about the nature of rape,rape victims,and offenders form widespread public beliefs
C) the rationales for rape used by specific rapists
D) the new ideas and conceptions concerning rape fostered by feminist scholars

Question 26

Under old English law,which of these situations would have been considered a "species of treason"?

A) a man beating his children
B) a woman killing her husband
C) a husband having sex with his wife against her wishes
D) a man beating his wife to death

Question 27

Which of the following is a myth about rape as described in the textbook?

A) Men who commit rape are an "abnormal" group in society.
B) The majority of sexual assaults are designated as unfounded.
C) The act of rape has long-term impact on the woman.
D) Many rapists do not believe that they have done anything wrong.

Question 28

What is the mandate of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls?

A) to draw conclusions about the most dangerous places in Canada
B) to expand the scope of the investigation into Robert Pickton
C) to examine systemic causes of violence against Indigenous women and girls
D) to conduct healing circles with families of missing women and girls

Question 29

Which of the following was a consequence of the 1993 zero tolerance policy of the Winnipeg Police Service regarding domestic violence?

A) a decrease in the overall number of women charged
B) a decrease in the number of charges that were dismissed or were stayed
C) a decrease in the overall number of men charged
D) an increase in "double charging," or charging of both spouses

Question 30

Which of the following is the estimate of the number of women who had been physically abused as children or adults,according to research conducted in the 1990s for the Task Force on Federally Sentenced Women?

A) the majority
B) about half
C) less than half
D) very few

Question 31

What proportion of women will be sexually assaulted at some point in their lives,according to a 1980 report by the Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women?

A) 1 in 5
B) 1 in 10
C) 1 in 150
D) 1 in 1000

Question 32

Before 1983,which of the following was true with respect to rape laws in Canada?

A) Husbands could not be charged for raping wives.
B) The woman's testimony was sufficient for police to lay charges.
C) The moral character of the man was questioned if he harmed his wife in public.
D) Husbands had the right to use any force necessary to correct the behaviour of their wives.

Question 33

Which of the following is an example of "double victimization" often experienced by sexual assault victims?

A) Women who are sexually assaulted once are more likely to be sexually assaulted a second time.
B) Survivors have to endure a degrading process of questioning by authorities when they report a sexual assault that was itself degrading.
C) The moral character of the woman is questioned in regard to whether she provided consent.
D) Wives who expect to be protected by marriage vows may be sexually assaulted by their husbands and not be able to lay charges.

Question 34

According to the 1993 Violence Against Women Survey,who is a woman most likely to experience violence at the hands of?

A) a teenager with poor impulse control
B) a stranger who has not yet been identified as a predator
C) an intimate partner or other man she knows
D) a man on parole after a previous sexual assault conviction

Question 35

In 1991,section 276 of the Criminal Code (the so-called "rape shield" provision)was struck down by the Supreme Court.What was the rationale used by the court to rule that this provision was unconstitutional?

A) because it could deny the accused his right to a fair trial
B) because it effectively resulted in the victim being on trial
C) because a women's sexual past is key to the guilt or innocence of the accused
D) because the complainant's name may be released to the public at the time of the trial

Question 36

Which of the following terms refers to a perspective on a subject that is shaped by cultural assumptions rather than having a natural or objective basis?

A) patriarchy
B) conservative approach
C) cultural construction
D) liberal approach

Question 37

As a result of the Supreme Court of Canada's O'Connor ruling (1995),which of the following materials are subject to being turned over to the courts in sexual assault cases?

A) neither records kept by therapists and rape crisis counsellors nor personal diaries or letters kept by the complainant
B) records kept by therapists and rape crisis counsellors but not records kept by the complainant
C) personal diaries and letters kept by the complainant and records kept by therapists and rape crisis counsellors
D) personal diaries and letters kept by the accused but not records kept by therapists and rape crisis counsellors

Question 38

Which of the following describes "A system of male domination that includes both a structure and an ideology that privileges men over women"?

A) matriarchy
B) patriarchy
C) egalitarianism
D) concurrence

Question 39

Feminist criminologists suggest that female crime is most directly associated with which of the following?

A) the feminization of poverty
B) women's emancipation
C) genetically based sex differences
D) differential sex role socialization

Question 40

According to the Stolen Sisters report,what is the nature of violence experienced by Indigenous women?

A) they are five times more likely to die as a result of violence
B) they are impacted similarly to other women living in northern or rural communities
C) they are less likely than Indigenous men to die as a result of violence
D) they are more likely to be harmed but less likely to die as a result of violence

Question 41

The basis of most early theories of women's crime has fortunately all but disappeared.

Question 42

The women's liberation thesis argues that the scope and nature of female violence will more closely resemble men's as differences between the sexes are diminished by women's biological evolution towards becoming physically strong as men.

Question 43

One of the main critiques of conservative theories of women and crime is that they failed to consider how the structured features of society prescribe gendered roles for men and women.

Question 44

Criminalized women tend to be young,poor,undereducated,and unskilled.

Question 45

A feminist approach ignores the collective experiences of all women in order to emphasize the importance of examining each female offender individually.

Question 46

The cultural construction of rape refers to the different ways rape is perpetrated in different cultures.

Question 47

Which of the following is the concept used to refer to the experiences of women who are victims of violence as well as social and economic marginalization that link them to criminalization?

A) victim-offender thinking
B) victimization-criminalization continuum
C) criminal dualism
D) intersectional feminism

Question 48

According to Lombroso and Ferrero's early theory,women had not advanced as far along the evolutionary continuum as males.

Question 49

Conservative approaches to understanding women and crime were powerful because they dispelled many of the myths and folk tales about women.

Question 50

The gender-ratio problem raises the issue of whether mainstream theories of crime can be made to "fit" women.

Question 51

Power-control theory is designed to explain the sex differences in delinquency by drawing linkages between variations in parental control and the delinquent behaviour of boys and girls.

Question 52

Otto Pollak suggested that while women were very good at faking organisms they were not very good at committing crimes compared to men who could not fake organisms.

Question 53

Indigenous women are even more overrepresented in prisons than Indigenous men.

Question 54

Women have largely been rendered invisible in much of criminology,except as victims of violence which has been the subject of considerable research by mainstream criminologists.

Question 55

Research that supports the chivalry hypothesis indicates that when it does exist,chivalry benefits all women who come in contact with the law regardless of race or socio-economic status.

Question 56

After decades of fighting for equality there are still inequalities in pay between men and women.

Question 57

Conservative theories on women and crime have largely focused on biological differences between men and women

Question 58

The liberal approach views differences between men and women as resulting from more learned gender roles and socialization patterns.

Question 59

According to role theory,in the egalitarian family,girls are more at risk of being delinquent because both control efforts are more egalitarian so daughters are less controlled.

Question 60

The primary reason for involvement in the sex trade is substance abuse.

Question 61

According to the textbook,in recent years it has become increasingly popular among feminist criminologists to distinguish clearly between women as offenders and women as victims.

Question 62

The majority of feminist criminologists perceive Karla Homolka to be a "dangerous woman" rather than a "woman in danger."

Question 63

Feminists argue that crime is gendered and,while women's experiences have been overlooked,theories of male crime have been equally troublesome.

Question 64

Research indicates a strong causal relationship between women being victims of abuse and their later criminal behaviour.

Question 65

Canada's rape laws prior to 1983 granted husbands immunity from rape charges.

Question 66

Breaking the silence around male violence against women has meant questioning the ways in which societal and legal responses reinforce and reproduce the problem.

Question 67

One of the immediate effects of the 1995 O'Connor decision in the Supreme Court of Canada was an increase in women claiming to be victims of sexual assault.