How feminist thought contributes to criminology. Then analyzing the issue of prostitution from a feminist perspective.

Essay by kfehrleUniversity, Bachelor's April 2004

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Feminist thought contributes to criminology in major ways. Depending on what school of thought you look at. If you're looking at the liberal feminist point of view the "root of oppression is inequality of opportunity and lack of equal rights". (Schmidt 203) "The Marxist views the root of oppression as domination by capitalism." (Schmidt 202) "The radical feminists think that biology is destiny and that men will always have power over women (patriarchy)". (Schmidt 206) "The socialist feminists view the root of women's oppression as class and gender interaction and men's capitalism." (Schmidt 207)

All these feminist thoughts contribute to criminology because they all say how women are oppressed. "Rita Simon argued that until the 1970s women's crime was limited because women's opportunities were restricted." (Schmidt 204) "Simon then argued that with the rise of the feminist movement in the 1970s women were provided with more opportunities to act like men, and the increasing equality in the work force resulted in women committing occupational related crimes such as embezzlement.

But he also noted that "women's crimes are primarily larceny (mostly shoplifting) and petty forms of fraud." (Schmidt 204)

I think that it is also true that in the "criminal world" women are not look at as someone that they can count on. In society people expect women to play sub-servant roles, such as mothers, house wives, teachers, nurses, etc.

Prostitution is a complicated issue for feminists. There are two main views. The first views prostitution as objectifying women. They think that prostitution exploits and degrades women. "They feel that women are being bought and sold as "sex slaves" or commodities for men." (Alexander 188) The other feminists view prostitution as a women's choice. These feminists feel that being a prostitute is a job and it should be legalized. They...