Gender Policing

Several of the individuals interviewed said they noticed that, when perceived as male, they were often more respected, given more conversational space, had ideas listened to, and some even saw an increase in social status because of their transition (Dozier, 2005). This sheds a light on the differences in treatment based on the perception of gender: females are often given less space, do not get their opinions respected, or receive the same amount of respect, in general. One of the interviewees noticed that as a male, shopping for lingerie or clothes for his girlfriend got him admiration from saleswomen, whereas as a butch female, the saleswomen was less than friendly (Dozier, 2005). Another interviewee commented that, as a black female, they were still profiled but less openly. As a black male, he is a suspect, a threat, someone who needs to be monitored at all times (Dozier, 2005). The comments made by the interviewees are powerful at bringing to attention some of the social problems induced by gender and

When the criminal justice system was established, the main objective was to create neutrality and fairness between the sexes. Even though people might believe that there is no such thing as ‘stereotyping’ in the criminal justice system, it is quite obvious that women are constantly being look down upon because of their sex. In general, women tend to be treated like fragile objects that could break at any moment; the truth is that women can be strong and courageous just like men. Society stereotypes women and the criminal justice system is no different.

This is because the society empowered men with the power to rebuke anything that they consider to have crossed the boundaries of manhood that have been put in place by the society. Optimally, when one steps outside the definition of what the society considers to be masculine then are likely to be taunted by a barricade of insults like faggot, dork, pussy etc. These insults are often trying to take away the manhood of a person to reprimand them for going out of the confines of what is socially acceptable for men. For instance, wearing pink shirts does not make one any less of a man, but since the society has created this notion that pink is for women, men have been forced to conform, and anyone who goes against these social constrictions is considered feminine or gay. Kimmel claims that anything that is perceived as gay often goes into the Negative Playbook of Guyland. To be on the safe side of the society, one has to avoid anything that might make people question their masculinity. What Kimmel is trying to argue is that masculinity is all about conformity; one has to learn to act and behave per the societal expectations of a man. This argument further proves the fact that masculinity is a social construction in which men are forced to conform to norms and values of the society for them to be considered

Women police, in order to gain and maintain credibility as officers, must avoid smiling and appearing friendly (except, of course, as "Officer Friendly", a title that explicitly reverses the stereotype of police for the sake of "community relations"), and must demand deference rather than deferring to

Female police officers have been saddled with a stigma ever since they were finally allowed to join their fellow male officers on the force in the 1970’s. It is said that when a female officer is being harsh, she is often called anything other than firm. However, when a male officer is harsh, he is considered firm and just being a man. Female police officers are dubbed incapable of being able to perform their duties equivalent or superior to a male officer simply because she is

“But policewoman’s presence was still not wholly welcome, they were there because chiefs succumbed to pressure from outside reform groups, not because male administrators or officers saw any need for them. Policewomen’s allies remained other male and female social workers, progressives, clubwomen, and other reformers.” (Miller, 1999)

Among police, there are stark differences between male and female officers. Cara E. Rabe-Hemp researched these sex differences by conducting a series of interviews with policewomen. These interviews reveal how policewomen cope with the seemingly impossible task to find a balance between feminine values that they were raised to uphold and masculine values that their male-dominated field demands. According to the individual perspective, employees’ performance is more shaped by their unique personal experiences as opposed to standardized formal training (Britt 185). Since neither police officers’ formal training nor their subculture reduce or eliminate the differences between policemen and policewomen, sex differences have a much more significant

For a long time, men and women have been dealing with the controversy of gender roles. In modern day, the battle for gender equality has been more known. In the story “Guys Suffer from Oppressive Gender Roles Too”, the author Julie Zeilinger explains how males are held to a more macho standard, but do have prevalent emotions. If we were to let go of these rigid rules about what is manly, there would be no standard for any gender. If that was reality, men shouldn’t have to feel humiliated about staying home, and if their companion makes more money than they do. Zeilinger talks about how males detach themselves from some emotions, and live a “life nub to a true range of human emotion” so they can meet this masculinity standard. However if males

This article, “No Way My Boys Are Going To Be Like That,” converses that young children are becoming aware of gender processing, which means

In the multi-faceted dynamics of gender, the declaration of gender neutral is often in fact male oriented and dominated sexism. Gender roles are perhaps reinforced more strongly in law enforcement than any other of our societal systems. Consequently, the hegemonic masculinity (HM) of our patriarchal society has kept men and women in their place (Goodey, 1997), this male dominance that negatively impacts a female’s ability to advance in society appears to play a dual role of discrimination within the criminal justice system. Informal control of keeping women within their gender increases [the perception] of the likelihood of their being law abiding citizens, which may be why we see women being arrested for more incidents of prostitution and

The reality is that there should be some differential treatment according to gender when it comes to the criminal justice

“However, women offer an underlying physical advantage making them just as competent as their male competitors. Women tend to use a style of policing that relies more on communication rather than physical force. Women have been accredited for a more community-oriented style of policing and thus more effective at handling domestic disturbances or violent incidents. Women are better at diffusing a situation; they tend to listen more before they react, women have also been recognized for using less excessive force than men. Although men may look bigger and stronger women have a different strength and just as productive way of protecting people. Women tend to use more speed and technique instead of the physical route that men typically turn too (Challenges).”

Porter even states that he had asked a young boy how he would feel in the event that he were to be told that he acted like a girl the boy responded by means of saying “that it would destroy him” (A Call To Men).

Americans think that they have come a long way since a gap of equality between men and women existed. Because of this progress, many people make the assumption that there is no inequality left in the United States and women have the same opportunities as men. Yes, it is true that the American society has come from one of inequality to that one that is more equal. Yes Americans have come a long way, but unfortunately women are still not equal to their male counterparts. This inequality towards women is evident within several different aspects in life, ranging from politics, gender roles, marriage, society as a whole and, especially, women in the Police Force. The history of women in the criminal justice system as police officers has been

All feminist theorists share a common focus on gender inequality; however feminism can be described as a set of perspectives rather than a single viewpoint (Strider, N.d.). Therefore, challenging gender biasness in the criminal justice system from the feminist perspective can take many forms given the fact that there a lot of sources of gender inequality in the system. For example, the early theories of criminal behavior largely ignored gender all together and as a result the field has become largely male dominated and males have also been shown to commit more crimes than women on average.