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Structured Action Theory

Definition

James Messerschmidt's framework holding that people accomplish gender, race and class simultaneously through situated social action, of which crime can be one available resource.

Related terms

Doing Gender
The idea, drawn from sociologists Candace West and Don Zimmerman, that gender is not a fixed trait but an ongoing accomplishment produced...
Gender-Ratio Problem
The question of why women are consistently arrested, convicted and imprisoned far less often than men across almost every society and offence...
Generalizability Problem
The question of whether theories of crime built from studies of male offenders can be applied to women, or whether they need...
Hegemonic Masculinity
A concept from gender sociology describing the dominant cultural script of manhood in a given society, typically emphasising toughness, control, and willingness...
Radical Feminist Criminology
A strand holding that patriarchy, meaning systemic male control over women, is the root cause of women's victimisation and of the leniency...

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