Alternative Views of Crime: Legislative Policymaking in Gendered Terms

A potential policy problem based on an actual study of prisons and recidivism rates was presented to 47 Colorado legislators during a taped interview that was later transcribed. Men and women in this study conceptualized the origins of and solutions to crime differently. These differences can be understood in terms of gendered socialization, experiences and opportunities in western societies. Women tended to see criminals as people interacting within the context of societal opportunities, while men tended to see criminals as autonomous individuals responsible for choosing a life of crime. These fundamentally different views of the origins of crime lead to distinctive policy solutions. Finally, the self-articulated orientations were compared with all the actual crime and prison bills proposed in the 1989 session. The gender differences uncovered in the interviews were also found in actual policy proposals. However, women were less successful than men in passing their legislation.