Masculinities, crime, and criminal justice

This essay examines the link between crime and masculinity. It begins with an overview of traditional criminology that either ignored or had a skewed understanding of the nature of the crime–masculinity connection, focusing instead on biology, which often considered crime as a reflection of defective male and female bodies/identities. It then discusses the emergence of new studies on the association between crime and masculinity, informed by social theories of gender, power, and identity. In particular, it reviews Raewyn Connell’s concept of hegemonic masculinity as an explanatory model of different forms of masculinity. It also analyzes the life histories approach to masculinities and criminal justice.