Images of Gender Twenty Years Later

Abstract

This research is a content analysis of photographs in 23 introductory criminal justice and criminology textbooks published between 2008 and 2012, replicating the original work of Baro and Eigenberg analyzing changes of gender depictions in introductory criminal justice and criminology textbooks and adding an examination of gendered interaction patterns. Findings support women continue to be marginalized in introductory criminal justice and criminology textbooks some 20 years after the initial study while images of gendered interaction patterns are largely absent. A discussion of the findings as well the study and praxis of criminal justice and criminology are presented.Criminologists have criticized the field for its sexist, racist, classist, and heterosexist biases. Many feminist criminologists assert that the dominate archetypes utilized in the criminology and criminal justice were developed by men, derived from the study of men, and applied to women as an afterthought (

Criminology, Gender, and Race

“…Such findings led Baro and Eigenberg to conclude that introductory texts served as mechanisms for the marginalization of women within the field. In a more recent study, Love and Park (2013) replicated Baro and Eigenberg’s now classic study, yielding strikingly similar results. These authors found that women were still largely being portrayed in stereotypical roles—They were underrepresented as criminal justice professionals, and were overrepresented as victims of violence.…”

“…One way researchers have sought to answer this question is to examine how women are portrayed in criminology textbooks. The basic rationale behind such studies is that textbooks provide students of crime their earliest, and often formative, education on crime and criminology (Love & Park, 2013). Thus, they are fundamental in the construction of criminological knowledge.…”

“…This bias has generally been manifest in two interrelated phenomena—the ways in which criminologists have ignored women’s experiences with crime and justice, and the limited presence of female criminologists in the field. Some studies have documented significant gains made by women in gaining access to the field and promoting feminist insights in research agendas (Baro & Eigenberg, 1993; Eigenberg & Baro, 1992; Love & Park, 2013; Sharp & Hefley, 2007). On the contrary, the same research has found that these gains are often quite limited.…”