Doing Gender and Doing Crime: The Influence of Biological Sex and Gender Identity on Crime

Abstract

ABSTRACT Although research on the “gender gap” tends to show that males commit more crime than females, this research focuses almost exclusively on biological sex. Towards disentangling biology and sociology, this study examines how sex and gender identity relate to violent crime and property crime independently and interdependently. Results show that males reported higher levels of violent offending than females. Among the full sample, masculine identities were associated with greater levels of violent and property offending. More masculine identities were associated with more violent offending for males and more property crime for females. Greater feminine identities increased property offending for males.