“I’ll Choose My Own Way”: Delinquent Girls and Boys in Search of Gender Hegemony

Armelle Weil

doi:10.1007/s10612-022-09607-2

Abstract

This article analyzes juvenile delinquency through the concept of “gender projects.” It argues that delinquency makes the embodiment of specific masculinities and femininities possible, and thereby contributes to “gender achievement” (or “gender accomplishment”). Drawing on in-depth interviews conducted with Swiss juvenile offenders and using Raewyn Connell’s (1987, 1995) notion of “hegemonic masculinity,” this article examines “gender projects” that boys and girls pursue through a variety of offenses and trajectories in the criminal justice system. By inscribing the youth’s delinquent trajectories in social space and by paying attention to the intersection of power relations they face, this article discusses how delinquency can be a tactic to sustain, produce or overcome gender hegemony.

Highlights

A variety of methods, theoretical approaches and foci of inquiry have been adopted to explain the greater percentage of young men’s offenses and the lower, albeit increasing, presence of young women in crime
Research has addressed the issue in different ways, but rarely from the perspective of young people
While Connell’s masculinities framework has proven to be a fruitful way to expand our knowledge of this issue, the theoretical concepts of “hegemonic masculinities” or “pariah femininities” need to be subjected to an in-depth analysis of lived experiences in order to contribute to the debate as well as to social change (Carlsson 2013)

Summary

Introduction

A variety of methods, theoretical approaches and foci of inquiry have been adopted to explain the greater percentage of young men’s offenses and the lower, albeit increasing, presence of young women in crime. Some qualitative studies, using in-depth interviews and observation, describe how young men (re)produce hegemonic masculinity in detention, how interactions with the police or justice workers are “masculinity tests” or “masculinity challenges,” and how the criminal process enhances hypermasculine traits (Carlsson 2013; Cesaroni and Alvi 2010; Rios 2009, 2011). Some of these studies are exploratory and worth extending; several are based on sources from the criminal justice system (such as judicial records) or are theoretical conceptualizations that would be useful to complement with in-depth interviews. This femininity is, subordinate or marginalized, but “pariah” because it refuses to complement masculine hegemony and disrupts the gender “equilibrium.” In summary, Schippers proposes to analyze femininities and masculinities through their relation to the “gender regime,” by asking which masculinities and femininities comply with, or disrupt, the established gender hierarchy? Focusing on delinquency raises a number of questions: How do masculinities and femininities translate into delinquent practices and norms? Where do youths—boys and girls—who have committed offenses fit in the “gender regime” hierarchy?

Background and Methods

Interview

Conclusion