Feminist Criminology

Feminist criminology grew out of the Women’s Movement of the 1970s, in response to the male dominance of mainstream criminology – which meant that not only were women largely excluded from carrying out criminological research, they were also barely considered as subjects of that research.

In this volume, Claire Renzetti traces the development of feminist criminology from the 1970s to the present, examining the diversity of feminisms which have developed:

• liberal feminist criminology
• Marxist, radical and socialist feminist criminologies
• structured action theory
• left realism
• postmodern feminism
• black/multiracial feminist criminology.

She shows how these perspectives have made a great impact on the discipline, the academy, and the criminal justice system, but also highlights the limitations of this influence. How far has feminist criminology transformed research and knowledge production, education, and practice? And how can feminist criminologists continue to shape the future of the discipline?