Masculinities in Prison and Aboriginal Deaths in Custody - Assignment Example

Reflective Journal on Three Tutorial Discussions Table of Contents Reflective Journal on Three Tutorial Discussions 1 Table of Contents 1 Sub-topic: Masculinities in prison 2 Sub-topic: Aboriginal deaths in custody 4 Sub-topic: Principles of punishment 5 References 7 Sub-topic: Masculinities in prison Parsons (1964) gave one of the first accounts of the link between masculinity and criminal behaviour. Criminology thought, both past and present, have debated the link between the criminal behaviour in men and its relationship with masculinity. Long back in 1924, Sutherland and Cressey have stated that this delinquency might have its roots in how boys are taught to be "rough and tough" and girls asked to be soft. Certain factors make violent behaviour in men an accepted behaviour (Miedzian, 1991). On a similar note Thompson (1991) has observed that more masculine gender orientations are found in men, more will be there tendency towards violent behaviour. This behaviour is further triggered by and inadvertently acknowledged by society as a permissible way of life when media or films, and even sporting events show episodes of violence in abundance (Wilson and Daly, 1985; Gruneau and Whitson, 1993; Weinstein, et al., 1995). Why the topic interests me most I have been born and brought up amid Aboriginals and more often than not I have seen the community being victimised and marginalised as against the non-Aboriginals. From the time I grew up there have been numerous occurrences that have taken place before my eyes that I wanted to explore the issue in a deeper manner and possibly establish certain connections that have been overlooked so far. Pre-existing assumptions There is a psychological and also a societal component to either masculinity or crime or both in association with each other. It has been previously stated that people tend to attribute negative qualities to unattractive people and positive qualities to people who look good (Dion, Berscheid and Walster, 1972). That means there is a halo effect at work, which is more of physical nature. People assume other people's personalities and character by how good or bad do they look. This seems to work even in courtrooms where, according to Stewart (1980) bad looking people are more likely to be imprisoned by judges than good looking people. Theories Jefferson (1997) has remarked that it would not be prudent to project masculinity via-a’-vis criminality over inclusively as a concept. It has further been stated that theory that is suggestive of highly gendered nature of criminality should be used in connection with masculinity as a precursor to crime. Smith (1995) on the other hand has stated that in the development of criminology feminism has contributed in four major ways. Messerschmidt (1994) has argued that the nature of criminality is also dependent on how men shape masculinities. Short quote from the text These theories are aptly reflected in the following Elizabeth Grosz quote: “[Criminology has failed to ask what it is about men] not as working-class, not as migrant, not as underprivileged individuals, but as men that induces them to commit crimes?” - Elizabeth Grosz (cited in Collier, 1995: 10) Transfer or application of new insights It can be said that the connection between violence and masculinity is loud and clear. In almost all nations statistics pertaining to crime are more men-centric than women-centric. Murder, assault and manslaughter are only a few crimes that top the chart. But despite the statistics and theories governing the same, there are other insights that can be sued to study this phenomenon in future. That is from the perspective of power. Mena, as compared to women, assume greater degrees of power in almost all spheres of life. Could it be that this power gives them that extra weight which they mis(use) and direct towards delinquent behaviour. This is worth introspection and if this is answered, we may come across newer possible solutions to understand the link on a subtle level and suggest ways out of this delinquency. Sub-topic: Aboriginal deaths in custody The most disadvantaged racial group in Australia today are the Aboriginals. They are also the most vulnerable since a majority of them have been deprived of their basic freedom. What, however, concerns the criminal experts and the world at large now is the unusual number of deaths Aboriginals have undergone while in the custody. Hatty and Walker (1986) have termed as hazardous the experience of incarceration in the Australian society. These deaths have been widely debated and widely protested too but what makes the matter worse is that it is a complex issue. Several factors have been denounced as being responsible for these deaths and these include official negligence, police brutality, white racism, accident and cultural disintegration. Arguably there is neither single explanation nor single solution. In Australia it is the territories and the state in which the responsibility for criminal justice lies. Royal Commission looks into the Aboriginal deaths. They are the over-represented lot in the Australian prisons and detention facilities and one reason for this could be their economic deprivation. Why the topic interests me most Nothing more can be as painful as seeing members of my community being taken away on petty pretexts and finally brought back to their homes dead. Nothing else could be as painful as seeing someone die in absence of his immediate family members and loving ones. This is a human tragedy of 21st century and needs sensitive and serious handling, which is why I intend to do through my research. Theories LaPrairie (1988) and Marenin (1991) have emphasised that crime in the contemporary Aboriginal communities in Australia needs to be understood from the perspective of its social structure. Heiland and Shelley (1992) emphasise that it needs to be viewed from the perspective of modernisation theory and Hsieh and Pugh (1991) suggest that it needs to be explored from the theory of inequality and violence. Other scholars link criminal behaviour in Australian Aboriginal communities to social control theory. Pre-existing assumptions There is a structural conflict in Australia between Aboriginal and non-Indigenous people. Aboriginal and Torres Strait find themselves at a disadvantage when they express right to practice their own culture. When they do, it is termed as a systematic violation. This leads them to develop a feeling of insecurity, cultural aloofness and hostility. The latter manifests itself in aggression and crime and ironically that leads to an assumptions that they are characteristically hostile and criminal by nature. Short quote from the text “... it is necessary that I emphasise to you how an understanding of the 200 year history of oppression of Aboriginal people by Europeans is vital to understand Aboriginal relationships with the criminal law” - Paul Coe, 1980, “Aborigines and the Criminal Justice System” in Aborigines and the Criminal Law in NSW, Proceedings of the Institute of Criminology, Sydney Uni Law School, 2 July, 1980 Transfer or application of new insights The immediate insight gained from exploring Aboriginals in Australia with specific focus on their custodial deaths is that they are over-represented. This has led international communities stand up, take a note and question the ethics of correctional measures adopted in prisons there. All factors mentioned above as being responsible for these deaths need to be studied individually, problem areas identified and remedial actions recommended for future applications. Sub-topic: Principles of punishment In order to understand the principles of punishment, it is important to debate the purposes of punishment first. There are broadly five purposes that punishment meets. These are retribution, incapacitation, rehabilitation, deterrence (this could be specific and general) and public education. Why the topic interests me most Punishment is necessary to rid the society of its evils. But what if the punishment itself is shrouded in the darkness of evil. Aboriginals think so and history is testimony to the fact that they are right in their thoughts. My interest in the topic is to study punishment inside-out, recommend possible corrections so that they can go a long way in safeguarding the interests of Aboriginals. Theories However, theoretically there two ethical motivations that have been propounded for formal punishment. One is retributivism and another utilitarianism. Law-enforcers and law-makers have articulated these two concepts. According to retributivism, theorists believe that offenders are punished because they deserve getting punishment. A number of standards have been set for retributivism and these include intrinsic retribution, lex talionis, liability, Hegelian retribution, social contract theory, grievance theory, and unfair advantage principle. Utilitarianism, on the other hand, justifies punishment as an evil because it has some utility. It is consequence of an act that has both use and value (Baker, 1971). Short quote from the text “[L]et us describe punishment as simply an authority’s infliction of a penalty on an offender, and allow an offender to be a man who has broken a rule, out of intention or negligence, or a man who has broken certain rules out of neither.” - Honderich, T (1970), Punishment: The Supposed Justifications , California: Harcourt, Brace & World Transfer or application of new insights Punishment is essential so that it acts as deterrence in a society for further crimes from taking place. But crimes are still on the rise and deterrence does not seem to be as effective as supposed to be. Is there any lacuna in the system of punishment? This is what needs to be explored. References Baker, J. M. (1971). ‘Utilitarianism and “Secondary Principles” ’ in Philosophical Quarterly, Vol.21 No.82, p. 69-71. Dion K, B. E. and Walster, E. (1992). What is beautiful is good. J. Personal. Soc. Psvchol. 24:285-90. Elizabeth Grosz in Collier, R. (1995), Masculinity, Law and the Family, London: Routledge. Gruneau, R. and Witson, R., (1993). Hockey night in Canada. Toronto, Ontario: Garamond Press. Hatty, S. and Walker, J., (1986). Deaths in Australian Prisons. Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra. Heiland, H-G, Shelley, L.I. and Katoh, H. (eds). Walter de Gruyter, Berlin. New York. Hsieh, C-Ci and Pugh, M.D. (1991). Inequality and Violent Crime: Another Ten Years of Inconclusive Research” paper presented at the American Society of Criminology meetings, San Francisco, November 1991. Heiland, H-G and Shelley, L.I. (1992). Civilization, Modernization and the Development of Crime and Control” in Crime and Control in Comparative Perspectives, Jefferson, T. (1997) Masculinities and Crimes, in Maguire, M. et al. (1997), The Oxford Handbook of Criminology, Clarendon Press, London. LaPrairie, C., (1988). Community types, crime and police services on Canadian Indian reserves”, Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 25:375-391. Miedzian, M., (1991). Boys will be boys: breaking the link between masculinity and violence. New York: Doubleday. Messerschmidt, J. (1994), Schooling, Masculinites and Youth Crime by White Boys, in Newburn, T. and Stanko, E. (eds) (1994) Men, Masculinities and Crime: Just Boys Doing Buissness, Routeledge, London. Marenin, O., (1991). Conflicting Perspectives on the Reproduction of Social Order in Two Native Villages of Alaska”. Unpublished, Department of Political Science, Washington State University, Washington. Parsons, T., (1964). Social Structure and Personality. New York: Free Press of Glencoe. Sutherland, E.H. and Donald R. Cressey. 1924. Criminology. Philadelphia: J.B. Lipencott. Smith, D. (1995). Criminology for Social Work, London, MacMillan. Thompson, E. H., Jr. (1991). “The Maleness of Violence in Dating Relationships: An Appraisal of Stereotypes”. Sex Roles 24, 5-6, 261-278. Wilson, M and Martin D., (1985). Competitiveness, risk taking, and violence: the young male syndrome. Ethology and Sociobiology 6:59-73. Weinstein, M. D., Michael D. S., and David L. Wiesenthal. (1995). Masculinity and hockey violence. Sex Roles 33:831-847. Read More