Discourses of Female Violence and Societal Gender Stereotypes

Abstract

The way that society talks about women and their use of violence and force has grave implications for social policy and women's experiences in the criminal justice system. Society's cultural stereotypes about women and gender color the way professionals in law enforcement, the legal system, the courts, and social policy agencies treat women who commit violent acts of aggression. This article will attempt to shed some light on how gender stereotypes that continue to permeate our society create the very cultural discourses that people in positions of power and in the population at large use to talk about women and violence.