Crime Has No Gender

 1. What national/international police agencies do you know?

2. Which agency in your country deals with cross-border crime?

3. If I wanted to appear on Europol's most wanted list, what would I have to do?

4. What behaviours are deemed as appropriate for men but inappropriate for women?

5. Do you know of any famous/infamous female 'criminals' from history? Have you heard of Anne Bonny, or Bonnie Parker?

Read article here: Crime Has No Gender Reading

6. What is your opinion of this campaign? Has Europol identified a branch of criminality that we should be worried about, or is its campaign a 'solution looking for a problem'?

7. When reporting crime, do complainants take into account the perpetrator's gender?

8. Which of the following do you agree with?

a) Women are more likely than men to be cautioned rather than prosecuted; less likely to be sent to jail; less likely to be arrested.

b) Technology has helped liberate women from the home, and this liberation has allowed them to actively participate in crime.

c) The rise in the female crime rate precedes the women’s liberation movement; ‘liberated’ middle-class women are less likely to be criminal, not more.

 d) Women are socialised into an expressive role and expected to be gentle and nurturing – qualities not usually associated with criminality – and men are prepared for an instrumental role and expected to be tough and sometimes aggressive – qualities that may lead to trouble with the law.

e) Criminal organisations exploit gender stereotypes when carrying out crime. 

f) The 'glass ceiling'  at work prevents women from rising to senior positions where there are more opportunities for white-collar crime.

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Situation

You are a journalist with USA Today. You are attending the press-conference launch of the 'Crime has no gender' campaign. Interview a Europol representative (your teacher) about the motives for this campaign.

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Discuss quotes

“Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.”

― Aristotle

“The man who has a conscience suffers whilst acknowledging his sin. That is his punishment.”

― Fyodor Dostoyevsky,

“To have once been a criminal is no disgrace. To remain a criminal is the disgrace”

― Malcolm X

“Criminals should be punished, not fed pastries.”

― Lemony Snicket

“I came from a real tough neighborhood. Once a guy pulled a knife on me. I knew he wasn't a professional, the knife had butter on it.”

― Rodney Dangerfield

Student Handout PDF: Crime Gender

Photo: Cottonbro

Politically Correct Language

1. How does your language deal with grammatical gender? Is it based on something clear-cut such as the form of the word e.g. words with particular endings are all feminine, or on biological considerations e.g. a male animal is masculine? In French, the feminine word 'Sainteté' is used to describe religious leaders; when describing the Pope (always male), this leads to a dilemma on the choice of article: le or la? This is called a 'natural- grammatical gender conflict'. Does your language have any of these?

2. Do you think that languages that have grammatical genders are more likely to discriminate against women?

Read article here: PC Language Reading

3. What is your reaction? What reaction did the author want you to have?

4. Would you ever use any of the phrases suggested in the article? Have you heard of any other examples of PC language?

5. Were you surprised that these language-use recommendations came from a university? Why/why not? Is it the role of universities to try and influence language use? Do universities in your country make similar recommendations?

6. Are there any other examples of political correctness in your society?

7. What are the arguments for and against politically correct language? Are the differences between people a reason to celebrate or a source of problems?

8. Is there a state institution that monitors the use of your country's language? Do they make recommendations on language use? Would you like to see any changes made to your language (spelling reform, simplification)?

9. "Language and society are constantly evolving and change is inevitable. We should be able to incorporate any societal change within the language." Do you agree?

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Situation

You are the head of the Gender Institute at ANU. Following the furore of the handbook's publication, you have been called to a meeting with the dean of the university (your teacher). Make your case regarding the handbook's content.

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Discuss quotes

“The greater part of the world's troubles are due to questions of grammar.”

― Michel de Montaigne

“The idea that you have to be protected from any kind of uncomfortable emotion is what I absolutely do not subscribe to.”

― John Cleese

“If your social consciousness seems stuck in 1975, 2021 is gonna be a rough ride.”

― John Scalzi

“Political correctness waters down the arts. It's like getting a beer, when you need a scotch.”

― Robert Black

Student Handout PDF: PC Language