Traditional gender related explanations of deviance are biased . This is because gender and its associated paradigms of masculinity and femininity lie on the fundamental principle of male superiority and dominance over women within both social and political-economic spheres .
Women have gender specific roles and expectations reinforced by the institution of family, of which the scope for "normal" behaviour is both considerably more narrow and restrictive compared to that of men .
Explanations of women's engagement in deviant acts have traditionally tended to rely on positivistic explanati…
