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A Case of Growing Up? A Feminist Critique of Maturational Theory

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Desisting Sisters

Part of the book series: Critical Criminological Perspectives ((CCRP))

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Abstract

This chapter examines the ontogenetic perspective of desistance theory, concluding that it offers an incomplete and gender-blind approach to explaining contemporary female desistance journeys. This chapter analyses three trajectories of transgressing the law experienced by the women involved in the research; early-onset, late-onset and one-off transgressions of the law. These trajectories contest the findings of authors such as Gottfredson and Hirschi (A General Theory of Crime. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1990) that desistance is something which happens naturally with the passage of time. Instead, this chapter will argue for a critical analysis of desistance, rooted in feminist theory and epistemology.

‘I’ve just got to grow up really, more than anything.’

—Marie

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Of course we may question Anna’s ‘vocabulary of motive’ (Wright Mills 1940) speaking to myself as a researcher here or to justice practitioners in the past. Nonetheless her subjective interpretation is important despite ‘techniques of neutralisation’ (Matza and Sykes 1957) employed.

  2. 2.

    See Chap. 6 for more on Heather and Katie.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Humanities and Social Science, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK

    Úna Barr

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  1. Úna Barr
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Correspondence to Úna Barr .

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Barr, Ú. (2019). A Case of Growing Up? A Feminist Critique of Maturational Theory. In: Desisting Sisters. Critical Criminological Perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14276-6_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14276-6_3

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-14275-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-14276-6

  • eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)

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