Social practices of gender: How gender relates to delinquency in the everyday lives of high-risk youths

Conceptualizing gender as social practices and using those practices as the unit of analysis, I reanalyzed data from a study on gender and delinquency . The analysis disclosed six social practices that intertwined with delinqu ent activities, constraining female delinquency while enabling and rewardin g male delinquency. Only a few differences emerged among three ethnic group s. This analysis suggests that the salient dimensions of gender as a correl ate of delinquency include male dominance, differences in routine daily act ivities, variations in sexual interests and transition to adulthood, and an ideology defining crime as male activity and childcare as female activity. The conclusion presents implications for general theoretical work on delin quency.