The differential impact of criminal stigmatization on male and female felons

By way of survey-experimental methods, stigmatization responses of a college student sample and a community sample were examined to assess how sex of convicted felon and sex of subject affect levels of stigmatization. Major results were that (a) relatively high levels of stigmatization were expressed by subjects in both samples toward both male and female felons; (b) female felons, however, were the recipients of less stigmatization than male felons, with the difference being larger in the community than the student sample; and (c) sex of subject had little effect on the expression of stigmatization. It is suggested that the factors leading to less stigmatization of the female felon are nativeté concerning the female offender and greater fear of the male offender. Finally, attitudinal and background correlates of stigmatization are examined.