The Gender Police

Gender and Policing is an innovative study of the real world of street policing and the gender issues which are a central part of this. Derived from extensive ethnographic research (involving police responses to gangland shootings, high speed car chases as well as more routine policing activities), this book examines the way police attitudes and beliefs combine to perpetuate a working culture which is dependent upon traditional conceptions of 'male' and 'female'. In doing so it challenges previously held assumptions about the way women are harassed, manipulated and constrained, focusing rather on the more subtle impact of structures and norms within police culture. Gender and Policing will be of interest to all those concerned with questions of policing and gender, and occupational culture more generally, while the theoretical framework developed will provide an important foundation for strategies of reform. At the same time the book provides a vivid and richly textured picture of the realities of operational policing in contemporary Britain.

This is the first book to look at women in policing in the mainland of the People’s Republic of China. Informed by empirical data as well as rich secondary information drawn from a wide range of published materials, and written by a former police officer in China, this book offers a detailed discussion of key issues concerning women in the Chinese police. Mainly drawing on face-to-face interviews with police officers and student probationers in multiple force areas, Women Police in Contemporary China offers rich insights into women’s lives in Chinese policing. The book first discusses how Chinese women were introduced to the male-only organisation and their representation in the Chinese police today. It elaborates women’s experiences as female officers in the police and, more specifically, their everyday work, contributions to policing, women police’s own perceptions of their roles and positions in the police profession and the gendered challenges and concerns facing them. It also looks at police occupational culture from a gendered lens. This book is illuminating reading for all those engaged in policing studies, gender and justice, policymaking, comparative criminal justice and all those interested in a woman’s role in the Chinese police.

Building on comparative research in the U.K. and the U.S.A., this is the first book focused specifically on transgender experiences within policing. It examines the issues faced by the transgender community within policing and explores how gender, and the non-conformity of it, is perceived within police cultures. Moreover, it provides an on-going critique of the queer criminology movement and why it is crucial to policing studies, emphasising the specific importance of transgender issues therein. This empirical book provides qualitative data from American officers and English and Welsh constables on transgender police. The following research questions are addressed: What are the perceptions of cisgender officers towards transgender officers, and what are the consequences of these perceptions? What are the occupational experiences and perceptions of officers who identify as transgender within policing? Finally, what are the reported positive and negative administrative issues that transgender individuals face within policing? The author concludes by discussing the empirical, theoretical and policy contributions of this research and offers some final thoughts on policy recommendations and directions for future research. A strong contribution to the literature in critical criminology and queer criminology, this book will also be of interest to those in the fields of gender studies, sociology, public administration, management studies and policing studies.

Women in Policing around the World is a historical, legal, political, and social examination of women in policing. The book opens with a comparison of cultural definitions of gender and how this affects women’s work in general and policing specifically. The book then takes the reader through women in policing in the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, featuring several countries within the major regions of the world. Major commonalities and differences are identified in the areas of recruitment, training, deployment, promotion, and violence against women. Among the key features of this book is a balanced coverage of historical and timely events that led to the current status of women police in their respective countries. The book identifies the commonalities that women police experience throughout the world, relying on the most current research. The book also dedicates coverage of policing violence against women in society as well as within the police organization itself. The author includes tables to allow for national comparisons throughout the book, as well as current and historical photos. This book is intended for researchers and students of police culture and women in policing. It does not rely heavily on one country or region, thus allowing for an enlightening international comparison.

When Ros Ball and James Millar's son was born in 2010 they instantly felt people treated him differently to his big sister and started to tweet about what they experienced. What began as an attempt to retain their sanity in a pink and blue world became a life changing experiment about gender identity.

The Gender Police: A Diary is an intriguing and insightful record of how people treat girls and boys differently. When Ros Ball and James Millar's son was born in 2010 they instantly felt people treated him differently to his big sister. Inspired by the 1980's best-selling diary 'There's a Good Girl' and driven by 21st century technology, they started to tweet about the differences they experienced. What began as an attempt to retain their sanity in a gender obsessed world became a life changing experiment about gender identity. In this collection of their online writing they've brought together thoughts on how society, family and even themselves, are part of the 'gender police' that limit kids' lives, along with ideas for how we can all work to break these stereotypes together.

“An invaluable resource for both new and veteran allies…obvious and necessary” (Library Journal, starred review) information for everyone who wants to learn more about how to navigate gender diversity in today’s families, communities, and workplaces. The days of two genders—male, female; boy, girl; blue, pink—are over, if they ever existed at all. Gender is now a global conversation, and one that is constantly evolving. More people than ever before are openly living their lives as transgender men or women, and many transgender people are coming out as neither men nor women, instead living outside of the binary. Gender is changing, and this change is gaining momentum. We all want to do and say the right things in relation to gender diversity—whether at a job interview, at parent/teacher night, and around the table at family dinners. But where do we begin? From the differences among gender identity, gender expression, and sex, to the use of gender-neutral pronouns like singular they/them, to thinking about your own participation in gender, Gender: Your Guide serves as “a warm, inviting guide to a complicated area” (The Globe and Mail, Toronto). Professor and gender diversity advocate Lee Airton, PhD, explains how gender works in everyday life; how to use accurate terminology to refer to transgender, non-binary, and/or gender non-conforming individuals; and how to ask when you aren’t sure what to do or say. It provides the information you need to talk confidently and compassionately about gender diversity, whether simply having a conversation or going to bat as an advocate. Just like gender itself, being gender-friendly is a process for all of us. As revolutionary a resource as Our Bodies, Ourselves, Gender: Your Guide is “greatly needed…an impactful tool for creating a world more supportive of people of all genders” (INTO! Magazine).

Policing has experienced something of a crisis worldwide. With allegations of excessive use of force in the USA, corruption scandals in Australia, racial tensions in Britain and sex crimes in Belgium, never has it been under greater public scrutiny. Examination of police organizations through a gender looking-glass reveals the inadequacies of analyses offered by research approaches that left women out of the frame. This ambitious and ground-breaking book builds on a growing corpus of work to extend issues relating to police occupational culture, showing how modern policing policies look when examined through a gendered lens. Jennifer Brown and Frances Heidensohn pool their established expertise on policing, crime and gender to look at women's experiences in law-enforcement agencies across the globe. Drawing on the findings of the first ever international comparative research on this subject, they show that policewomen share many experiences, wherever they come from, but that there are also key differences related to traditions, systems, styles and cultures of policing. The book raises vital issues about law, order and the achievement of change in criminal justice policies. It provides a thorough analysis of the current state of research on the topic, as well as new data on nations from every continent, and it proposes an innovative framework for analysis. Finally, it uncovers fascinating personal stories and lost texts that chart the victories won by forgotten or overlooked pioneers who developed women's contribution to, and changing practice in, policy worldwide. As such it will be essential reading for all those interested in policing, equality, gender and crime.