Anthony C. Thompson, Navigating the Hidden Obstacles to Ex-Offender Reentry, 45 Boston College Law Review 255, 285 (2004):
[I]n communities of color, women offenders tend to be stigmatized by their community. Although men who commit crimes are not necessarily seen as good members of the community, they are rarely ostracized. Women who engage in crime are often seen as defying gender roles, which is perceived by communities as deviance of a higher order.
Is it because women are supposed to be pure, good, and morally superior to men, or because we're not supposed to engage in self-help (i.e., turning to crime if that's what it takes to survive)?