THE PERSPECTIVE IS STATED IN PROPOSITIONAL FORM AND TESTED WITH DATA ON JUVENILE DELINQUENCY. THE FUNDAMENTAL PROPOSITIONS ASSERT THAT THERE IS A SEXUALLY STRATIFIED INVERSE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRUCTURALLY DIFFERENTIATED PROCESSES OF SOCIAL CONTROL, SUCH AS THAT WOMEN ARE MORE FREQUENTLY THE INSTRUMENTS AND OBJECTS OF INFORMAL SOCIAL CONTROLS WHILE MEN ARE MORE FREQUENTLY THE INSTRUMENTS AND OBJECTS OF FORMAL SOCIAL CONTROLS. IN THE WORLD OF CRIME AND DELINQUENCY, AS IN THE WORLD OF WORK, WOMEN ARE DENIED FULL ACCESS TO THE PUBLIC SPHERE THROUGH A SOCIALIZATION SEQUENCE THAT MOVES FROM MOTHER TO DAUGHTER IN A SELF-RENEWING CYCLE. WHILE WOMEN MAY BE EMPLOYED IN INSTRUMENTAL ROLES WITH INCREASING FREQUENCY BY FORMAL AGENCIES OF SOCIAL CONTROL, AND WHILE WOMEN MAY INCREASINGLY RECEIVE AN EQUALITY OF SUBJECT STATUS FROM THESE AGENCIES, IT SEEMS LESS LIKELY THAT THE HOME-BASED INSTRUMENT-OBJECT RELATIONSHIP OF WOMEN AND ITS ENDURING CONSEQUENCES WILL CHANGE AS QUICKLY. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS ABOUT FORMAL SOCIAL CONTROLS OUTSIDE PUBLIC LAW, AND INFORMAL SOCIAL CONTROLS OUTSIDE THE FAMILY, MAY HELP TO ORIENT FUTURE RESEARCH. FINALLY, THE GENDER-BASED PERSPECTIVE ON DEVIANCE AND CONTROL COMBINES ELEMENTS OF CONFLICT AND CONTROL THEORIES--TWO APPROACHES USUALLY THOUGH INCOMPATIBLE IN THE FIELD OF DEVIANCE. THE KEY TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF A LARGER STRATIFICATION SYSTEM IS AN AWARENESS OF THE SEXUALLY STRATIFIED INVERSE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FORMAL AND INFORMAL PROCESSES OF SOCIAL CONTROL. NOTES ARE INCLUDED. (MJW)