Gender Reflection

In 1971, the Federal Bureau of Prisons relocated some low risk woman inmates in an overcrowded Virginia prison to a minimum-security prison in West Virginia that housed young males (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015). This was the birth of coed prisons, which house both female and male inmates in one facility (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015). Cocorrections are how both females and males interact in prison under the guidance of one administration (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015). There are approximately 52 coed prisons in America, housing an estimated 23,000 males and 7,000 females (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015). Since these coed prisons began, it has been argued that they provide a benefit to some correctional problems listed below.

Prior to visiting the prison, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was nervous but also excited to see how everything operated. I had never been to a jail or a prison prior to this field trip. I was expecting to see one big building surrounded by high fences and coiled barbed wire. Once inside, I was expecting to see people dressed in orange doing various activities, much like in movies and television shows, even though I knew these weren’t true.

Before the 1820s, most prisons resembled classrooms where inmates lived in large rooms together like a dormitory. The newer prisons of the era, like New York’s Auburn Prison, shepherded men into individual cells at night and silent labor during the day, a model that would prove enduring. Women at Auburn, however, lived in a small attic room above

Male prisoners also continue to make up the majority of the prison population. However, women prisoner rates have been on the rise and have exceeded that of male growth rates since 1995. In fact, due to the increase of the women prison population, various issues have arisen which require women to be treated differently from men. Such issues correctional facility’s face because of this increase include program delivery, housing conditions, medical care, staffing, and security (American Corrections, 2016). These problems are in part due to the different social and economic differences women are faced with in prison and while preparing for their release back to society.

There are countless factors throughout the book that help to create a critical gendered lens. However, I have found that the four most helpful have been the discussions of intersectionality, gender performance, gendered/sexed language, and the three prominent theories of gender/sex. Learning the term intersectionality and what it means in terms of gender and communication really helped shape the way that I looked at all of the content of this course. The idea that a person’s identity is multiplicative rather than additive gives clearly explains intersectionality. The idea that all of the components of a person’s identity work together to make up who they are and how they view the world and are viewed by others is critical to the study of gender

3. Some of the special problems female inmates face include health care, vocational trainning and work oppurtunities, potential sexual abuse by staff, substance abuse, and prblems relating to their children.(Seiter, pg219)

Kristin Briggs Professor Tashima Sociology 101 3 April 2015   Annotated Bibliography   1.) Introduction For my Annotated Bibliography I have chosen the subject of resocialization in prisons. Prisons are known to be total institutions, as prisoners are essentially cut off from society, and told what to do and when to do it. Upon entering a total institution such as a prison, you become surrounded by a totally different environment than you are used to.

The prisoners will serve their sentences at this five-year-old institution or at Valley State Prison, the nation's second-largest women's prison, which recently opened across the street. The compounds occupy the tiny farm town of Chowchilla, where almond and alfalfa groves surround the 50,000-volt electrified fence. To the crop dusters above, the flat gray-and-peach buildings must look like a giant corrections butterfly, shielding up to 8,000 women in the 1,340-acre spread of its cinder-block wings.

On December 12, Classmates and I visited the Central California Women’s Facility. The prison’s warren is Janel Espinoza and her background of rehabilitation method approach encouraging women to make self-improvements through productive decisions (Facility Overview, 2017). The facility is located on large acres of land and surrounded nothing but agriculture for miles. The facility’s location is to reduce inmates’ possibility of escape, thus keeping the society safe. The women prison has a medium security level, which includes multiple barbed wire fence, watchtowers, control centers, etc. to maintain safety and security. A correctional lieutenant guided the tour informs that once women arrive at the facility, they are incarcerated in a separated

Walking through the main hallway of a prison for the first time was nothing like anything I had imagined. Being twenty-one years old, beginning a career in corrections and having never seen the inside of an actual prison was intimidating to say the least. I had always imagined prisons as they are portrayed in movies, locked down with inmates in cells. However, stepping foot into a medium security facility was the exact opposite, there were inmates everywhere.

At first the inmates went straight into the library while the rest of us stayed in the Chaplin’s office. As time went on and the inmates gathered their books and magazines they eventually came into the office where we were and sat down. They do not have any soft seating areas in the cells so this gives them a chance to sit on a nice comfy couch. Neither the inmates nor any of us said anything right away; however, after a while we spread out and began conversing with the inmates. The reason I think everyone was quiet at first was because it is sometimes hard to talk to strangers, but once people became comfortable both groups seemed fairly calm around each other and it did not feel like a stereotypical situation. I don’t think anyone felt nervous or scared to be around the inmates, but rather intrigued by their stories, whether they were true or not. A lot of the inmates we talked to were considered high risk meaning they are known for recidivism. This means that there is a chance they may have lied about some of their stories like going to college or why they were in their, because majority have gotten good at lying or did not want to say why they were actually back in jail. One of the factors that allowed us to talk to these inmates was supervision of them while outside their cell. When talking to the inmates I did not expect to have such easy conversations. I was unsure of whether or

On September 13, 2017, the director Mike Elliott gave us a tour of his facility named Juvenile Justice Campus. Upon arriving, I had few expectation of the facility and the environment. I thought the facility would be messy and chaotic but I was wrong. The facility was clean and the inmates were calm except for one inmate who was hollering. Chanting things like “Hey girl give me your number” or “leave your number with the ugly ass guard” which I expected. The correctional officer in charge of the tour told us that there are about 222 inmates in the facility and the inmate ratio is 1/10 inmate. In the facility there is about 30 to 40 correctional officers/staff member. We got to witness a visitation during the tour, she couldn’t take anything

I believe that the differences between women and men’s prison hurt the gender dynamics. Women are usually seen as the weak and easily targeted sex, while men are seen as the dominant and more aggressive sex. The state assists in continuing this stigma by the way they treat prison. For example, using the “Differences Between Men’s & Women’s Prisons” video for reference, women’s prisons look like a college campus and don’t look as “rough” as men’s prison because they have to match the “fragility” of women. Then there are the security measures.

Once you enter a prison, you are in a completely different world. The sound of the door as it closes drives the realization home: your freedom is gone. Whatever luxuries you had before are gone. Everything you once took for granted you now long for, and contemplate with reverence. This being the case, there are now two new sets of rules you have to follow: the rules of the staff, and the rules of the inmates. Of course, these will conflict, but you have to deal with it now. Prison subculture is different from the outside world and even varies between men’s and women’s. The men’s subculture is probably the better known of the two. It has its own set of ebonics, attitudes, statuses, and values. Inmates say that

     For many years society has embraced the idea that the difference between men and women were biologically determined. Thou through traditions, media, and peers we act accordingly to how others view us. Each individual has pressure placed upon them based on their gender. Our sex is determined by genetics while our gender is programmed by social customs. Some theories interpret that a women is tender and a loving mother while on the other hand men are aggressive hunters and are the dominant one of the family. People who support this theory seems to believe that men and women are happier when fulfilling the roles nature determined for them. Women are to be nurturing and men are to be providers by