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Sexuality and Gender: Locked in, and Out

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Women and Prison

Abstract

The extant literature on sexuality and gender among women incarcerated in prison often explores sexual deviances and behaviors while confined, but there is little information about how preexisting sexuality and gender identify impact the incarcerated experience. However, the importance of sexuality and gender for females incarcerated in prison and the challenges that they face need to be defined and explored by scholars. This chapter gives an overview and introduces the concept of sexuality and gender in prison for women.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    It is important to note that jail and prison are not synonymous terms. Jails are shorter term, house pre-conviction and post-conviction individuals and are typically more chaotic facilities. Jails also often have high turnover rates of both incarcerated individuals and correctional staff. Prisons are more stable environments, with post-conviction individuals with longer term sentences (typically over 14 months). The focus for this chapter is on prison, but the information also applies and is significant for individuals in jail.

  2. 2.

    See chapter two for a greater discussion of media and female incarceration.

  3. 3.

    For reference, 10 of the 35 citations from this chapter are written by a female identifying first author. The remaining 25 are written by a male identifying first author (at the time of publication).

  4. 4.

    Name changed for anonymity.

  5. 5.

    Please see chapter six for a greater discussion of mental health and female incarceration.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. California State University, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Frances P. Abderhalden

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  1. Frances P. Abderhalden
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA, USA

    Jada Hector

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Abderhalden, F.P. (2020). Sexuality and Gender: Locked in, and Out. In: Hector, J. (eds) Women and Prison. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46172-0_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46172-0_7

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-46171-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-46172-0

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