Gender, Police Culture, and Structured Ambivalence: Navigating ‘Fit' with the Brotherhood, Boys’ Club, and Sisterhood

Abstract

Women are increasingly represented in policing; however, inclusion alone will not eradicate existing structural and cultural barriers to meaningful change. Insights from interviews with ninety-one Canadian women police of varied rank and tenure, demonstrate women’s experiences of structured ambivalence as they strategically deploy and resist gendered policing narratives of the Brotherhood, Boys’ Club, and Sisterhood to negotiate their own ‘fit.’ In this way, they both challenge and reinforce gendered boundaries that create barriers to meaningful transformation. These findings demonstrate the need for change initiatives to address the complex and ever-shifting role of gender in policing organizations.

Law enforcement perceptions of job stress and barriers to supportive resources when working child sexual abuse cases in the southern United States

“…Reported concerns about culture and stigma in law enforcement in this study are consistent with previous research (Gutschmidt and Vera, 2020;Pickett and Nix, 2018;Sanders et al, 2022). Specifically, the participants in this study discussed a history of not talking about feelings or the emotional difficulty of case investigation which is also similar to previous findings (Gutschmidt and Vera).…”

“…Peer support can include informal discussions about cases and eating meals together. The utilization of informal support is likely common because it is not formally documented, and it does not challenge the “Boys’ Club” culture within law enforcement (Sanders et al. , 2022, p. 655).…”

“…Deep within law enforcement is a long-standing tradition and culture built on the appearance of strength, masculinity and pride (Gutschmidt and Vera, 2020;Pickett and Nix, 2018;Sanders et al, 2022). Positive aspects of this include a team and diligence culture while negative aspects include the "suppression of negative emotions" (Gutschmidt and Vera, 2020, p. 965) and isolation from others (Wright et al, 2006).…”

“…Deep within law enforcement is a long-standing tradition and culture built on the appearance of strength, masculinity and pride (Gutschmidt and Vera, 2020; Pickett and Nix, 2018; Sanders et al. , 2022).…”

Measuring trans youths’ perceptions of police and police bias: Exploring the use of the perceptions of police scale.

“…S. Brown et al, 2020; Yu, 2020). Certainly, the entirety of policing cannot be oversimplified as a hypermasculine monolith (Reiner, 1992; Silvestri, 2017), and some men who are police officers experience tension surrounding the masculinized culture of policing (du Plessis et al, 2021; Sanders et al, 2022). Yet, this culture may help explain why LGBTQ police officers, especially gay men, report experiencing more frequent workplace discrimination compared with their non-LGBTQ counterparts (Collins & Rocco, 2018; Lyons et al, 2008; Mallory et al, 2015; Rumens & Broomfield, 2012) and why the interactions between LGBTQ individuals and the police may often be rooted in behaviors that reinforce heteronormative ideals (e.g., Owen et al, 2018).…”