Prisons for Women, 1790-1980

Interrogating the Construction and Representations of Criminalized Women in the Academic Social Work Literature: A Critical Discourse Analysis

“…Ideas of "True Womanhood" which asserted that a woman's true nature is pure, selfless, asexual, and weak began to shape the lives of women (Colvin, 1997;Freedman, 1981;Pollock, 1995;Sheldon, 2008). Some women could conform to this new role more easily than others, but for those who could not or would not, deviations were met with disapproval and punishment (Colvin, 1997;Freedman, 1981;Pollock, 1995;Rafter, 1983;Sheldon, 2008;Young & Spencer, 2007). Women had historically been punished for moral crimes and crimes of poverty, but these crimes now took on a new meaning based on a woman's social location.…”

“…It was thought that women, as the moral gatekeepers for society, injured society more through their criminality than men through theirs. Moreover, women were seen as responsible for men's immoral behavior (Colvin, 1997;Freedman, 1981;Pollock, 1995;Rafter, 1983;Sheldon, 2008).…”

“…The latter perspective, which purported a view of female criminality that held men responsible for the moral downfall of women, came out of the Female Reform Societies, largely led by feminists and social workers of the time, and had the greatest impact on policy during the late 19 th century (Colvin, 1997;Freedman, 1981;Pollock, 1995;Rafter, 1983;Sheldon, 2008). The approach of the Reform Societies marks a discursive distinction from viewing women who committed crimes as dangerous to viewing them as risky and at-risk (Lupton, 1999).…”

“…During this time there was a decline in reform efforts among feminists and social reformers and an increase in charitable work, the emergence of which fit with larger societal beliefs of the time that held the poor responsible for their plight (Colvin, 1997;Freedman, 1981;Sheldon, 2008). Later, in the 1860s, the sphere of the woman once again expanded in response to the needs of a civil war (Colvin, 1997;Freedman, 1981;Rafter, 1983;Sheldon, 2008). Increasing numbers of privileged classed, White women capitalized on society's belief in maternal nature embedded in the ideal of true womanhood to gain work and assist in the war effort.…”

“…Unlike radical feminists of the time, social feminists sought to mitigate oppressive social conditions, not change them. They embraced and bolstered assumptions about gender and femininity by introducing sexist sentiments into public policy (Freedman, 1981;Rafter, 1983). Freedman states, Like the separate but equal racial ideology, however, social feminist strategy rested on a contradictory definition of equality.…”