The Feminization of Transgender Women in Prisons for Men: How Prison as a Total Institution Shapes Gender

Jenness, Valerie; Gerlinger, Julie

doi:10.1177/1043986219894422

Cited by 22 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 37 publications

(41 reference statements)

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“…The victimization of incarcerated transgender women is, in the first instance, violence perpetrated by men and experienced by women in an institutional environment in which masculinity is valorized and femininity is regularly subordinated (Jenness & Fenstermaker, ). Moreover, their relationships represent social arrangements in which transgender women's femininity is shored up and reaffirmed by the violence they experience (Jenness, ). Thus, even as it renders them additionally vulnerable to the (sometimes violent) desires of the men with whom they engage and partner, it reinstantiates the gendered norms and expectations for what it is to be a woman in prisons for men.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual victimization against transgender women in prison: Consent and coercion in context

2019

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In this article, we conjoin two long‐standing lines of inquiry in criminology—the study of prison life and the study of sexual assault—by using original qualitative and quantitative data from 315 transgender women incarcerated in 27 California men's prisons. In so doing, we advance an analysis of the factors and processes that shape their experience of sexual victimization in prison. The results of qualitative analysis of 198 reported incidents of sexual victimization exhibit a range of types of sexual victimization experienced by transgender women in prison and reveal the centrality of relationships to their experiences of victimization. Findings from logistic regression models buttress the qualitative results, highlighting a factor that consistently and powerfully indicates vulnerability to sexual victimization is involvement in consensual sexual relationships with male prisoners. Together, the data demonstrate the prominence of intimate partner violence in prison, complicate the distinction between consent and unwanted sexual experiences in the lives of transgender women in prisons for men, and shine a light on the workings of gender in a total institution that privileges heteronormativity at the expense of the safety of transgender women in prisons for men. We discuss the implications of our findings in light of timely policy concerns.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual victimization against transgender women in prison: Consent and coercion in context

2019

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“…To our knowledge no other study examines the 'race gap' in prisoners' attitudes about justice and fairness, specifically whether that gap may be narrowed in the context of prison. However, a study of transgender women in California's prisons for men found that perceptions of femininity-perceptions that studies have shown vary by race outside of prison-are constant across Black and White transgender prisoners (Jenness 2017).…”

Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Race, Grievance Systems, and Prisoners’ Perceptions of Justice in Three California Prisons

Calavita

Jenness

2018

Du Bois Rev.

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A large body of social science consistently documents race differences in the U.S. criminal justice system and in related perceptions of justice. It is now beyond dispute that the criminal justice system is racialized in a plethora of ways that have consequences for how people perceive justice. Another vast body of literature documents the importance of perceptions of procedural justice in people’s satisfaction with dispute management and outcomes. Informed by these two well-established literatures, we draw on original quantitative and qualitative data, including a random sample of interviews with 120 men in three California prisons, to present an empirical analysis of prisoners’ experiences with the prisoner grievance system, their level of satisfaction with the process and outcomes of that system, and their perceptions of fairness. We find an absence of race effects regarding how fairly they say they have been treated in the past by the criminal justice system and in how they assess justice in the prisoner grievance system in particular. Specifically, we find that: 1) male prisoners’ perceptions of whether the overall criminal justice system has been fair to them in the past does not vary by race in statistically significant ways; and 2) the dominance of substantive grievance outcomes over procedural elements in prisoners’ satisfaction holds regardless of racial self-identification. We explain these findings by arguing that prison may perversely level the attitudinal gap among those who are subject to this profound experience of state power.

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“…Those who are gender non-conforming or trans* 1 face an increased level of marginalization and stigma by the legal system (Goodmark, 2013). Future research should consider the distinct contexts of system-involvement and labeling among gender non-conforming and trans* individuals (Jenness & Gerlinger, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“I’m Not a Number, I’m a Human Being:” A Phenomenological Study of Women’s Responses to Labeling

Boppre

Reed

2020

Feminist Criminology

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Since the 1970s, the number of women under correctional supervision has risen drastically. With the increase in women’s system-involvement, it is important to consider the impact that crime-focused labels may have on women’s self-perceptions and reentry. This study applies a feminist lens to labeling theory. Through phenomenological interviews and focus groups with 19 women under community supervision in a Northwestern State, women’s responses were analyzed using thematic analysis. Four major themes emerged highlighting the distinct contexts of women’s responses to labels and the impacts of such labels on their lives. Theoretical and policy implications are discussed.

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The Feminization of Transgender Women in Prisons for Men: How Prison as a Total Institution Shapes Gender

Cited by 22 publications

References 37 publications

Sexual victimization against transgender women in prison: Consent and coercion in context

Sexual victimization against transgender women in prison: Consent and coercion in context

Race, Grievance Systems, and Prisoners’ Perceptions of Justice in Three California Prisons

“I’m Not a Number, I’m a Human Being:” A Phenomenological Study of Women’s Responses to Labeling

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