In the National Geographic film titled Female Offenders, several philosophies used for punishment in the field corrections are portrayed. You also see how female prisons function and the culture within the cells that makes it different from male prisons. Furthermore, through Robert Hansers book on corrections we see the aspects of confinement that are unique in female inmates, particularly regarding issues with female prisoners being mothers. In the film, you see the incapacitation theory used as punishment when inmates behave out of order. Incapacitation deprives offenders of their liberty and removes them from society with the intent of ensuring that society can’t be further victimized during their term of incarceration. In the film we the case of Aileen Rose, she was incapacitated to serve 6 months of segregated imprisonment in the prison system its self. Rose attacked an officer, which is one of the worst violations an inmate can do. In this case, the inmate uses the system to her advantage because as she states, she is not a people person and prefers to be secluded. With case of Rose we see that not all inmates respond positively through the use of deterrence; which is the prevention of crime by the threat of punishment. Rose was not threatened and didn’t care about her punishment. In addition, she admitted she would attack the officer again when given the chance. A problem with deterrence theory is that it assumes that human beings are rational actors who think about the consequences of their behavior before deciding to commit crimes; however, this is not always the case. In addition, this problem can be supported further considering that half of the women in the prisons had mental issues which daily medication intake. When it comes to comparing and contrasting female and male prison culture we see several differences and a few similarities.
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In the film we saw that like in male prisons, females also form groups used for protection and support. While male prison groups may be more race and gang affiliated, in woman’s prisons it may be more of a support group with less racial importance. As seen in the film, Dory’s crew was a mixture of races who saw her as a positive family figure. Another example of a significant difference in the prisons systems is the concept of sexual culture. A comparison stated in the book mentions, “Unlike male prisons where sex is used as a tool of violence and intimidation, sex in female inmate subculture tends to be more or less consensual rather than coerced” (Hanser, pg281). People often joke around about male prison situations such as “dropping the soap”. This is referring to rape in male prisons, when a man drops the soap and bends over to pick it up. As you can imagine what happens, males tend to use sex in a violent way as opposed to females in prison. Men often joke and say they are too pretty to go to prison. “A punk is considered a woman in prison and is often forced to engage in sexual acts for the pleasure of one or more inmates” (Hanser, p.g 241). Furthermore, in the female prison world you see more open homosexual relationships. Women unlike men are more casual about things like that and have partners inside prison. As stated in the book, many women become involved with other women to full fill their needs of love and companionship, one may take the role of a male and take on male mannerism (Hanser 2013). In men’s prison the worst thing to do is show weakness, being feminine or gay can get you killed. In the male prison culture you have to prove yourself to the rest of the crowd. Essentially, woman and men respond to stress differently. Women are more like to internalize their feelings while men will act out in violence. On the other hand, a similarity that male and female prisons have is that a lot of the inmates were abused as children. Both genders reported abuse as children; this often leads to drug use in order to deal with scars their abuses left. Drug use is major contributor to criminality in both the male and female prisons. As seen in the film even the inmates pain mediation is sold between the inmates in exchange for food anything they
In the film we saw that like in male prisons, females also form groups used for protection and support. While male prison groups may be more race and gang affiliated, in woman’s prisons it may be more of a support group with less racial importance. As seen in the film, Dory’s crew was a mixture of races who saw her as a positive family figure. Another example of a significant difference in the prisons systems is the concept of sexual culture. A comparison stated in the book mentions, “Unlike male prisons where sex is used as a tool of violence and intimidation, sex in female inmate subculture tends to be more or less consensual rather than coerced” (Hanser, pg281). People often joke around about male prison situations such as “dropping the soap”. This is referring to rape in male prisons, when a man drops the soap and bends over to pick it up. As you can imagine what happens, males tend to use sex in a violent way as opposed to females in prison. Men often joke and say they are too pretty to go to prison. “A punk is considered a woman in prison and is often forced to engage in sexual acts for the pleasure of one or more inmates” (Hanser, p.g 241). Furthermore, in the female prison world you see more open homosexual relationships. Women unlike men are more casual about things like that and have partners inside prison. As stated in the book, many women become involved with other women to full fill their needs of love and companionship, one may take the role of a male and take on male mannerism (Hanser 2013). In men’s prison the worst thing to do is show weakness, being feminine or gay can get you killed. In the male prison culture you have to prove yourself to the rest of the crowd. Essentially, woman and men respond to stress differently. Women are more like to internalize their feelings while men will act out in violence. On the other hand, a similarity that male and female prisons have is that a lot of the inmates were abused as children. Both genders reported abuse as children; this often leads to drug use in order to deal with scars their abuses left. Drug use is major contributor to criminality in both the male and female prisons. As seen in the film even the inmates pain mediation is sold between the inmates in exchange for food anything they