Narratives of Self and Identity in Women's Prisons: Stigma and the Struggle for Self-Definition in Penal Regimes

• NCJ Number: 238065
• Journal: Punishment & Society Volume: 13 Issue: 5 Dated: December 2011 Pages: 571-591
• Author(s): Abigail Rowe
• Date Published: December 2011
• Length: 21 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This article explores representations of self and identity in the narratives of two English prisons.

Abstract

A concern with questions of selfhood and identity has been central to penal practices in women's prisons, and to the sociology of women's imprisonment. Studies of women's prisons have remained preoccupied with women prisoners' social identities, and their apparent tendency to adapt to imprisonment through relationships. This article explores the narratives of women in two English prisons to demonstrate the importance of the self as a site of meaning for prisoners and the central place of identity in micro-level power negotiations in prisons. (Published Abstract)