Blog 21

The National Association of Female Correctional Officers (NAFCO) is dedicated to improving working conditions in prisons, jails and correctional facilities in the United States. Our mission is to serve as the national voice of female correctional officers; to improve working conditions; to work toward eliminating sexual assault and harassment of female officers; and to promote the development and use of cutting edge technology. Under the legislation tab it discusses the “Rape and Sexual Assault of Female Corrections Officers Elimination Act of 2008. This Act is an important step in setting up a zero tolerance policy for a sexual assault against a female prison guard and employees in state facilities nation wide. Sexual Assault against female prison guards needs to become top priority and measure need to be taken to train personnel in recognizing potential situations so that we can reduce and eliminate the sexual harassment and abuse of female detention officers. This goes along with Britton’s remarks that women have just as much right as men to feel safe from sexual harassment while on the job. The time has come to promote this measure and make people aware that this violence towards women will not be tolerated or accepted.

Blog 20

The Phoenix Magazines coverage of the hostage crisis at Lewis Prison in 2004 shows the harsh truth regarding the dangerous conditions and circumstances that prison guards face. Lois Fraley recalls and shares with us those 15 terrifying days where she was raped and humiliated, contemplated taking her own life while at the same time having no certainty as to whether she was going to make it out of this alive. Britton’s study discussed how inmates are trained in depth on how to deal with inmates in different situations. Fraley’s personal account of her ordeal mirrors a lot of the techniques talked about in Britton’s study. The other officer in the tower at the time was a male and so the first instinct of prisoners seemed to be was to take out the initial threat which they saw as the male guard. Wassenaar swung at Officer Auld with a metal object “hitting him as though he were hitting a home run knocking Auld unconscious.” Fraley they tied up immediately and began taking turns raping her repeatedly. Now we have two Officers who have gone through the same training and are both equally qualified to wear the title of Prison Guard and yet the typical male response of the prisoners was to see the male guard as their primary threat and there for chose to incapacitate him. Fraley on the other hand being a female they chose to use her for the one thing they felt that they could get from her and that was sexual pleasure on their part. Although both guards could have been victims of rape they chose the female as the one to abuse and violate. One thing that Fraley did that works along with the idea’s shared in Britton’s study was she found away to associate with the inmates. By suggesting that they speak to Schriro (the prison director) she was showing them that she was trying to help them. Fraley also did a smart thing but talking about her family and her children she was able to let the inmates see her as a person; a mother, daughter and granddaughter rather than just a prison guard. At one point during the hostage interviews they stated that there was no way for Fraley to make it out of this situation alive and yet when the time came for this stand off to end they both calmly walked out with Fraley. She also like the prison guard who made the inmate aware that her ketchup packet was considered contraband Fraley also by attending the court hearings not only allowed herself a chance to heal but also showed these prisoners that you hurt me but you did not break me. She sat in that court room and faced those men as they were handed down their punishment.
I found the description of Dora Schriro very amusing when they said that she resembled an actor not a prison chief. A Prison Chief was a cowboy type man who wore large belt buckles. I mean give me a break did they just pull that stereo type out of some John Wayne movie. This goes to show the perception that the media has given to certain stereo types.

Blog 19

Gina Davis uses humor to discuss how the world reacted to a movie that showed woman using guns, and taking the law into their own hands in regards to the situation of Thelma being sexually assaulted and the situation with the truck driver who uses many male stereotypes to show how he perceives women as sex objects. Gina discusses how there was such a severe range of mixed reactions from the public in regards to this film. Gina had people approaching her in stores telling her how much this movie had changed her life, and vehicles of women parked next to her shouting and waving their arms in approval. This movie also brought about very passionate editorials regarding how awful it was to see a movie where guns were being placed in the hands of women and they were shooting and killing people. The movie Thelma and Louise landed on the front cover of Time Magazine a week after its release. Gina also discusses the same response she received from her next movie “A League of their Own”. It was during these movies that Gina became aware of the power of media images. I found it interesting that the public was having such a problem with a movie depicting women with a gun and yet “Point Break” a movie released the same year as “Thelma and Louise” shows a group of men who run around with guns robbing banks was seen as entertainment and acceptable because it was men who totting the guns and not women.
Britton’s study noted a situation where mail prison guards actually walked off shift in protest of women being allowed to work beside them. We have stereo typed and associated the use of guns as to be a male thing that only men can handle and some act outraged at a movie that shows a women defending her friend from a horrible sexual assault. Gina Davis made a good point as to how these ideas are planted with in our minds at such early ages as we watch children shows such as Beauty and the Beast where the town’s men arm themselves with guns and weapons to go fight the beast and it is the woman who needs to be rescued. The perception that these movies give to young boys that men are the rough and tough ones and women are the little innocent helpless ones, so when they enter the job market and all of a sudden they are in a job that on T.V was a pretty male dominated field and now they are expected to share this field with women one can see where confusion and resentment may come into play.

Blog 18

The job of a prison guard can often times can be viewed as a very masculine job. First of all women and men go through the same training for these jobs. They study the same curriculum and take the same tests. Some officers are trained in handgun use, self-defense, and strategies to deal with inmates along with a physical abilities test. These sounds like physical tasks that men might go through when entering the army, but women are there right along side the men training for these positions. One example given in the book is how trainees were given a violent training video to watch and that both men and women had been known to quit after watching this video. (however the men never admitted that it was the video that gave them second thoughts). Although throughout the NBC video violence between inmates and guards was not mentioned. The did go into the safety precautions that take place when dealing with individuals who are housed in the single cell units, such as shackling their hands and feet when escorting them anywhere outside their cell and housing them is confined spaces during there 45 minutes of outside time. Beyond the physical threats to prison guards in a female prison I feel that the emotional threats run much higher. As we saw in the interview with Devon who openly admitted to seducing and baiting prison guards to get money and other things she wanted. You also can have incidents where guards came become to emotionally involved in the inmates life problems. This can lead to sympathy for the inmate over shadowing the rules and expectations of the guard.

Blog 17

After watching the NBC video “Locked up in North Carolina” I was able to identify many similarities between the video and Bitton. In our power point presentation it lists three similarities between a Prison Guard and Childcare. First Prison Guards are expected to control individual’s behavior (sometimes negatively). We saw examples of this in the NBC video such as the Officer in the kitchen who had to inform the inmate that her ketchup packet even though allowed on some days was actually considered contra ban that day because it was not handed out with their meal. The inmate maintained control although voicing her opinion not only to her peers but to the camera as to how silly she felt about a packet of ketchup being considered contra ban. Although it may seem like a little harmless thing, the Officer however has to maintain her position of authority with in the prison and letting her inmates know that she will not tolerate inmates breaking the rules. Another example of guards having to control individual’s behavior is the intimacy that takes place inside a female prison. Although the Officers and the Warden realize the woman long for a sense of knowing that someone cares about them and having moments of intimacy they also have to enforce that is it a violation that has consequences if taken to far. As seen in the video although some things such as holding hands are sometimes and most often ignored they must also keep an eye on groups of women who gather in the yard and constantly remind them to make some space between themselves. Although it is very common for female inmates to experiment with affections toward the same sex while incarcerated, and there are those woman whether in our out of prison prefer to be with women rather than men so it is even more difficult at times for them to deny their true feelings. A second way that Prison Guards resemble childcare is by providing positive guidance. Jennifer is one of the women in the video who is in confinement and away from her girlfriend and she is unsure of how long it will be. Jennifer is finally sent to answer to the charges and finds out that it will actually be less than what she expects and she struggles a bit to contain her excitement and they reassure her that they understand her excitement but she needs to sit down and listen. Another great example of this in the video takes place as Jessica leaves the prison with a chance at a new life. She is encouraged and treated respectful by the guards to go out and make something of herself and not come back. The prison does the best it can with limited resources to educate and train these women with a skill so that their chances of making it on the outside are far better when the leave than when they came in. Jennifer while incarcerated received her GED other women are being trained in skills such as travel, making teeth and license plates. Just like women in prison who do not want to return to this place once they have served their time the prison doesn’t want them to return either and does their best to provide them with tools that will help them in seeing that they don’t. The final way that the job of a Prison Guard resembles that of childcare is doing the body work involved in supervising inmates, bathing, dressing and eating. Watching to make sure an inmate is bathing properly, eating there meals and disposing of the leftovers as well as dressing properly and getting their laundry out are things that a mother would do to supervise her young children. Although you are not physically washing the inmates you have to sit and supervise them as though you were watching a toddler in the bathtub, there is no telling of what could happen in a split second. Within Britton’s study men and women prison guards are formally trained and each are required to study and past test of the same curriculum and yet there are those that will make mistakes both men and women. In the video we were introduced to Devin who is in a relationship with Cathy admits that she in the past baited staff into relationships to get money. Now the Warden admits that there have been staff members who have gotten to closely involved with inmates and they have had to pay the consequences which vary according to the offense. In a prison filled with women the staff have gone to great measures to eliminate false accusations against male inmates by having them announce their entry into buildings and cells along with being accompanied by a female guard. This not only protects the inmates but provides protection for the guard against any false accusations.

Blog 16

As a child I can remember wanting to be many things when I grew up. There was the Doctor somewhat because of the size of income a doctor made on the game life. There as a nurse because that would be following in the footsteps of my mother. I also wanted to be a teacher, a vet and at one point I just wanted to be a Mom and have ten kids. (Yes that’s right TEN kids)
“A 1967 survey found that only 1 percent of youth mentioned “prison guard” as their preferred occupation. While few adolescents imagine themselves in this occupation, it is an even rarer choice for girls than boys” (pg. 79)
Britton discusses how difficult working conditions and the ignominy that come with doing society’s “dirty work” added to the unattractiveness of prison jobs. Times have changed which has brought about significant changes in prison employment. The working conditions have changed over the years in the prisons with climate control being added along with video monitoring of inmates which adds to the safety of the workers. These changes have not taken place in all prison as some are still barely tolerable during the summer months and heated to a minimum during the winter months and they rely on razor ribbon wire as their back up means of security. Though the job of prison guard may not be ideal it does bring in a paycheck and comes with some reassurance of job security with the populations of prisons growing, along with the benefits that come with government employment.
Stereo types abound about how one comes to be a correctional officer. In a study that included both men and women few indicated that they were in the occupation in which they had always aspired, and most reported that they “drifted” into the work. (pg. 80) Due to the low wages that accompany the job of prison guard we see a great turn over in workers. In the 1990’s we saw a economical growth which sent many white males leaving their low paying prison jobs and seeking high paid employment elsewhere. This is turned left many job positions opened which we saw being filled my African-American’s, Hispanics and Women. In the study women stated that often they simply drifted into these jobs. Men also drifted into these jobs but coming from different working backgrounds than the women, who often brought with them nothing but clerical skills.

Blog 15

While women comprise just a small segment of all the people serving prison terms in the U.S, there number is rising at a far faster rate than men. “Industrialization created huge wealth disparities which created panic over property crime and increased in mobilization meant more strangers lurking around” (PP). With crime on the rise we saw a great more number of people that according to the law had to be punished. Within the power point 2 different prison models were discussed the Pennsylvania Style and the Auburn Plan however both centered their discipline strategies on separations, obedience and labor. The Pennsylvania style consisted of complete solitary confinement and work for Idle hands. Under this model woman prisoners were not considered real women but rather aberrations of the norm. The work that women performed was typical women’s work which consisted of cooking, gardening and sewing. The Auburn style was more militaristic and involved such things as marching in lock step, no eye contact with each other and beatings as a form of punishment there work consisted of manual labor and work on chain gangs. Although there is no talk of beatings going on with the women’s prisoners there was a lot speculation that was taking about women prisoners being raped. As covered in our material it was stated that “because men are less often than women the victims of sexual assault, men guarding women if more disconcerting than women guarding men.” Because of the crimes that were being committed against female prisoner during their incarceration is initiated a reform to have separate facilities for women and men.

Blog 14

Britton’s theory of Gendered Organization centers on the large and persistent wage gap between men and women workers. Women make up 47 of the workforce who work full-time and year round and yet they make only 73% of the salaries of their male peers. Now we have more and more single mothers who are raising children on their own playing the role of mom and dad and head of the household and yet because this head of household happens to be a woman she will make less money than that of her male co-workers even though they may be equal in the workforce.
Women have continued to grow in the workforce and integrate into formerly male dominated jobs and yet even with men and women working side by side in the same occupation women still continue to make less. “This difference is largely due to internal stratification; women tend to occupy the lowest rungs of the occupational ladder.” (pg 5) Britton gives examples using Attorneys and top administrative posts, and Prison Wardens. When we look at Attorneys we see that both male and female attorneys had to get an education, attend law school and pass the Bar in order to practice law and yet the male Attorney will make more than the female because she will be given the less important roles in the office such as family law, government law and public defense which pay less than that of corporate law which is a male dominated specialty.
When it comes to Wardens in adult facilities, including women’s prisons fewer than 10 percent are women. (pg 5) This I struggle with because early on page 2 its states that “It only makes sense that men are the natural guardians over men” and yet this does not seem to hold true for women.
One of the reasons that we see this trend of women making less that their male co-workers has to deal with the issue that women also have their other fulltime job which takes place in their personal life and sometimes we see these two jobs that woman hold working against each other now and then which is a factor that employers take into consideration when considering a woman for a job.

Blog # 13

Britton’s opening comments about images of prison guards/correctional officers has you seeing a large man in stature, tough, armed and able to go one on one with inmates. So how does this image compare to the image we see in the media? When I sat and thought of prison guards I instantly thought of a man, muscular, physically fit, intimidating, and his body language demanding respect. Britton goes on to show that media’s representation of bodyguards in such films as Penitentiary, ConAir, Cool Hand Look, and Brubaker co-inside with how the general population view prison guards. Often times in the movies listed above and other movies like them the roles played by women within the prison are often that of a secretary.
The number of female prison guards along with the number of female prisoners continues to grow yet still this is not being portrayed by the media. Even as the number of female prison guards grows there are still boundaries that they have yet to break through. “Women correctional officers make 83 percent of the wages their male counterparts, and they are more likely to be found in the state rather than federal prisons.” Chapter One
We read that the job of the correctional officer is the same in both settings; officers are responsible for enforcing institutional rules, dealing with inmate problems and complaints, supervising routine daily activities of inmates and maintaining security. Chapter One
So if an individual is qualified and is able to perform all the tasks listed above then why should the question of gender be an issue?
The objective in making a film is to make the film as realistic as possible so that you draw your audience into the movie. You want your audience to be able to relate to the realism of the movie and yet in some of the movies listed above had the guards been mainly women I feel although it may have empowered women it would have made the movie less appealing to the male audience.

Blog 12

Reflecting on the concept of occupational segregation we take a look at how men and women are employed in different occupations separating each other according to gender. Women throughout history have been seen as the softer more caring gender which has played to their benefit in role such as nurses, social workers, counselors and daycare providers. Women are seen as being strong in domesticated skills such as cooking, cleaning and sewing which has played to their benefit in such jobs as maids, housekeepers and cooks. Women are seen as the more attractive well manicured gender which has made them candidates for positions such as receptionist, models, sales persons and hairdressers. Men on the other hand are seen as the provider and the problem solvers which has opened up such jobs as CEO’s, Doctors, Politicians and Bank Executives. Men are also seen as being more macho with a rugged exterior which has opened up such positions as construction workers, farmers, mechanics and more labor intense jobs. The big problem here is that we have been reared up in a society that has always classified what is women’s work and what is man’s work and these stereotypes are just not true. Yet when women attempt to break into a career that has been dominated by men they are labeled as butch and the same goes for men who have tried to break into careers that have been dominated by women they are considered soft, girly and at times gay. I find these stereo typing appalling to go so far to label individuals according to the career choice that most appeals to them. If a man chooses to be an artist society can accept that yet if that man choose to express himself artistically through hair and become a hair dresser then some automatically assume that he has feminine side to him and must be gay. We can also look at the women’s side of this. It seems perfectly normal to see a woman used in an advertisement or commercial to sell a car yet it that same woman’s interest in cars swayed more towards the driving and racing of cars then society would look at her as though something was wrong with her. Women are seen as fragile and petite and racing cars is a dangerous career where she could get hurt yet it is completely acceptable for men to do it. A question asked was how can segregation like this exists when there are laws that prohibit sexual discrimination? The problem being is the law is written and yes although it can be enforced by the property authority but it can not force people to change there way of thinking.