The course material explains that in the training there is an exasperation of potential violence. Telling of “war stories” perpetuate the fear of prisons that media help create. In training, while some people quit after viewing a violent training film, the men were less likely to admit it was because of potential violence. These inflated accounts of violence emphasize the masculinity of the job.
“Contingency” violence poses resistance to hiring women for correctional officers because it exemplifies how something may go “violently wrong”.
Addressing situations, like sexual harassment, that men don’t encounter as often may seem sexist since curriculum is supposedly neutral.
Some women feel a need to have a female prison guard address specific problems women officers have. Guards in female prisons often times feel unprepared for dealing with women.
Men and women’s prisons differ in many ways. In particular are the relationship that the inmate form with each other. In male prisons, the men feel a need to band together, for protection, while in women prisons they tend to couple off and form “families”. Women seem to have a stronger need for family and intimate relationship as discussed in “Lock-up; Inside North Carolina Women’s Prison: NBC News Special”. Also women are allowed certain items in prison that men are not allowed such at knitting needles and toiletry items.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Blog #16
All officers in Britton’s study were formally trained for their jobs. Women and men are required to pass the same tests and study the same curriculum. Some places train officers with: handgun use, self-defense, strategies to deal with inmates, rules for the written test, and physical abilities tests.
As explained in the class notes Curriculum taught is generically assumed to be “male.” The term ‘prison” means a male prison. Addressing situations, like sexual harassment, that men don’t encounter as often may seem sexist since curriculum is supposedly neutral.
1% of children aspire to become correctional officers. Very few of these children are women and the men who become correctional officers often find that they liked it in comparison to other law enforcement jobs. Because of it predisposed masculine stereotype, many women do not even consider the job .
Some women feel that their previous work experience is not relevant to being a correctional officer, although women who have become correctional officers often can relate in to child care in many ways.
Women’s prisons today are still markedly different from men’s prisons. Some female prisons allow women to possess materials male prisoners would never be allowed, like crochet needles and certain toiletries.
One of the main motivating factors for men and women are the benefits, pay, and hours. This is especially attractive for single women and divorces who are in need of things such as health and dental care. The minimum requirements are that the individual earn a high school diploma or GED, so for the many individuals who would like to make a substantial living, but do not find higher education as an option may flourish. There is also ways of moving up in job positions that may increase pay and better hours of work. They hours of work can be reliable as many other jobs may not necessarily be. Also these types of jobs are considerably stable, especially as experience is gained.
As explained in the class notes Curriculum taught is generically assumed to be “male.” The term ‘prison” means a male prison. Addressing situations, like sexual harassment, that men don’t encounter as often may seem sexist since curriculum is supposedly neutral.
1% of children aspire to become correctional officers. Very few of these children are women and the men who become correctional officers often find that they liked it in comparison to other law enforcement jobs. Because of it predisposed masculine stereotype, many women do not even consider the job .
Some women feel that their previous work experience is not relevant to being a correctional officer, although women who have become correctional officers often can relate in to child care in many ways.
Women’s prisons today are still markedly different from men’s prisons. Some female prisons allow women to possess materials male prisoners would never be allowed, like crochet needles and certain toiletries.
One of the main motivating factors for men and women are the benefits, pay, and hours. This is especially attractive for single women and divorces who are in need of things such as health and dental care. The minimum requirements are that the individual earn a high school diploma or GED, so for the many individuals who would like to make a substantial living, but do not find higher education as an option may flourish. There is also ways of moving up in job positions that may increase pay and better hours of work. They hours of work can be reliable as many other jobs may not necessarily be. Also these types of jobs are considerably stable, especially as experience is gained.
Blog #15
Women’s prisons historically have differed in many ways from men’s prisons. In the beginning the correction officers were considered Matrons and were hired to supervise women prisoners after outrages of male guard abuses such as in a case where there was a beating one pregnant women to death. According to the course material “In 1820s, states started hiring women to be guards. They were often subjected to worse working conditions than the men. They were on duty 24 hours for 6 and ½ days per week and lived within the prison.” Women have played role designed specifically to aid the needs of women, but over time the way that women prisoners are treated has become more and more asexual, leaning toward male interaction types.Women prisoners have also taken on roles that are seemingly more deviant which may be one reason for this type of interaction.
The Arizona Corrections website explains the history of women working within their prison system. It explains that the first employee hired to work in the department was a women although she did not start as a correctional officer but instead a secretary to the Director of the facility Allen cook. It explains that the security positions were held only by men at that time. It tells of the first woman promoted to Sergeant in 1979 and by 1981 there were 130 women serving as protective service workers and they sight “Women as Professionals” report as saying that “This small group of women had to overcome many obstacles s in the quest for a career in the corrections field.” There are several women highlighted in this article such as Mabel While who was the first Correctional Service Officer who finished the ADC Academy in March of 1982, Kathy Atwood who became the first ADC Lieutenant in a male institution in 1982, and Ann Martinez who was named the first female captain in 1980. Dora Schriro was appointed by governor Janet Napolitano in July, 2003 and was the first women to lead the department.
Arizona was a later state to give large role to women in the correctional facilities, but like others has made many increases in the number of women serving.
The Arizona Corrections website explains the history of women working within their prison system. It explains that the first employee hired to work in the department was a women although she did not start as a correctional officer but instead a secretary to the Director of the facility Allen cook. It explains that the security positions were held only by men at that time. It tells of the first woman promoted to Sergeant in 1979 and by 1981 there were 130 women serving as protective service workers and they sight “Women as Professionals” report as saying that “This small group of women had to overcome many obstacles s in the quest for a career in the corrections field.” There are several women highlighted in this article such as Mabel While who was the first Correctional Service Officer who finished the ADC Academy in March of 1982, Kathy Atwood who became the first ADC Lieutenant in a male institution in 1982, and Ann Martinez who was named the first female captain in 1980. Dora Schriro was appointed by governor Janet Napolitano in July, 2003 and was the first women to lead the department.
Arizona was a later state to give large role to women in the correctional facilities, but like others has made many increases in the number of women serving.
Blog #14
Britton uses the theory of gendered organization to frame her research. She explains that punishment and disciplinary regimes targeted the “asexual” male body. This is because men cannot become pregnant or menstruate. Women were given unprofitable work assignments such as sewing, cooking, etc.
During the Reform Movement as explained in the course book “At Work in An Iron Cage” Finally saw causes of crime as multifactor. Each criminal was unique and required individualized punishment. Historically this is also when there was a movement to move away from corporal punishment.
An example of how structure, agency and culture are all interlinked in ongoing processes of organization gendering has to do with the idea that men may be able to extend their power in men and women’s prisons, while women may only be looked at as extending executive and effective power over women’s prisons. For several reasons such as the differences that existed between “ideal” male and female prison guards, where men could handle potentially violent situations where women could not. Men were to be officers in the paramilitary mold while women were to be mentors and surrogate mothers offering direction from waywardness and because men are less often than women the victims of sexual assault, men guarding women is more disconcerting than women guarding men.
Even the terms used for the occupations reinforced the gendering of the organizations. Men were always seen as “officers”, suggesting a protective ability. “Matrons” was the term used for female guards, and implied mothering.
Britton explains that organizations are gendered at the level of structure “in a very basic sense, organization build on and reproduce a division of labor between the public and private spheres, between production and reproduction.” This especially comes into effect when women, and not men, experience activates such as birth and childcare, where men may not. These organizations did not have a productive way of dealing with these issues.
Public and private spheres became gendered concepts because these occupations were not looked at as being successful. They were often made for the poor who had no other option. Because there were situations where the men would actually have to live at the prison (practically being in prison themselves) this became a very identifiably masculine job because they could “deal” with it.
During the Reform Movement as explained in the course book “At Work in An Iron Cage” Finally saw causes of crime as multifactor. Each criminal was unique and required individualized punishment. Historically this is also when there was a movement to move away from corporal punishment.
An example of how structure, agency and culture are all interlinked in ongoing processes of organization gendering has to do with the idea that men may be able to extend their power in men and women’s prisons, while women may only be looked at as extending executive and effective power over women’s prisons. For several reasons such as the differences that existed between “ideal” male and female prison guards, where men could handle potentially violent situations where women could not. Men were to be officers in the paramilitary mold while women were to be mentors and surrogate mothers offering direction from waywardness and because men are less often than women the victims of sexual assault, men guarding women is more disconcerting than women guarding men.
Even the terms used for the occupations reinforced the gendering of the organizations. Men were always seen as “officers”, suggesting a protective ability. “Matrons” was the term used for female guards, and implied mothering.
Britton explains that organizations are gendered at the level of structure “in a very basic sense, organization build on and reproduce a division of labor between the public and private spheres, between production and reproduction.” This especially comes into effect when women, and not men, experience activates such as birth and childcare, where men may not. These organizations did not have a productive way of dealing with these issues.
Public and private spheres became gendered concepts because these occupations were not looked at as being successful. They were often made for the poor who had no other option. Because there were situations where the men would actually have to live at the prison (practically being in prison themselves) this became a very identifiably masculine job because they could “deal” with it.
Blog #13
There are many images of correctional officers popularized in the media. Movies tend to give them an either bad guy or good guy role. When they are working for “good” they are typically well behaved and honorable men. When they are playing the “bad” role this takes completely different form. Often times the prison guards will be abusive, physically and sexually, into prison crime (such as drug smuggling or wheeling money) and ridiculously strict. In particular if a there is a women correctional officer, they are power obsessed. They often have behavior associated with the opposite gender role and are displayed at times as homosexual. Women’s sexuality is questioned in these types of movies than are men’s.
I believe that these differences between images of male correctional officers and female correctional officers help the cycle of reinforcement of gender roles in the work place. According to the course material Power Point, this becomes a way of gendering through culture by the “construction of images, symbols, and ideologies that justify, explain, and give legitimacy to institutions, organizations, and occupations”. This makes it very difficult for women to believe that they may find themselves satisfied in this type of field.
Male correctional officers in male prisons are portrayed as being tough, but being able to deal with the situations at hand. They are set as being in charge of unruly men and restoring order to them. On the other hand when men are displayed at correctional officers in female prisons, they tend to play a different role. Their authority often is greater of these prisoners. They tend to not need as much help with unruly prisoners and can take care of the situations with more ease.
This shows us how men are displayed to be dominate over all types of prisoners, although female correctional officers may be dominate over only female prisoners.
I believe that these differences between images of male correctional officers and female correctional officers help the cycle of reinforcement of gender roles in the work place. According to the course material Power Point, this becomes a way of gendering through culture by the “construction of images, symbols, and ideologies that justify, explain, and give legitimacy to institutions, organizations, and occupations”. This makes it very difficult for women to believe that they may find themselves satisfied in this type of field.
Male correctional officers in male prisons are portrayed as being tough, but being able to deal with the situations at hand. They are set as being in charge of unruly men and restoring order to them. On the other hand when men are displayed at correctional officers in female prisons, they tend to play a different role. Their authority often is greater of these prisoners. They tend to not need as much help with unruly prisoners and can take care of the situations with more ease.
This shows us how men are displayed to be dominate over all types of prisoners, although female correctional officers may be dominate over only female prisoners.
Blog #12
I believe that this type of segregation exists despite laws prohibiting sex discrimination because of society’s gender socialization. Sex segregation is deeply imbedded in American history and it is very difficult to overcome such a trend. It relates directly to occupational segregation because as societies put pressures on women to remain in “women’s work fields” they are discouraged from moving into other industries. This is due to structure, the actual agency and culture as explained in the book “At Work in an Iron Cage”. Types of social and institutional factors that exist and contribute to the existence of this type of segregation as outlined in the book include “construction of images, symbols, and ideologies that justify, explain, and give legitimacy to institutions, organizations, and occupations”.
Advantages that women may gain by breaking into male dominated occupation are self satisfaction (as discussed in “The Pros and Cons of Non-Traditional Careers: Working in Careers that Defy Gender Stereotypes”) and making way for other women in the particular field as in “Beyond the Blue” when the women describes failing to achieve her dream of become a SWAT officer. Although she did not make it the first time she tried, she knew that in order to better herself and to better the way for women to fallow, that it was something that she needed to do. Men gain much by women entering into male dominated occupation because of what women have to offer. Not only do they gain potentially successful employees, but they also may open up their potential worker field. “The Pros and cons of Non-Traditional Careers: Working in Careers that Defy Gender Stereotypes” also tells that “For men, another pro is that you are often given positions of responsibility sooner, because, fairly or not, men are often seen as having natural leadership and other key skills.”
Advantages that women may gain by breaking into male dominated occupation are self satisfaction (as discussed in “The Pros and Cons of Non-Traditional Careers: Working in Careers that Defy Gender Stereotypes”) and making way for other women in the particular field as in “Beyond the Blue” when the women describes failing to achieve her dream of become a SWAT officer. Although she did not make it the first time she tried, she knew that in order to better herself and to better the way for women to fallow, that it was something that she needed to do. Men gain much by women entering into male dominated occupation because of what women have to offer. Not only do they gain potentially successful employees, but they also may open up their potential worker field. “The Pros and cons of Non-Traditional Careers: Working in Careers that Defy Gender Stereotypes” also tells that “For men, another pro is that you are often given positions of responsibility sooner, because, fairly or not, men are often seen as having natural leadership and other key skills.”
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