Blog 24

The most recognized and combated gender stereotype that affects women lawyers is the thought that women are not "tough" enough to be successful lawyers. One aspect of toughness that women face in this field has to do with the stereotype that men are more tough on their dedication to the job than women are. This stereotype stems from the very real discrepancies between men and women in regards to the amount of private life responsibilities that each have thus the different limits on time they have to dedicate to work. While in recent times the difference in private life responsibilities have started to equalize, the fact that women have had the majority of private life responsibilities and many still do is why this sign of toughness is still a very real obstacle for women lawyers to overcome. It is hard for women to combat this stereotype because it forces them to essentially chose private life over work life in order to keep up the appearance of tough dedication in relation to their male counterparts who are more than willing and even expected to take advantage of their lack of private responsibilities. one way that women are starting to combat this idea of tough dedication is through the push for companies to provide more help in the areas of private life for women such as child care and also by bringing more awareness to the amount of juggling that women have to do in order to prove themselves in this area. Another aspect of toughness is the way that men are expected to be more harsh and to the point which are valued characteristics for a lawyer while women are seen as more nice and not as able to get their point across. Men hold the gendered expectation to be more strict and commanding in their style of work which is why they are more valued in the harsh and political atmosphere of law while women hold the gendered expectation to be less commanding in their style of work due to their motherly ways, characteristics that are not valued in the law world. These gendered expectations help to hold women on the outskirts of full acceptance into the law field because others are reluctant to allow them to prove that they can overcome such gendered characteristics.

Blog 23

The way one dresses has a lot to do with the first impressions they make on others which is based on what stereotypes people hold. The reason that women lawyers and politicians are so scrutinized for their dress is because these fields have such an ingrained sense of powerful styling that are associated with them that is very male dominated such as "the power suit". In order for females to make their mark in these fields they had to dress in such a way to represent themselves as being as powerful as their male counterparts as the perception of ones power is very important in the law and political world. When females started out in these fields in growing numbers they had to dress in masculine styles of clothing in order to help their chances of being seen as powerful before they would have the chance to prove their power and competence. As females gained numbers in these fields they were able to recognize how their style of dress was affecting their sense of self in a negative manner because they were being forced to conform to the masculine ways that dominated thier profession so they started to dress in more feminine ways. This change in style of dressing was important for the women because it helped to assert their gender into these fields while at the same time down playing the association with power and masculine styles of dress.

Blog 21

One of the main focuses of the NAFCO is to bring greater awareness to the issues of sexual assault and harassment for women correctional officers which I think also falls in line with some of Britton’s recommendations. Bringing greater awareness to this issue would help to decrease the male dominance of the field because it would allow for the discussion of women’s issues to be presented into the field as well. The discussion of women’s topics would help to break down the reality that prisons are no longer so male dominated thus the prison system should not be as gendered as it is in order for it o function properly. One of the recommendations that Britton gives is bringing awareness to women’s stories in prison in order to combat the male-dominated stereotype that prisons are given which I think would be accomplished by the NAFCO’s push to bring greater legislative protections for the unique problems that women face in prisons. This new awareness would hopefully bring about change in the working conditions of prisons so that they can better accommodate women’s safety and thus their ability to thrive in their environment instead of being a victim of it. NAFCO also works to educate the public on the issues that face women correctional officers in order to develop a more balanced and realistic stereotype of prisons. This work by NAFCO is also supported by Britton who sees the realization by the public of the “real” prison dynamics as being a great help to dismembering the gendered culture of prisons (an important aspect of her theory of gendered organization). I think it is also important to note that by improving the working conditions of women in prisons, it would also help to improve the conditions of men as the women would be better equipped to perform well at their job which affects the other officers due to the intimate nature of their work.

Blog 20

The first striking feature of the news coverage of the hostage situation is the fact that they make a huge deal out of Schriro’s position as prison chief. Both articles make it a point to elaborate on Schriro’s credentials that qualify her for the job despite her gender which further goes to show how male-dominated the prison system is. Also I think it is important to note how the articles emphasized the fact that Schriro really did turn the prisons into more productive and rehabilitative institutions in order to reduce the recidivism rate which was a struggle for her to accomplish since she already had the bias of gender against her and her authority. I also think that the news coverage of the hostage situation shows how praised Schriro’s “female” traits of patience and effective planning are in regards to her ability to overcome the hostage situation in a successful manner. I think it is implied in the way that the news covers the story that if a man had been handling the situation then they would have been more prone to resort to violence and just storm the tower which could have lead to the killing of the hostages and possibly others. Schriro does not storm the tower but instead she uses time, negotiations, and other alternative options presented to her in order to overcome the situation in the best possible way that it could be overcome. While prisons are very male dominated I think that it is important to note how quickly the news praises Schriro for her female traits and how positively they have impacted the prison system. The positive news coverage of the way that Schriro handled the hostage situation is a step towards the realization that having prisons be so gendered and male dominated is not what is best for that system or the outside communities.

I think that the hostage situation goes to show the poor training that correctional officers receive, especially on the state level, which focuses more on being fearful and aware of possible violence in prisons yet not how to handle these situations. In Britton’s interviews it becomes quite evident that the trainings do not focus on how the officers are supposed to cope with the situations that they come across whether it be hostage situations, interactions with the opposite sex or the metal games that inmates may try to play. Many of the interviewees comment on how they felt under prepared when they finally entered the prisons and had to learn the necessary aspects of their job along the way since the trainings did not cover the real issues they come across. The training should focus more on how to handle the real situations that the offices come in contact with so that they can transition from being just “keepers” of the inmates into real correctional officers who help to “correct” the inmates in order to better them for release. It seems to me that the trainings main focus is just to instill fear into the officers in the hopes that they will effectively handle any violent situations that may arise instead of actually training the officers in a uniform way to handle different violent situations.

I do also think that despite all of the positive coverage that came out of the hostage situation like praise of the female prison chief it also lends fuel to the argument that women should not be allowed to guard male inmates due to their inability to combat them and the increased danger that they face in regards to sexual assault. While it is true that women do have an increased chance of being sexually assault by the inmates rather than their male counter parts, I think that this once again goes to the lack of training in this area due to how male dominated the training is. Issues of sexual assault or any issues relating to gender obstacles are not addressed in the trainings due to the fear of what would happen if gender was explicitly talked about rather than the way it is implicitly implied.

Blog 19

The media plays a part in continuing the sexual discrimination of women in male –dominated jobs by highlighting the very few situations that make people weary of having women in those jobs. Turing on the news will show stories of sexual harassment towards women in such jobs which begins to spark debate over whether women should be allowed to work in those fields or if it is essentially too dangerous for them due to their inability to handle and avoid such situations. For example, when reading the news coverage of the Lewis Prison hostage situation, the vast majority of the coverage is on the women officer and her ordeal during the situation while the male officer is rarely mentioned. While he was released after 7 days and the women officer had to stay an extra 8 days with the inmates, his side of the story and what he had to go through during that time is not told. Instead the media coverage focuses on the inability of the women to overtake the inmates and restore control at the beginning of the siege, her repeated sexual abuse by the inmates, and the way that she used mental combat in order to survive the ordeal instead of physical combat. During this time I am sure there were many discussions surrounding the true need for women officers in prisons and if it was greater than their perceived danger. This also goes to play upon Britton’s discussion of how the use of force is so attributed to male officers by both of the genders and is seen as something that is necessary. In male prisons, many times when there is the need to use violence the male officers are called in to do so and if a female officer is there at the time they are quickly relieved so that a male ,who is seen as stronger and more capable, may take her place. This undermines the authority of the women in the eyes of the inmates and the other officers and it makes seem like she is not qualified for the job. In women’s prisons, males are used as the enforcers due to their added strength but also because it allows for them to assert their place in the prison and gain the respect of the inmates. Either situation down plays the capabilities of women officers and only helps to solidify the occupation as being male-dominated.

Blog 18

In the prison systems, it is a fact that males are the norm in regards to both inmates and correctional officers which automatically makes it hard for training to be gender neutral. Due to the fact that historically prisons have been male dominated it is essentially an unsaid rule that when discussing prisons it is in reference to males, even if it is in training. The women and men that Britton interview are both able to realize this fact and do buy into the thought that prisons are masculine in nature. During the trainings, the constant fear of violence is drilled into the correctional officers in order to keep them aware of their surroundings and ready to combat any kind of situation that the inmates can spring upon them. Many of the interviewees commented on how the trainings focused mostly on the physical aspects and requirements of the job rather than the mental part of the job which is used more on a day to day basis. When discussing and teaching the physical aspects that are needed in a correctional officer, it is implied that this means they must be masculine since strength is socially attributed to male dominance. In this way the trainings emphasis the male gender and the perceived positive traits that come with it such as strength. This is not only a problem because it silently brings gender into the trainings but it also does not allow for the vocalization of female gender aspects and differences since that goes against the norm. The interviewees state the disadvantage of this as being their lack of awareness regarding what to expect when dealing with women inmates. They had been taught in training to focus on their own physicality and subconsciously taught that they would be dealing with men so when they are put into the different environment of a women’s prison they feel very unprepared. Women are inherently different from men and it can also be argued that they need more mental guarding than physical guarding which is something that is not emphasized in training.

Blog 17

Building relationships with the inmates is detrimental to the correctional officers because it undermines their authority which is something they need in order to effective keep order. It is especially important to the officers in the North Carolina Women’s prison due to the more lax organization of the prison which also makes it harder for the officers to keep their authority over the prisoners. The officers realize that they cannot build relationships with the inmates because that is not part of their job; their job is to keep order and protect the inmates from each other. In regards to the other officers, building relationships with inmates compromises the security of the rest of their fellow officers as the relationship may lead to the bringing in of contraband into the prison which could then be a breach in security. In regards to the inmates, the officers cannot build relationships with the inmates because then the inmates learn to take advantage of the officers and thus lose their respect for their authority. The officers also do not encourage relationships between the inmates because of the intense feelings that it can bring about which causes the inmates to shift focus from bettering themselves to the well-being of someone else. This shift in focus can cause the inmates to act in ways that are violent and against the rules as they try to protect their girlfriend and their relationship. It also causes the inmates to essentially have an escape from the prison life since they can go about having all of the feelings and thoughts that go along with a relationship on the outside which is something the officers do not want since it is an important aspect of prison to be reminded on a daily basis that the inmates are in prison to be punished for crimes.

Compared to the prison environment that Britton describes in the beginning of her book, which is the stereotyped view of prisons, it is very different from the prison environment that is presented in the documentary. First of all the prison is filled completely with seemingly calm women inmates instead of the stereotypical violent male inmates. The women wear skirts and dresses in pale colors instead of the stereotypical orange jumpsuits that are so popular in media portrayals. The next difference is that there is a majority of female correctional officers working all areas of the prison instead of the stereotypical male officers with a few female officers doing less dangerous work such as clerical. It seems that in the North Carolina Women’s Prison it is the opposite of the stereotype where women officers are the majority and male officers are in the minority. I think it is also very appropriate that the documentary did show some of the added hardships that are on the male officers to conduct themselves in such a manner to avoid a loss of authority with the women inmates and officers by being very careful of the way they handle themselves. The male officers realize that they are in the minority and that they can easily be taken advantage of or accused of different violations by the inmates due to their opposite gender so they make sure to keep their conduct very professional and masculine. While many of the women correctional officers felt that it was important for them to keep a professional and strict guard over the inmates, there were also women officers who were more friendly and relaxed around the inmates which I think is a luxury that the male officers do not have. It was also interesting to see that the women had many different training programs offered to them in order for them to learn a trade that could be useful to them upon their release in order to help them better their life once out of prison. In the stereotype of prisons, one does not think of helping the prisoners but rather of punishing prisoners through the stripping of all things enjoyable. In Britton’s book this also follows in line with the long standing thought that women in prison should be rehabilitated through such means as job training and education while male prisoners are less often afforded such programs and instead have their incarceration focus around punishment and control with no thought of how they will survive a crime free life once released.