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.