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.