9: Prisons Pt. 4

Question 1

de Viggiani compared to Goffman

Answer 1

Goffman complicates the idea that total institutions strip inmates of social identities and unilaterally impose a new inmate identity onto them

prisons are socially restrictive environments but still the case that individuals participate in the process of co-constituting their own selves and identities

pushing back on the idea that identity is imposed by the institution

Question 2

• hegemonic masculinity

Answer 2

collection of identifiable traits/characteristics developed relative to others

providers/protectors, dominance, physical strength, misogyny, compulsory heterosexuality

increases the propensity for criminality, risk behaviours, reactivity to situations (especially perceived challenges to men’s position of dominance within the hierarchy)

Question 3

hegemonic masculinity in a single-sex prison

Answer 3

key elements not possible or highly constrained
- cannot be a provider/protector on the outside
- exercising/demonstrating masculinity with heterosexuality is not really possible (sexuality largely sidelined)

within the confines of the prison, key to social survival is to avoid exploitation/victimisation at all costs

intensification when compared to the outside world
- ideal of masculinity/men being providers/intimates transitioning into a paradigm emphasising loyalty within the confines of the prison

Question 4

• front

Answer 4

putting up a front/mask responsive to the social situation that stabilises/standardises the individual so other people can understand projected character traits which have generalisable normative meaning

not just things individual people cultivate but a collective cultural representation

shared symbolic meaning that people understand
- front gives information before engaging with the person about who the person is or what front they project

responsibility of the actor to present the front as compelling and to make sure everything is consistent

Question 5

• paternalistic authoritarianism

Answer 5

ideology and associated power structure which imposes strict control on prison inmates under the auspices of promoting welfare for those controlled