Gender and Dominance

Correctional facilities are segregated gendered institutions. In mainstream society, the gender hierarchy comprises of two central paradigms: a hierarchal system in which men are dominant over women and another hierarchal system in which higher-status men dominate over other men, particularly those men who have lower statuses. These two processes mirror and support one another and violence is one way in which status is attained, maintained and re-attained. This relationship is reciprocal, as this ever-present threat of violence also shapes expectations of male behavior and what masculinity means to men and women. The idea of men using violence to maintain their dominant positions is seen in situations of domestic violence. It is likely this system of masculine power being retained via the use of violence is present in such a highly male environment as the prison. It is also likely that this dominant male system contributes to the problem of prison rape.

If we want to end the pandemic of rape, it’s going to require an entire universal movement of men who are willing to do the hard work required to unpack and question the ideas of masculinity they were raised with, and to create and model new masculinities that don’t enable misogyny. Masculinities built not on power over women, but on power with women.

Prison System

Masculinity is a vital and important role in correctional facilities. The role of masculinity in the male correctional system affects both prisoners, guards, and largely dictates the way in which prison facilities are socially constructed. When men are convicted of a crime the sentence is usually to enter the corrections system. Traditional ways for asserting masculinity, such as the victimization of women, are no longer available for inmates. The deconstruction of traditional masculinities is filled by the practice of men victimizing other men, rather than women, in order to prove their masculinity and dominance. Additionally, Security guards wield power over the prisoners, and in so doing are required to be even more masculine than the most masculine and toughest of the prison inmates. Such demonstrations of hyper-masculinity by prison guards can lead to the use of excessive violence. Shawshank Redemption (movie) provides an excellent example of the excessive force used by the guards in order to assert their hyper-masculinity in an effort to maintain order and establish their power over the prisoners. For survival sake, men are required to act tough, weight lift, and be willing to fight and settle disputes. Any sign of femininity leads to inmates being labeled as a victim for whom many are subjected to beatings and sodomy. The nature of masculinities within the confines of male prisons is broken down into a hierarchy of domination in which the toughest and most dominant men rule the less dominant.