Mass Incarceration & Intersectionality

While our materials Monday introduced us to the broad scope of mass incarceration in the United States and some of its racial dimensions, too often discussion of incarceration focuses exclusively on the experiences of heterosexual, cis-gender men. Today, we’ll take another angle toward understanding incarceration by centering how the system affects women and LGBTQ+ people. This will also help us think about some of the social issues that entangle with policing and incarceration.

***Content Warning: Today’s material includes discussion of sexual violence and abuse in incarceration.***

Assigned Materials

[Item 1] Davis, Angela. (2003). Are Prisons Obsolete. New York: Seven Stories Press.

The whole book is available at the link above. Please read Chapter 4 “How Gender Structures the Prison System.” ***Content Warning: This chapter includes discussion of sexual violence and abuse in incarceration.***

[Item 2] Stemple, Lara and Ilan H. Meyer. (February 23, 2017). “The Unspoken Horror of Incarcerated LGBT People.” The Advocate. ***Content Warning: This chapter includes discussion of the data about the numbers of people who experience sexual violence and abuse in incarceration.***

[Item 3] “Transgender life in jail and on the street: ‘That’s my sister'” The Guardian. ***Content Warning: This video mentions sexual violence in prisons and survival sex work outside.***

[Item 4] Video “Life Behind Bars for GBT Inmates at the K6” [It’s important to note that most prisons do not have these types of services and spaces available to GBT inmates in male prisons]

Prompt

Take 10-15 minutes to reflect on todays material and how an intersectional analysis helps improve our understandings of mass incarceration. Please be prepared to participate in discussion about these issues in class.

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COVER IMAGE: by LARRY S., TEXAS, from art show “On The Inside: A Group Show Of LGBTQ Artists Who Are Currently Incarcerated” [source]