Article

Homosexuality in Male Prisons: Demonstrating the Need for a Social Constructionist Approach

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Abstract

This paper analyses homosexuality in male prisons and argues that the essentialist approach has dominated research in this area. Essentialists define homosexuality as a static trait and dichotomize sexuality into two categories, homosexuals and heterosexuals. A review of the literature on male homosexuality suggests that an essentialist approach resulted in a paradoxical situation in which researchers were forced to account for "normal" heterosexuals who engaged in situational homosexual behavior while in prison; because the very existence of "situational homosexuality" was inconsistent with essentialist definitions of homosexuality, researchers instead shifted the focus to sexual deprivation and then proceeded to include rape in typologies that purported to address homosexuality. Thus, distinctions between consensual homosexual behavior and rape were blurred. As a result of this conceptual ambiguity and because of paradigmatic changes in the study of homosexuality, there is a tremendous void in the literature on homosexuality in prison. This paper argues that a social constructionist approach would add to our understanding of homosexuality in male prisons.

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... Essentialists, that is, the doctrine that essence is prior to existence (Clemmer, 1940;Sykes, 1958;Donaldson, 2001) and social constructionist (Eigenberg, 1992;Hensley et al., 2003;Gibson and Hensley, 2013) theories and typologies of male sexuality in prisons are reviewed in this chapter to provide the context for consensual sexual activity in prisons; the majority of this work is US research. The chapter considers the extent of consensual and coercive sexual activity in prisons, alongside the complexities of measuring the incidence and prevalence of rape and sexual assault (Gaes and Goldberg, 2004). ...
... perpetrators of sexual assault (Lockwood, 1980;Eigenberg, 1992;Banbury, 2004;Hensley, Koscheski and Tewksbury, 2005;Banbury, Lusher and Morgan, 2016). ...
... Essentialists have argued that sexuality is a static and permanent trait and therefore any changes in sexual behaviour or orientation in prison are due to sexual deprivation. In contrast, social constructionists suggest that sexuality is fluid and based on a spectrum which is much wider than 'homosexual' and 'heterosexual', and is subject to change based on cultural contexts (Eigenberg, 1992;Hensley et al., 2003;Gibson and Hensley, 2013;Stevens, 2017) . ...
Thesis
This thesis provides the first insights into prisoner on prisoner sexual assaults recorded in adult men’s prisons (N=844) in England and Wales. Findings are based on a ten-year reporting period (2004-2014) using the Incident Reporting System (IRS) data from Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (formerly known as the National Offender Management Service). Empirical studies, mostly from the United States, have focused on prevalence measures and the characteristics of individuals and institutions most likely to be involved in reported sexual assaults. Evidence about sexual assaults in prison settings from England and Wales is sparse. This thesis examines trends in reporting and the characteristics of victims and perpetrators involved in these reports. Analysis of the IRS data was influenced by using an adaptation of Carlen’s (2008) concept of ‘imaginary penalties’ as a theoretical framework. Explanations for the continuation of staff and prison service responses to sexual assaults that produce limited formal outcomes are considered in the context of new managerialism. The methodological approach was pragmatic given the data quality and scale of the IRS and its origins as an administrative dataset rather than a research tool. The mixed methods design produced three datasets; the first formed from the predominantly quantitative IRS data, the second from coding of the sole qualitative data field consisting of incident descriptions, and the third from small-scale interviews with prison staff. This thesis finds that insights into prison sexual assaults and their impact on the pains of imprisonment have been restricted by the opacity of headline figures routinely published in Ministry of Justice Safety in Custody Bulletins. Official statistics neglect to disclose the paucity of data quality used to compile them, and lack context and detail, failing to grasp the brutality of prison sexual assaults and the absence of consistent criminal justice outcomes for victims and perpetrators. Evidence of continued staff activity in response to sexual assaults suggests a preference for short-term measures with low prospect of formal outcomes. Finally, the rationale for collating data about sexual assaults lacks purpose and clarity. Future changes to the administration of recording sexual assaults are required to deliver justice, reduce risk, and improve future practice.
... For example, across a variety of 100 studies conducted by international scholars in different prisons, the estimated percentage of male prisoners reporting voluntary participation in same-sex sexual acts has ranged from two to more than 65 (e.g., Nacci & Kane, 1984;Saum et al., 1995;Strang, Gossop, Heuston, Green, Whiteley, & Maden, 2006 Q2 ;Tewksbury, 1989b). Further, much research in the area con-105 ducted in the United States has focused on involuntary (sexual coercion or assault) rather than consensual sexual acts (Eigenberg, 1992;Hensley & Tewksbury, 2002;Saum et al., 1995;Tewksbury & West, 2000). Researchers who examine sexual victimization through coercion, such as pressured or forced intercourse and sexual touching, found that 21%-22% of incarcerated 110 men report having sexual contact against their will Struckman-Johnson, Struckman-Johnson, Rucker, Bumby, & Donaldson, 1996). ...
... Conversely, sexual identity in studies where researchers engage with the concept use it to refer to situational homosexuality, when a self-identified heterosexual man has sex with men (Eigenberg, 1992). In particular, Kunzel (2008) described how "wolves," the active participants in sexual activity, 145 could have sex with "fairies" or "punks," the passive partners, while preserving their heterosexual identity. ...
... Sex with same-sex partners then ends up being viewed as a product of 155 sexual deprivation, which can lead to a conceptual slippage where all sexual activity can be reduced to forms of coercion, or even rape, in the context of prisons. This blurring of the boundaries between consensual sex and rape or assault reinforces the perception that male sexuality is uncontrollable (Eigenberg, 1992). How prisoners understood sexual activity also blurs the 160 boundaries between heterosexuality and homosexuality, and sex in prison therefore poses a threat to modern conceptions of static sexuality by suggesting that desire and sexual subject positions are unfixed and unstable (Kunzel, 2008). ...
Article
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Nuances lacing the organization of sexuality across cultures and contexts shape sexual behavior and identity. In this paper, the culture and understandings of sexual identity and behavior in Canadian men’s federal prisons are examined to reveal how prisoners construct and interpret their own sexuality, as well as that of others, within the heteronormative prison space. Drawing from interviews with formerly incarcerated men, we explore how sexuality constitutes a product of dominant cultural discourses that differentiates between sexual behavior and identity. We frame how sexuality is constructed and regulated in prison within the theoretical context of shame and stigmatization, finding definitions of heterosexuality that do not preclude same-sex sexual activity.
... In her review of research conducted on the subject of homosexuality in male prisons, Eigenberg (1992) examines two philosophies used to classify sexual orientation and to explain the reason for homosexual behavior in men's prisons. These philosophies are the essentialist and the social constructionist perspectives. ...
... Most correctional studies on the subject of homosexuality in prison conducted prior to the early 1970s were found to be derived from an essentialist perspective (Eigenberg, 1992). The essentialist perspective had four assumptions: (a) Sexual identity was rigidly defined as either normal (heterosexuality) or inappropriate (bisexuality or homosexuality); (b) various heterosexual men in prison resorted to prison sex due to sexual deprivation; (c) most gay men were weak and "effeminate with respect to their appearance, behavior and mannerisms" (Eigenberg, 1992, p. 223); and (d) the distinction between rape and consensual homosexuality was ambiguous (Eigenberg, 1992, p. 225). ...
... Following the Kinsey (1948) studies, studies of male prison communities standardized heterosexual prisoner behavior, whereas gay men were considered "fags" or abnormal deviants with uncontrollable sexual urges (e.g., Kirkham, 1971;Sykes, 1958). Eigenberg (1992) demonstrated the erroneous and inaccurate assumptions of essentialism and suggested a move toward a "social constructionist" approach for conducting research. The social constructionist approach centered on a more complex view of prison sexuality, including how offenders defined their own sexual identities, the influence of preprison sexual behaviors on incarceration, the effect of prison on postrelease sexual behavior, and viewpoints from prisoners of various sexual orientations. ...
Article
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This study examined sexual identity and perceptions of treatment by other prisoners and staff of incarcerated bisexual and gay men in special housing. Eigenberg's social constructionist model guided theoretical inquiry, and questions were derived from Wooden and Parker's survey. Although all inmates surveyed felt safer in protective custody than in general population, gay men were more likely to pressure bisexual and/or heterosexual offenders for sex while in protective custody. Bisexual offenders who preferred women to men more often sought protection from another inmate, reported more pressure from others to have sex, and felt less safe in jail than gay or bisexual men who preferred men over women. Sexual patterns tended to be indistinct for bisexuals, a factor that contributed to lower institutional adjustment and less sat- isfaction with regard to their sexual identity.
... Male rape in prison, the act of male inmates raping other male inmates, is a problem that has received little attention in the correctional literature. 1 Historically, the subject was most often discussed in the literature on homosexuality (Fishman, 1951; Clemmer, 1958; Sykes, 1958; Kirkham, 1971; Buffum, 1972; Sagarin, 1976) because both rape victims and rapists were defined as situational homosexuals (see Eigenberg, 1992). More recent research has tended to shift the attention from homosexuality to violent sexual aggression and focuses on establishing empirical estimates of inmate victimization (Davis, 1968; Weiss & Friar, 1974; Lockwood, 1980; Wooden & Parker, 1982; Nacci & Kane, 1983, 1984a Saum et al., 1995; Struckman-Johnson et al., 1996; Maitland & Sluder, 1998). ...
... First, many of them rely upon small, convenience samples. Second, researchers often fail to clearly distinguish between consensual homosexuality, prostitution, and rape in their conceptual schemes (Eigenberg, 1989Eigenberg, , 1992Eigenberg, , 1994). Third, researchers and administrators have been reluctant to acknowledge that inmates may fail to report rape. ...
... Thus, more sophisticated inmates coerce or physically threaten other inmates into participating in sexual behavior; however , the literature fails to label this process rape and instead describes it as situational homosexuality. Any discussion of truly consensual situational homosexuality or bisexuality is rare (Eigenberg, 1992). These participants in``in``situational homosexuality,'' however, consist of two very different categories: victims and rapists. ...
Article
Research on rape in the community demonstrates that definitions of rape are highly situational and that the behavior of the victim is frequently used to redefine rape as consensual sexual behavior. Research on male rape in prison also suggests that the line between consensual homosexuality and rape is often blurred and that certain types of men are viewed as legitimate victims who precipitate their victimization. This study examines correctional officers' definitions of male rape in prison and explores whether a number of factors, including victim blaming, affect officers' definitions of rape.
... The issue of theory appears to be a foundational consideration in any discussion of sexuality in any setting. Prior to recent investigations of sexuality in prisons, Eigenberg (1992) and others have argued that essentialist theory, or the view that sexual labels or categories are simple biological givens, was an implicit assumption. Unfortunately, essentialist theories seem to fall short in terms of accounting for changing sexual behavior especially as noted during incarceration, and make-shift constructs, such as temporary or situational homosexuality, are contradictory in terms of the original theory. ...
... Unfortunately, essentialist theories seem to fall short in terms of accounting for changing sexual behavior especially as noted during incarceration, and make-shift constructs, such as temporary or situational homosexuality, are contradictory in terms of the original theory. In response, there have been a number of relatively recent calls to adopt a constructionist position with respect to understanding sexuality in prison settings (e.g., Eigenberg 1992;Gibson and Hensley 2013;Horley 2008) and even beyond prison walls (e.g., Giles 2006). Social constructionism, which tends to view sexuality and sexual expression as cultural creations via language and ideas developed and promoted by various individuals and groups, is by far the most common constructionist alternative to essentialist theory. ...
Article
Full-text available
Incarceration appears capable of very profound and potentially harmful implications for sexuality and sexual health of incarcerates and the broader public. The intent of this review and analysis is to examine the potential psychosocial causes and effects of prison-based sexual behavior. An important consideration when examining all aspects of sexual behavior and sexual health during incarceration appears to be sexual identity, including the impact of certain aspects of prison life that reinforce or alter identity. Built on the foundation of a comprehensive psychosocial theory of sexuality, some suggestions for improving the sexual health of inmates while incarcerated and after release will be discussed briefly.
... Because of restricted access and sensitivity of the issue, researchers seldom have the opportunity to establish adequate trust with research participants (Cochran 2012;D'Alessio, Flexon and Stolzenberg 2013;Eigenberg 2000;Morash et al. 2012;Saum et al. 1995; for a notable exception, see Schifter 1999). Although these studies offer valuable insights, such issues as how prisoners explain the nature and frequency of sex in prison, how they reconcile societal and prison-specific homophobia with the prison sex culture, and how they perceive their own sexuality and that of others, as well as the role of deprivation, require qualitative analysis (Eigenberg 1992;Saum et al. 1995). This article's methodology allows me to begin to address these issues. ...
... Some expressed qualms directly, but teasing prisoners known to have had sex with Outcasts was more common (see Richmond (1978) on gaol humour). Corroborating Einat's (2012) findings in an Israeli prison, in my study only a few cited deprivation as a sufficient reason for sex with Outcasts (see Eigenberg 1992). ...
Article
Most research on prison sex has originated in the global West, often employing quantitative methodology. Building on a semi-ethnographic study of a Ukrainian prison, this article explores how prisoners and officers perceive prisoner sex. Rape was not reported in this prison, despite the relatively young prison population. I argue that the informal prisoner power structure of the prison underworld diminishes sexual abuse. Thus, contrary to much of the literature, masculinity, homophobia, and informal prisoner hierarchies can equally instigate and restrain prison violence and sexual victimisation.
... In conclusion, both the deprivation and importation models received equal, but limited support in this study. Such essentialist explanations concerning the dichotomy between " fixed " heterosexuality and " static " homosexuality have dominated prison sex research, especially in male correctional facilities (see Eigenberg, 1992 ). Most research on homosexuality in prison, for example, focuses only on either the behavior or identity of the inmate rather than gauging both the behavior and identity . ...
... Social constructionists define a person's sexual orientation based on a continuum which ranges from exclusively heterosexual to exclusively homosexual . Therefore, a person's sexual orientation can change at different times in their lives (Eigenberg, 1992). Most things in life (especially prison subcultures) are too complex and require thinking that is able to move beyond the narrow dichotomy of heterosexuality and homosexuality . ...
Article
Research on the topic of consensual same-sex sexual activities within female prisons has been sparse in sociological and correctional literature. The purpose of the present study was to examine the characteristics and motivations which affect a female inmate's decision to engage in same-sex sexual activity. The most significant and salient variables associated with the same-sex sexual activity among female inmates were age and amount of time served. Younger inmates and those who had served longer periods of time incarcerated were identified as more likely than older inmates and women who have served shorter periods of time to engage in homosexual activity. Race and religion also had a significant effect on selected same-sex sexual behavior in the female correctional facility. The present study finds equal, but limited support for both the deprivation and importation models.
... Earlier literature reflected an uncertainty about the distinction between consensual homosexual behavior and sexual victimization (Eigenberg, 1992). If one takes an essentialist or ''trait'' approach to homosexuality, one assumes that same-sex desire is a continuing property of the individual. ...
... In the absence of women, therefore, heterosexual men will seek release through sex with other men. A social constructionist regards sexual identities (i.e., as gay, straight, etc.) as created through social meaning-making, and acknowledges that individuals may change not only their sexual practices but also their sexual identity at different stages of their lives and in different social situations (Eigenberg, 1992;Gagnon & Simon, 1973). Gagnon and Simon argued that homosexual relationships in prison serve as a means to satisfy needs that the prison system does not otherwise meet. ...
Article
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Estimates of the incidence of sexual coercion in men's prisons are notoriously variable and fraught with conceptual and methodological problems. In 2006-2007, we conducted a computer-assisted telephone survey of a random sample of 2,018 male prisoners in New South Wales and Queensland. Of 2,626 eligible and available inmates, 76.8% consented and provided full responses. We asked about time in prison, sexual experience, attraction and (homo/bi/heterosexual) identity, attitudes, sexual contact with other inmates, reasons for having sex and practices engaged in, and about sexual coercion, including location and number of perpetrators. Most men (95.1%) identified as heterosexual. Of the total sample, 13.5% reported sexual contact with males in their lifetime: 7.8% only outside prison, 2.8% both inside and outside, and 2.7% only inside prison. Later in the interview, 144 men (7.1% of total sample) reported sexual contact with inmates in prison; the majority had few partners and no anal intercourse. Most did so for pleasure, but some for protection, i.e., to avoid assault by someone else. Before incarceration, 32.9% feared sexual assault in prison; 6.9% had been sexually threatened in prison and 2.6% had been sexually coerced ("forced or frightened into doing something sexually that [they] did not want"). Some of those coerced reported no same-sex contact. The majority of prisoners were intolerant of male-to-male sexual activity. The study achieved a high response rate and asked detailed questions to elicit reports of coercion and sex separately. Both consensual sex and sexual assault are less common than is generally believed.
... Other research (e.g. Clemmer, 1940;Eigenberg, 1992;Sykes, 1958) describes the sexual and violent behaviour of prisoners, with researchers often dividing their 'personas' into the 'predators' and the 'victimised' and the 'masculine' and the 'feminine'. The ambiguity and fluidity of prison sexuality and sexual assaults also features strongly in the literature (e.g. ...
Article
Full-text available
Prisoner reported drug and contraband searches in adult men’s prisons in England and Wales represented almost a quarter of reported and recorded ‘sexual assaults’ from 2004-2014. These searches are more likely to involve multiple perpetrators and weapon use than other types of sexual assaults and are most frequently carried out in the relative privacy of a cell. The research presented here is based on an analysis of Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (formerly the National Offender Management Service) Incident Recording System data, providing insights into the proportion of recorded sexual assaults which are related to drug searches. This analysis enables a distinction to be made between prisoner on prisoner drug and contraband searches and other sexual assaults. Analysis shows that prisoner on prisoner searches are frequent, often pre-meditated, brutal and appear to be an accepted aspect of everyday prison life.
... Cette possibilité n'étant pas considérée, on définit par défaut tout contact sexuel entre deux hommes comme étant une agression. Ceci a également été rapporté dans les écrits d 'Eigenberg (1992; et Eigenberg et Baro (2003). ...
Article
Full-text available
La situation actuelle en milieux de psychiatrie légale ne permet pas aux patients d’exprimer pleinement leur sexualité durant leur hospitalisation. Dans certains cas, les relations sexuelles sont tout simplement interdites. Non seulement, les politiques institutionnelles en place briment, en partie, les personnes dans l’exercice de leurs droits fondamentaux elles manquent aussi de clarté au regard de la façon dont le personnel infirmier devrait gérer les besoins des patients. Une étude ethnographique critique a été conduite dans un centre de psychiatrie légale canadien. La collecte de données a inclus des entrevues semi-structurées, la collecte de documents institutionnels et l’observation du milieu. Nos résultats s’articulent autour de trois thèmes: situer la sexualité en contexte médico-légal, faire l’expérience de la sexualité en tant que patient et gouverner la sexualité des patients. Les données récoltées permettent de constater que ces discours façonnent les croyances et les actions des patients, des infirmières et des autres professionnels tels que les psychiatres, les éducateurs et les psychologues.
... Research on sexuality behind bars has mostly focused on adult dynamics and relationshops (Giallombardo 1966;Eigenberg 1992;Hensley, Struckman-Johnson and Eigenberg 2000). Less is known about incarcerated girls' sexuality. ...
Article
This paper examines the experiences of girls who engage in intimate partner relationships behind bars and describes how institutional actors respond to these partnerships. Current research on sexuality in prisons and detention centres largely focuses on the experiences of men. Those studies that focus on women largely ignore the experiences of underage women. Moreover, current theoretical and empirical work in this area demonstrates how monitoring sexuality is a form of social control and is largely punished behind bars. We discuss how this process works and how girls negotiate relationships in one California Juvenile Detention Centre, drawing on two years of ethnographic research and interviews with incarcerated women. We find that correctional staff often ignore sexual relationships behind bars and provide little or no sexuality and sexual health education. Additionally, we discuss the benefits and challenges to girls participating in relationships in secure confinement. Our work contributes to the small but growing body of research on sexuality behind bars.
... Historically, in a highly heteronormative policy framework, sex segregation was imagined to remove sexual and romantic intimacy and associated disciplinary problems (Kunzel, 2008). Paradoxically, however, this design is recognised as promoting same-sex sexual activity, described by some as 'situational homosexuality' (Eigenberg, 1992). Sex-segregated prisons are, therefore, widely recognised as institutions designed to contain criminal 'deviance' which inadvertently encourage sexual 'deviance' (Sykes, 1958). ...
Article
Recent years have seen increased attention in both research and policy towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender prisoners as a group with distinct needs. This has been driven by wider political recognition of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights and research suggesting that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender prisoners are particularly ‘vulnerable’ to bullying and abuse within prison settings. Much of this research, and the policy solutions associated with it, we argue, ignores or side-steps queer perspectives, relying instead on liberal conceptions of identity, vulnerability and, ultimately, assimilation. Just as contemporary campaigns around marriage rights see lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities and individuals as fundamentally the same as the majority, rather than posing a challenge to the heteronormativity of marriage as an institution, much contemporary research and policy on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender prisoners sees this group as marked only by potential discrimination. We argue here instead that experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender prisoners can be read ‘queerly’ so as to potentially challenge the rigid gender and heteronormative foundations that underlie systems of incarceration. We draw on a small-scale empirical research project around the experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender prisoners to revisit contemporary paradoxes of prisons and sexuality and to problematise understandings of identity, intimacy and deviance in the prison context.
... In fact, people might move along this continuum depending on different conditions. This shift is not necessarily accompanied by a change in their sexual preference such as people in prison who engage in SSSB (Eigenberg, 1992;Sagarin, 1976). Moreover, the concept of "sexual preference," which was coined in Western societies, might be useless in other cultures. ...
... Πιο «συνηθισμένη» είναι μάλλον η σύναψη σχέσεων μεταξύ των ίδιων των κρατουμένων. Είναι ένα θέμα που αποτελεί επίσης ταμπού στο χώρο, αλλά έχει ερευνηθεί βιβλιογραφικά (Coggeshall 1988, Eigenberg 1992, Wacquant 2002. Η σύναψη ερωτικών σχέσεων μεταξύ κρατουμένων αποτελεί πειθαρχικό αδίκημα 18 και αρκετές φορές υπάλληλοι έχουν καταγγείλει ανάλογα περιστατικά, στα οποία έτυχε να γίνουν μάρτυρες. ...
Thesis
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The present work, through the field research and observation of an insider researcher (prison staff), with almost twenty years of experience in the field, seeks to highlight certain aspects of the inmates life (in a “rural prison”) through the study of writing materials, in particular by studying the so-called “papers” of the prisoners, that is, their written requests to the various sections of this particular prison. Through an interpretive approach to this critical material, which I have decided to call “desires and feelings”, I try to illuminate desires, feelings, anxieties and aspirations, needs that are asked to be met, and atypical or normal forms of resistance to the correctional system. Focusing on the language and type of requests, meaning the procedure and the way a request is produced and emerged by the inmate, an examination is made of the relationships among the inmates, the relations between the two main incarceration groups, that is officials and inmates, and generally there is an attempt made to expand the subjective meaning of the word “inmate” within contemporary Greek contexts.
... В този контекст е важно да се отбележи, че съществува, т. нар. "ситуационна хомосексуалност" (Eigenberg, 1992), при която в определени институции (затвор, казарма и др.) и ситуации (изолация и др.) се наблюдава хомосексуална активност, но обикновено тези действия не продължават след излизането от тези пространства и ситуации. Позовавайки се на факта, че хомосексуално поведение се наблюдава при почти всички животински видове (Bagemihl, 1999;Poiani, 2010), биологичните науки от много време се опитват да намерят "гей гена", "гей хипоталамус" и други физически характеристики. ...
Article
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Nowadays, homosexuality is among the most controversial topics in public debates. In times of rapid globalization and social media, certain new global discourses have emerged. These often approach homosexuality as a homogenous and one-sided phenomenon, not taking into account specific local realities regarding homosexual minorities. Based on a content analysis of social media comments in the period October 2017 – September 2018, this study aims to investigate (1) the main attitudes towards homosexuality based on fears and prejudices; (2) the interchangeable use of the terms „gender“ and „homosexuality“; (3) the notions of LGBTI activism and (4) the deficiency of knowledge in the scientific discourses in Bulgaria. Engaging with the scientific studies of homosexuality, this analysis emphasizes the need of historicization of homosexuality as a tool for a better understanding and overcoming of one-sided interpretations in the scientific and the public discourses.
... Zatvorenici i zatovorenice mogu se adaptirati na takvu krizu prilagođavanjem nastalim uvjetima mijenjajući seksualnu orijentaciju, ali zadržavajući svoj rodni identitet, (Maeve, 1999.), u čemu socijalno konstruktivistički pristup nalazi značajnu potvrdu (Eigenberg, 1992.). Drugi mogući ishod može biti kriza seksualnog i rodnog identiteta do tih razmjera da boravak u zatvoru postaje kontraproduktivan uopće za resocijalizaciju osobe (Seymour, 2003.). ...
Article
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The paper provides an overview of sexuality issues by presenting the manifested and latent level of its occurrence in the field of social work as well as social workers' possible approaches to these issues. In social work, the manifested level of sexuality refers to sexual violence, prostitution, various forms of sexually inappropriate and risky behaviour (such as paraphilia and incest), homosexuality and sexually transmitted diseases. The latent level refers to the fact that sexuality is an important aspect of human life, although the focus is on some other life needs. Therefore it includes various aspects of social work with members of all age groups (children, youth, adults, families and the elderly), in various unfavourable living conditions (people with disabilities or chronic diseases) and living under care (in homes, penal institutions, and hospitals). When dealing with these issues, social workers need to pay special attention to clients' rights to self-determination, confidentiality principle and limitations of professional competences. The social workers' activities can be aimed towards the following: recognising and integrating clients' sexual needs, protecting and promoting this aspect of clients' human rights, supporting and strengthening, creating and recovering social networks and providing information on other social services related to sexuality issues. In conclusion, further practical and research questions are proposed.
... Most of this body of research, like other research on sexuality during this era, employed an essentialist theoretical approach. According to this perspective, sexual orientation is a static and permanent characteristic, and people can be categorized into two dichotomous groups—heterosexual or homosexual (see Eigenberg, 1992). This approach does not accommodate bisexuality, nor does it recognize the possibility of a changing sexual orientation. ...
Article
The traditional literature on homosexuality in prisons employed an essentialist approach that held that sexuality was a static trait. To avoid the apparent contradiction that occurred when researchers were forced to explain how heterosexual men engaged in homosexual behavior, the literature shifted its focus to rape. Rape victims, prostitutes, and rapists were then defined as situational homosexuals, which served to blur the distinction between consensual sexual acts and coercive ones. This study examines correctional officers' attitudes toward homosexuality and prostitution to determine whether they reflect an essentialist approach to prison sexuality. It also examines officers' ability to distinguish between these various types of acts.
... Actually, these studies focused on illustrating how prison sexuality was responsible for the definition of hierarchies among inmates: those who were forced to have sex were described as punks and despised by other inmates; those who sexually victimised others were named wolves and occupied the top of the hierarchy due to their displays of masculinity through aggression; and those who willingly engaged in homosexual contacts were labelled fags and placed in the middle of the pyramid (cf. Eigenberg 1992). ...
Article
This article presents the main findings of an innovative Portuguese research project on prison guards' attitudes towards the prevention of sexual contacts between inmates. Sexuality in prisons is still a poorly-studied issue, although its increasing visibility demands a better understanding of prison dynamics. Results show that guards hold very favourable attitudes towards the prevention of forced sexual contacts between inmates, but they are more ambiguous concerning consensual sexuality. This result is influenced by the characteristics of the inmates under the guards' supervision and by the prison guards' knowledge of the existence of sexual contacts between inmates. The results will be discussed, along with their impact on the development of training programmes and policies regarding sexual contacts between inmates.
... The disproportionate surplus men may also increase homosexual activities. Although there is no solid evidence as far as we know that suggests surplus men in China have higher level of homosexual behaviours than other demographic groups, especially when the sex service is sufficiently supplied by female sex workers, it is wildly believed that homosexual behaviours are common in certain male concentrated places like prison [18] and the army [19]. Nevertheless, the general public may become more tolerant to homosexual behaviour and more hidden homosexuals may publicly express their sexualities [11]. ...
Article
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With the world's largest population, HIV spread in China has been closely watched and widely studied by its government and the international community. One important factor that might contribute to the epidemic is China's numerous surplus of men, due to its imbalanced sex ratio in newborns. However, the sex ratio in the human population is often assumed to be 1:1 in most studies of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Here, a mathematical model is proposed to estimate the population size in each gender and within different stages of reproduction and sexual activities. This population profiling by age and gender will assist in more precise prediction of HIV incidences. The total population is divided into 6 subgroups by gender and age. A deterministic compartmental model is developed to describe birth, death, age and the interactions among different subgroups, with a focus on the preference for newborn boys and its impact for the sex ratios. Data from 2003 to 2007 is used to estimate model parameters, and simulations predict short-term and long-term population profiles. The population of China will go to a descending track around 2030. Despite the possible underestimated number of newborns in the last couple of years, model-based simulations show that there will be about 28 million male individuals in 2055 without female partners during their sexually active stages. The birth rate in China must be increased to keep the population viable. But increasing the birth rate without balancing the sex ratio in newborns is problematic, as this will generate a large number of surplus males. Besides other social, economic and psychological issues, the impact of this surplus of males on STD incidences, including HIV infections, must be dealt with as early as possible.
... Zatvorenici i zatovorenice mogu se adaptirati na takvu krizu prilagođavanjem nastalim uvjetima mijenjajući seksualnu orijentaciju, ali zadržavajući svoj rodni identitet, (Maeve, 1999.), u čemu socijalno konstruktivistički pristup nalazi značajnu potvrdu (Eigenberg, 1992.). Drugi mogući ishod može biti kriza seksualnog i rodnog identiteta do tih razmjera da boravak u zatvoru postaje kontraproduktivan uopće za resocijalizaciju osobe (Seymour, 2003.). ...
Article
The paper provides an overview of sexuality issues by presenting the manifested and latent level of its occurrence in the field of social work as well as social workers’ possible approaches to these issues. In social work, the manifested level of sexuality refers to sexual violence, prostitution, various forms of sexually inappropriate and risky behaviour (such as paraphilia and incest), homosexuality and sexually transmitted diseases. The latent level refers to the fact that sexuality is an important aspect of human life, although the focus is on some other life needs. Therefore it includes various aspects of social work with members of all age groups (children, youth, adults, families and the elderly), in various unfavourable living conditions (people with disabilities or chronic diseases) and living under care (in homes, penal institutions, and hospitals). When dealing with these issues, social workers need to pay special attention to clients’ rights to self-determination, confidentiality principle and limitations of professional competences. The social workers’ activities can be aimed towards the following: recognising and integrating clients’ sexual needs, protecting and promoting this aspect of clients’ human rights, supporting and strengthening, creating and recovering social networks and providing information on other social services related to sexuality issues. In conclusion, further practical and research questions are proposed.
Chapter
This chapter provides insights into the individual characteristics of those involved in prisoner-on-prisoner sexual assaults recorded in adult men’s prisons (N = 844) in England and Wales. Findings are based on a ten-year reporting period (2004–2014) using data recorded on the Incident Reporting System (IRS) from His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (formerly known as the National Offender Management Service). A mixed-methods design produced two datasets from the IRS recorded data. The chapter examines trends in the characteristics of adult male victims and perpetrators, including time since arrival or reception at the prison, criminal offence background, ethnicity and age. Section 2 of the chapter examines the published literature on the individual characteristics of those involved in prison-based sexual assaults, including the targeting of new prisoners. Section 3 outlines the IRS data and the methodological approach. Section 4 provides insights into the individual victim and perpetrator characteristics associated with sexual victimisation and aggression. Section 5 concludes the chapter by discussing the trends identified from the data. The chapter considers the over-representation of new prisoners, young men and sex offenders as victims and perpetrators and the under-representation of black and ethnically minoritised men as victims.
Article
This article draws on Incident Reporting System data from the National Offender Management Service over a ten-year period (2004–2014) and limited, small-scale interviews with four custodial managers. Pat Carlen's work (2008) on imaginary penalities provides the theoretical framework for an assessment of the reporting, recording and initial response to sexual assaults in prisons in England and Wales. The article argues that the recording of sexual assaults became part of a response to new management systems that emphasised compliance, process and audit rather than realising safety in custody. Although the data shows substantial levels of initial activity among staff it is, in essence, practice without prospect. The article suggests that outcomes generally for sexual assaults in prisons in England and Wales are uncertain. Incident reporting has become a bureaucratic process ‘or paper shadow’, which Goffman described as showing ‘what has been done by whom, what is to be done, and who last had responsibility for it’ (Goffman 1961: 73).
Article
Memes have become an important linguistic tool not only for communicating emotions and ideas, but also are integral to constructing the self in online space. This paper concentrates on copper miners in northern Chile and the ways they use memes to make claims related to (hetero)sexuality, mestizaje , and nationalism. With men at the mine during week-long shifts and families in towns several hours away, social media is important for maintaining communication as well as representing the self. Miners present their labor as central to their sense of self, with memes that indirectly index heterosexuality, modernity associated with resource extraction, and racial mestizaje linked to nationalism. The visibility of these memes across spaces of both mine and town gives men an opportunity to construct a cohesive digital self, with implications for reinforcing assumptions about what is appropriate gender performance.
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Male homosexuality has strong biological basis; social and psychological theories also advocate it as a normal behavioral variant. It has been dropped out from the list of disorders by American Psychiatric Association as well as World Health Organization. Male homosexuals are marginalized due to stigma, victimized by the negative attitude of society due to their association with HIV/AIDS and hence venerable to various mental illnesses like depression, substance use disorder, anxiety disorders and suicide.
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This article begins by seeking an explanation for the solidarity between Malay inmates and guards in perpetrating abusive and discriminatory treatment towards Malay transvestites. In the course of explaining an empirical phenomenon in the Singapore prison, this article has examined Singapore's history and ethnic demography, the ethnic Malay minority's lack of socio-economic development and modernisation vis-à-vis the ethnic Chinese majority, geo-politics, the ideology and strategic choices of the state's political elite and their implications for inter-ethnic interactions between Malays and Chinese. As this article will argue, prison culture, rather than being divorced from larger society, is in effect able to articulate and elaborate on the processes of social exclusion faced by ethnic Malay minorities and male transvestites in Singapore society. By shifting the conceptual focus from ‘prison in society’ to ‘prison of society’, a new analytical dimension of informal inmate culture and social structure has been realised; one which suggests immense possibilities for prison literature.
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It is well documented that members of the lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) community have long faced discrimination and persecution based on their identity, although the level of acceptance and discrimination toward those who identify as LGB has varied across place and time. Although there is increasing global recognition of LGB rights, such recognition occurs within a dominant heteronormative context and hence within a world that has normalized heterosexual identity and sexual practices. The resulting privilege given to dominant masculinities and femininities has rendered (and, in many settings, continues to render) those who practice and perform anything other than the dominant tropes as deviant (Duggan, 2003).
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The idea to devote an issue of Champ Penal/Penal Field to the theme of sexuality in prisons followed the conference entitled « Sexuality and Confinement in Europe », that took place at the University of Lille 1 on December 11 and 12, 2014. The conference was organized by the two coordinators of this issue whose respective works are situated at the intersections of studies on confinement and sexuality. A dozen participants presented findings that are often undervalued because of the absence of...
Book
The sadistic prison warder is an all-too-familiar figure in the literary and cultural imagination of Britain and beyond. This book seeks to redress this misrepresentation of the prison officer by drawing attention to counter-discursive examples: deploying and developing spatial and cognitive narratological frameworks, it examines prison literature that lends a voice to prison officers and/or grants them a complex fictional representation. © Editions Rodopi B.V., Amsterdam - New York, NY 2014. All rights reserved.
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Studies on the adaptive processes of prisoners to incarceration, seldom approach social and psychological dimensions together. This research, which rests on various interview protocols of prisoners met in detention centres, measures the dynamics of these processes, by considering both the cultural and subcultural characteristics of the environment and the personality of the prisoner. At first, this relationship was explored on the basis of the experience of prison violence. From these results, a typology emerged, differentiating the prisoners according to their attitudes, their opinions or their values in regards to other prisoners or penitentiary personnel. These idealtypes proposed various modes of carceral socialization and degree of implication in violence. It was thus possible to determine that the mode of socialization depended on the type of detention, the length of imprisonment, the number of imprisonments or the type of offence. A third study proposed to compare these adaptive modes according to personality traits. It appeared that the adaptive strategies were in coherence with those which were already found in other life contexts. Scores on a psychopathy scale indicated a strong association with disciplinary problems and various forms of self or other directed aggresion. From these results, it should thus be possible to predict behavioral problems in carceral institutions according to a combination of historical, psychological or sociodemographic factors.
Article
The incarceration of transgender prisoners in men’s prisons is a burgeoning topic of legal challenge, policy development, and social science inquiry. The conspicuous absence of comparable attention to women’s facilities may facilitate a tacit assumption that what is known about transgender prisoners in men’s prisons translates seamlessly to women’s facilities. This paper interrogates this assumption by examining current understandings of what it means to be transgender in a women’s prison. Findings from focus groups with prisoners and staff reveal that gender is understood as both reflected by and constituted through social interaction. Specifically, in attempting to explain the concept of “transgender” in women’s prisons, this work instead reveals a different prevailing concept in prisoner culture: “aggressor.” Unlike transgender, aggressor does not denote gender identity; rather, it implies presentation and performance as reflective of gendered ways of navigating relationships within the context of a sex-segregated setting. These findings simultaneously affirm the extant literature on gender and sexuality in women’s prisons and complicate the translation of the identity-based concept “transgender” from men’s prisons to a women’s prison.
Article
Prison sex research has primarily focused on overt sexual behaviors, while prisoner attitudes regarding sexuality have received considerably less attention. Moreover, little is known about the implications of such attitudes for prisoner behaviors. Applying a social constructionist framework, the present study explores how sexuality is negotiated and performed during incarceration, and situates these behaviors within the context of dominant attitudes in all-male prison environments. To this end, in-depth, face-to-face interviews were conducted with male parolees from Canadian federal penitentiaries. The results suggest that heteronormativity and homophobia are pervasive in prisoner cultures and are reflected in how sexuality is discursively constructed and acted out by incarcerated men. Implications of the current findings and directions for future research are discussed.
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Is prison a humane form of punishment and an effective means of rehabilitation? Are current prison policies, such as shifting resources away from rehabilitation toward housing more offenders, improving the safety and lives of incarcerated populations? Considering that many Canadians have served time, are currently incarcerated, or may one day be incarcerated-and will be released back into society-it is essential for the functioning and betterment of communities that we understand the realities that shape the prison experience for adult male offenders. Surviving Incarceration reveals the unnecessary and omnipresent violence in prisons, the heterogeneity of the prisoner population, and the realities that different prisoners navigate in order to survive. Ricciardelli draws on interviews with almost sixty former federal prisoners to show how their criminal convictions, masculinity, and sexuality determined their social status in prison and, in consequence, their potential for victimization. The book outlines the modern “inmate code” that governs prisoner behaviours, the formal controls put forth by the administration, the dynamics that shape sex-offender experiences of incarceration, and the personal growth experiences of many prisoners as they cope with incarceration.
Article
Prison sex research has generally followed an essentialist theoretical approach. Only Alarid used a social constructionist approach to understand sexuality behind bars. Using data collected from 142 male inmates in a Southern maximum-security correctional facility, the purpose of the present study was to examine whether engaging in sexual behavior affects a change in the sexual orientation of male prison inmates. Applying a social constructionist theoretical approach, the influence of several sociodemographic and situational variables on the change in sexual orientation was also examined. The only statistically significant variable associated with a change in sexual orientation was engaging in homosexual behavior. Inmates were more than 52 times more likely to change their sexual orientation if they engaged in homosexual activity while incarcerated, supporting the social constructionist approach.
Article
The study of prison sexuality began in the early 1900s with a few scant articles discussing the unnatural relationship between women behind bars. Today, the number of manuscripts on all aspects of sex in prison has increased. However, relatively few studies have focused on these “pains of imprisonment.” This article describes the history of prison sex research in the U.S. over the last 80 years.
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This article focuses on civil liabilities imposed on prison officials for inmate-by-inmate assault in correctional facilities. After briefly discussing the statistical frequency of inmate-by-inmate assault, the article examines Farmer v. Brennan, a case on inmate-by-inmate assault decided in 1994 by the U.S. Supreme Court. Through an analysis of 96 pre-Farmer cases on inmate assault decided in the U.S. circuit courts of appeals, the article outlines the parameters under which officials might be held liable in post-Farmer litigation. The article concludes that the circumstances and situations under which prison officials are liable will not sufficiently change because the realities of judicial decision making may make it difficult for individual judges to distinguish between pre-Farmer and post-Farmer standards.
Book
Written as an intriguing and accessible textbook for courses on gender, sociology, and sexuality, Sexualities in Context presents a broad overview of the socio-cultural elements of sexualities. The summary of the contexts of sex and sexual behaviors/identities is both intelligent and readable. With helpful anecdotes and examples of the social construction of sex and gender roles, students are empowered to think outside their comfort zones and encouraged to explore the topic of sex in a new context. With eminently readable language and useful pedagogical features like end-of-chapter questions, suggested projects, and suggested further readings, Sexualities in Context is the ideal textbook to help students recognize sex as not only a personal issue, but a socially constructed issue as well.
Article
Although the prevalence of sexual assault in U.S. prisons is debated, it is known that the consequences for victims can be quite severe. The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) requires prison officials to keep track of incidents of sexual assault, but accurate figures will be generated only to the extent that inmates regularly report these acts. Male rape itself is a highly underreported phenomenon and even less reported in prisons due to inmate cultural norms that frown upon forwarding inmate information to correctional authorities. This article examines whether prison inmates believe that reporting prison rape is equivalent to snitching and analyzes possible explanations for the inmates' responses. Results indicate that inmates are less likely to view the reporting of prison rape as snitching earlier in their current commitment periods, and White inmates are more likely than Black inmates to think reporting rape is snitching. As this topic is extremely under studied, a number of suggestions for future research are advanced.
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Les études réalisées sur les processus adaptatifs des détenus au milieu carcéral, abordent rarement ensemble les dimensions sociales et psychologiques. Cette recherche, qui repose sur différents protocoles d’entrevue de détenus rencontrés dans des centres de détention, mesure la dynamique de ces processus, en considérant à la fois les particularités culturelles et sousculturelles de l’environnement et les traits de personnalité du détenu. Il a tout d’abord été question d’explorer cette relation sur la base des violences carcérales vécues. À partir de ces résultats, il s’agissait de proposer une typologie différenciant les détenus selon leurs attitudes, leurs opinions ou leurs valeurs portées à l’égard des autres détenus ou du personnel pénitentiaire. Ces idéaux-types proposaient différents modes de socialisation carcéral et de degré d’implication dans la violence. Il a ainsi été possible de déterminer que le mode de socialisation dépendait du type de détention, du temps d’incarcération, du nombre d’incarcérations ou du type de délit. Une troisième étude proposait de comparer ces modes adaptatifs selon les traits de personnalité. Il est apparu que les stratégies adaptatives étaient en cohérence avec celles qui se retrouvaient déjà dans d’autres contextes de vie. Il existait notamment des liens significatifs entre le score à l’échelle de psychopathie et les problèmes disciplinaires ou les différentes formes de violences hétéro ou auto agressives. À partir de ces résultats, il devrait ainsi être possible de prédire les problèmes de comportement en institution carcérale selon une combinaison de facteurs historiques, psychologiques ou sociodémographiques.
Article
Studies concerning inmate-on-inmate sexual assaults within male correctional facilities are sparse in the sociological and correctional literatures. Only a few studies have specifically examined the characteristics of male inmate sexual assault targets. The current research sought to address this gap by providing an examination of factors related to victimization likelihood. Using data gathered in March 2000 from 142 inmates (18% return rate) in one Southern maximum-security prison, the authors examined demographic and behavioral characteristics of male inmate sexual targets. Based on inmates' self-reports of sexual victimization--threatened and/or forced sexual assault encounters--correlates of victimization were identified. Approximately 18% of the inmates reported inmate-on-inmate sexual threats, and 8.5% reported that they had been sexually assaulted by another inmate while incarcerated.
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Heterosexual bias is here defined as a belief system that values heterosexuality as superior to and/or more "natural" than homosexuality. It is argued that the reconceptualization of homosexuality as a valid option for an adult life-style would suggest changes in the questions formulated, the data collected, and the interpretations made in research on lesbianism and male homosexuality. A taxonomy of research questions in this area was generated from English-language journal articles listed in Psychological Abstracts from 1967 through 1974. Case histories, treatment articles, theories, reviews of literature, books, dissertations, and unpublished papers read at conventions were not included. The 139 remaining studies were assessed and reviewed in terms of the extent to which they reflect a change in the social values of the behavior under study. Suggestions are made for priorities in future research. (59 ref)
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Five hypotheses are derived from theories about the inmate social organization of prisons. Interview and record data are gathered in a hospital serving imprisoned narcotic addicts. A Guttman scale is constructed, and associations are measured. The results generally affirm that a prison code is an institutional product expressive of the norms of a prisoner social organization, which serves to help inmates overcome the deprivations of prison living. Evidence also indicates that individual ties to the outside community, as well as individual expectations of possible legitimate rehabilitation, affect the solidarity of that prison social group.
Article
This article examines recent historical literature dealing with concepts of homosexual identity and subculture. It focuses on the current historiographical debate between the essentialists and the social constructionists. Historians are searching for the origins of the modern homosexual and for ways to explain the unique development of homosexual identities and subcultures in western societies. The distinction is drawn between macro analysis and microanalysis. After critically examining their efforts, the article suggest the need to avoid focusing on global historical forces, which might account for the emergence of a homosexual identity (macro analysis), and, instead, to analyze carefully particular homosexual subcultures (microanalysis). This latter approach can provide insights into the variety of homosexual social roles and identities that have existed in history.
Article
The purpose of this paper is to describe the image of gay men and lesbian women in health sciences literature since the demedicalization of homosexuality by American psychiatry in 1973. The process of medicalization and demedicalization of any behavior labeled as deviant in American society has received scant attention until recently. In addition, labeling theory has for the most part ignored the labelers and the process by which powerful groups, in this instance American medicine and other health professions, influence the labeling process. Since the American Psychiatric Association's decision to demedicalize homosexuality from an illness to a “suboptimal condition,” over 700 articles have been published in the health care literature about various aspects of homosexuality, including a continued debate about the health or illness classification of homosexuality. Literature reviewed for this investigation was limited to letters, policy statements, and editorials or articles written between 1974 and 1983 which were germane to the classification issue.
Article
Past research on homosexuality has been based on two assumptions: one that gender is the critical determinant of a sexual relationship, and two, that sexual orientation is an essential condition. This paper argues that investigation of sexual relationships on these bases tests only within rather than between, paradigms of possible relationships. It assumes that choice of partners is based on a number of physical and psychological characteristics apart form their biological sex and that different meanings of sexuality and of the contexts of sexual encounters will determine which characteristics are chosen. It is also suggested that comparisons between groups of exclusive homosexuals and exclusive heterosexuals will not cast light on preferred partner characteristics. It is therefore necessary to look at the preferred partner characteristics of bisexuals in order to understand the bases and significance of homosexual or heterosexual partners choice. Finally, it is concluded that the meanings of homosexuality in difference contexts may be so varied that the possibility of establishing a unified theory of the homosexual identity is precluded.
Article
The definite and persistent phenomenon of sexual assault upon males is virtually ignored in the literature; although incidence data reported her suggest the greater scope of the problem. The avoidance of the subject of sexual assault of males creates a negative environment for victims. While the motivation of assailants is briefly discussed, the article focuses on the psychological aftermath for sexual assault victims. A paradigm is offered, consisting of ôSet-up,ö ôAttack,ö and ôAftermathö phases. Male victims suffer ôRape Trauma Syndromeö as described for females, as well as various forms of stigmatization and secondary trauma. Differences and similarities between male and female victims are identified. Victim responses are discussed as they proceed though several stages, with implications for appropriate intervention on both the clinical and community levels. The article concludes with an extensive bibliography.
Article
The current conceptualization of homosexuality as a condition is a false one, resulting from ethnocentric bias. Homosexuality should be seen rather as a social role. Anthropological evidence shows that the role does not exist in all societies, and where it does it is not always the same as in modern western societies. Historical evidence shows that the role did not emerge in England until towards the end of the seventeenth century. Evidence from the “Kinsey Reports shows that, in spite of the existence of the role in our society, much homosexual behavior occurs outside the recognized role and the polarization between the heterosexual man and the homosexual man is far from complete.
Article
The present paper examines the distinction between prison homosexuality and so-called "true" homosexuality as represented in the male andfemale experience. A thorough review of the literature is provided. Emphasis is on the process of institutional recruitment for desired homosexual roles. This discussion challenges the present dichotomizing of prison homosexuality into true and situational categories, a division that dominates the prison literature. The only crucial dichotomy is between those who come to see themselves as homosexual and those who do not.
Article
Forcible rape is unique among crimes in the manner in which its victims are dealt with by the criminal justice system. Raped women are subjected to an institutionalized sexism that begins with their treatment by the police, continues through a male-dominated criminal justice system influenced by pseudo-scientific notions of victim precipitation, and ends with the systematic acquittal of many de facto guilty rapists. The codification of sexism centers in the legal elements involved in proving guilt and obtaining convictions. In effect, the law's focus upon corrob oration, consent, and character has established a standard of proof in rape cases that is more stringent than "beyond a reasonable doubt." Nonetheless, the processing of rape victims by the criminal justice system is gradually becoming more sensitive, facilitative, and reflective of the trauma experienced by the women involved. The legal position toward the crime is also becoming less sexist and more responsive to the realities involved in sexual assault. Both of these changes have come about through the efforts of the women's liberation movement. The most promising means for achieving more humane and dignified treatment of rape victims in the arms of the law have been "rape crisis centers." This approach to eliminating institutionalized sexism surrounding forcible rape has been significantly aided and abetted by successful attempts to modify the basic definition of the crime and to revise the legal elements needed for conviction.
Article
Although forcible rape and other sexual crimes have been neglected by criminologists until relatively recently, the last decade or so has witnessed a good deal of theoretical and/or research work on these matters. The lines of activity pursued by investigators have been quite varied, but samples of these different interests are included in this review. One major direction has involved macro-level studies of rape rates, both cross-culturally and within the United States. One well-known macro-level theory holds that forcible rape is a means employed by males to maintain sexual inequality, whereas other arguments represent theories of sexual access. Several macro-level research investigations are reviewed, the findings of which appear to be mixed or equivocal. Research focused on individual offenders, such as probing inside the heads of rapists, has also been conducted. Research has been directed at criminal justice system processing of accused rapists, rape law reform, and the impact of the rape experience upon victims. This review also argues that sexual diversity is marked in American society and that more research is called for which identifies the varieties of sexual conduct. Additionally, although some progress has been made in recent years in the direction of a detailed and sophisticated body of theory regarding sexual socialization, more effort needs to be expended upon the articulation of basic theory. Finally, marked progress toward a full understanding of forcible rape may depend upon the accomplishment of this theoretical task.
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The abstract for this document is available on CSA Illumina.To view the Abstract, click the Abstract button above the document title.
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This report updates the U.S. Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) on-going investigation of inmate sexual aggression. Despite the fact that inmate populations are becoming more volatile (greater levels of violence are seen in commitment offenses-prisons are 29% beyond rated capacity) only about two sexual assaults occurred per month in 1983 in a system that confines 31,000 inmates. In previous reports, covering the time period between 1973 and 1977, the same sexual assault frequency was observed. This report also contrasts some of the findings from the Federal study with results from other reports. For example, several major studies contend that racial conflict is a major motivating force behind sexual assaults, but the Federal study calls this interpretation into question. Third, the paper discusses the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ policy on homosexual activity and family visitation programs. Finally, the paper describes some processes in corrections which will make prisons generally safer for all inmates including better inmate risk assessment procedures, accreditation, prison architectural advancements, and work by the National Institute of Corrections. Corrections officials are urged to consider using “rape kits,” a systematic procedure for gathering and testing evidence from alleged assailants and victims of sexual assault.
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This article examines the role of contemporary academic sociology and psychology in the development and maintenance of public attitudes towards homosexuality, by investigating the presentation of homosexuality in abnormal psychology and sociology of deviance textbooks. The sample consisted of the latest editions of 22 psychology and 8 sociology textbooks; all were published in the United States and are currently in print. The findings indicate that the few sociology texts that discuss homosexuality tend to be somewhat more accurate and hence more positive than psychology texts and that psychology texts published since 1974 are more accurate and sympathetic about homosexuality than older texts.
Article
Sexuality research currently needs to re-examine critically its constructs of sexual orientation and identity for theoretical inconsistencies and simplistic assumptions about the nature of sexual desire continue to plague it. This becomes evident when one review how the confluence of heterosexual and homosexual desire in individuals is “explained” by theories that assume a basic dichotomy in sexual orientation. This article examines how categories such as homosexual, heterosexual, and bisexual have developed, and differentiates between their utility as social labels and as scientific constructs. The intrusion of social and political considerations into the scientific investigation of sexuality is noted, and it is suggested that the use of these labels impedes rather than advances such study.
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This chapter is reprinted from Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape, by Susan Brownmiller (1975). Krafft-Ebing, Freud, Adler, Jung, Deutsch, Horney, Marx, and Engels were mostly silent on the topic of rape as a social reality. So it remained for the latter-day feminists, free at last from the strictures that forbade us to look at male sexuality, to discover the truth and meaning in our own victimization. Critical to our study is the recognition that rape has a history, and that through the tools of historical analysis we may learn what we need to know about our current condition. The subject of rape has not been, for zoologists, an important scientific question. No zoologist has ever observed that animals rape in their natural habitat, the wild. But we do know that human beings are different. Man's structural capacity to rape and woman's corresponding structural vulnerability are as basic to the physiology of both our sexes as the primal act of sex itself. Man's discovery that his genitalia could serve as a weapon to generate fear must rank as one of the most important discoveries of prehistoric times, along with the use of fire and the first crude stone axe. Rape's critical function is nothing more or less than a conscious process of intimidation by which all men keep all women in a state of fear. A reflective comment, by Claire M. Renzetti, on this chapter appears at the end of the chapter. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
After several years of study of the sociological influences at work in a typical American state penitentiary of about 2,300 inmates it is concluded that "the prisoner's world is an atomized world. Its people are atoms acting in confusion. It is dominated and it submits. Its own community is without a well-established social structure. Recognized values produce a myriad of conflicting attitudes… There is no consensus for a common goal. The inmates' conflict with officialdom and opposition toward society is only slightly greater in degree than conflict and opposition among themselves. Trikery and dishonesty overshadow sympathy and coöperation. Such coöperation as exists is largely symbiotic in nature. Social controls are only partially effective… . Except for the few, there is bewilderment. No one knows, the dogmas and codes notwithstanding, exactly what is important… . While no effort has been made to compare the prison world with a non-penal community, certain broad similarities become evident. In a sense the prison culture reflects the American culture, for it is a culture within it." Prisonization, or the process of taking on in greater or less degree of the folkways, mores, customs, and general culture of the penitentiary, may so disrupt the prisoner's personality that a happy adjustment in any community becomes next to impossible. The methodologies used were case studies, statistical tabulations, autobiographies, and essays written by prisoners upon a variety of suggested topics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Vita. Thesis (Ph. D)--Sam Houston State University, 1989. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 252-276). Microfiche. s
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Obra en que se revisan diversos factores relacionados con la violación de mujeres. Se analizan las causas y las actitudes hacia la violación, con particular atención hacia los mitos sobre la sexualidad masculina y femenina; se estudian los cambios de actitud hacia este problema promovidos por los movimientos femeninos; y se reflexiona sobre la carga psicológica de la violación. Incluye una serie de testimonios de víctimas, con la finalidad de concientizar a las mujeres sobre la importancia de enfrentar esta problemática, de unirse en contra de ella.
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