Pastel Fascism (Part 2): Reflections on the Plight of Women Prisoners

• In Event: Coping with Imprisonment: Experiences of Male and Female Inmates

Abstract

With respect to the carceral experiences of women prisoners, little has changed. Women’s issues and prison issues continue to share intersecting concerns. Many women who are imprisoned have backgrounds of economic disadvantage and have limited personal and social resources to change their circumstances. Moreover, institutional rules and programmatic opportunities available to women in prison, contribute to the continuation of their disadvantaged status. Thousands of women are being released from prison each year with no safety net to assist survival and combat recidivism. The hurdles and barriers that present themselves are often cumbersome and challenging. To say “we’ve come a long way, baby,” in free or imprisoned worlds, is laughable. This paper explores the “lived” experience(s) of women prisoners and the alleged improvements that academicians and practitioners continue to attempt to “sell” to the public - and one another - regarding the lives of women prisoners.

Author

• Barbara H. Zaitzow, Appalachian State University