Blog #13

When we think of correctional officers, police officers or any law enforcement officer for that matter we envision a strong and masculine figure. Dana Britton describes a “hulking man in uniform” and that is indeed what is popularized and reinforced through the media. As a result of the traditional images of correctional officers, when we turn to the images of female correctional officers they tend to be viewed as unfeminine and or representations of “rough and tough” women, meaning that in order to be in this field you have to show some masculine traits. Particularly for guards in male prisons, they are expected to be able to handle potential violent situations therefore we automatically assume that the male guard is the “ideal” candidate for the job. Britton also discusses the advantages that women have working with male prisoners because their traditional nurturing effect gives them the ability to reason and talk to male prisoners or by using the weaker female position so that male prisoners don’t turn physically violent against them. One of Britton’s interviewees described that she communicated to a male prisoner that she liked her face hinting to him that she would like to keep it that way so that he would not assault her.
In addition, prison institutions reinforce the notion that the capacity of the female guard is limited compared to that of her male counterpart and as a result a larger percent of female guards are found in women and juvenile facilities. In federal facilities where pay is greater there is the least number of female officers. According to Britton, women are only making 83% of the wages of their male counterparts. We could then conclude that prisons hold preexisting assumptions of what their “ideal” employees should be and it is evident by the large contrast between male and female corrections officers.