Under Watchful Eyes: Gendered Surveillance and Control in Correctional Officers’ Disciplinary Narratives of Incarcerated Women

Abstract

Disciplinary practices in women’s prisons are thought to extend beyond institutional rule enforcement to regulate gender performance, yet how officers frame and document these practices remains understudied. Accordingly, this study examines the language officers use to characterize women’s behavior in disciplinary report narratives. Thematic analysis of all disciplinary reports issued to women in a northeastern state prison system during 2019 (N = 2,628) reveals three interrelated themes: (1) the surveillance and suppression of women’s interpersonal relationships; (2) the strict regulation of women’s appearance and self-presentation; and (3) the labeling of women as insolent and defiant. These gendered characterizations appear prominently across disciplinary narratives, reinforcing hegemonic norms of middle-class femininity and creating a double bind for women in prison: Conforming to gendered expectations reinforces their disempowerment, while resisting triggers disciplinary action. Disciplinary practices thus function as mechanisms of patriarchal control, reproducing gender-based oppression through the systematic subordination of incarcerated women.

Plain Language Summary

How the Language Officers Use in Disciplinary Reports Enforces Traditional Gender Norms in Women’s Prisons

This study examines how correctional officers describe women’s behavior when writing disciplinary reports in prison. We analyzed all 2,628 disciplinary reports written about incarcerated women in one state prison system during 2019. We found three main patterns in how officers described women: First, officers closely monitored and documented women’s friendships and relationships with each other, treating everyday interactions like hugging, laughing together, or visiting each other’s rooms as threatening and problematic. Second, officers heavily regulated women’s physical appearance, writing reports about minor dress code issues, hairstyles, and grooming practices. Third, officers frequently characterized women as disrespectful, defiant, or insolent. These patterns appeared regardless of what rule was actually violated, showing that officers use disciplinary reports to enforce traditional expectations about how women should behave and what a “rehabilitated woman” should be. This creates a difficult situation for incarcerated women: if they conform to these gendered expectations, they reinforce their own powerlessness, but if they resist, they face punishment. These disciplinary reports become permanent parts of women’s prison records and can negatively affect their opportunities for education, programs, parole, and release, with serious consequences for their lives and families. Our findings reveal that despite reform efforts, women’s prisons continue to enforce outdated gender norms through their disciplinary practices.