In the Mix: Struggle and Survival in a Women's Prison

by Barbara Owen

Overview

Describes life inside the world's largest women's prison, from the point of view of the women themselves.

The first book-length treatment of the nature of prison culture among women in thirty years, "In the Mix" describes the prison culture in a large California prison, from the point of view of the women themselves. Based on three years of study, including participant-observation, in-depth interviews and surveys, this book describes the daily life of the prison from a variety of perspectives, with an emphasis on the gendered nature of its social organization, roles and normative frameworks.

The title, "In the Mix," describes the contours of prison culture and its themes of trouble, programming and relationships. Common themes, such as the impact of substance use, limited economic opportunity, patriarchy, survival on the streets and in the prison, thread through the individual chapters. Owen argues that prison culture for women is tied directly to the role of women in society as well as a dynamic social structure that is shaped by the conditions of women's lives in prison and in the "free world."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780791436080
Publisher:	State University of New York Press
Publication date:	01/15/1998
Series:	SUNY series in Women, Crime, and Criminology
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Barbara Owen is Professor of Criminology at California State University-Fresno. She is the author of The Reproduction of Social Control: A Study of Prison Workers at San Quentin.

Table of Contents

An Introductory Note

Acknowledgments

1. In the Mix: Struggle and Survival in a Women's Prison

2. A Quasi-Ethnography of Women in Prison: An Overview of Methods

3. Pathways to Imprisonment: Women's Lives before Incarceration

4. Time and Place

5. Relationships Inside and Out

6. The Mix: The Culture of Imprisoned Women

Notes

Bibliography

Subject Index

Author Index

Editorial Reviews

"This examination of current life and culture in a women's prison is timely given the dramatic increase in the number of women incarcerated in the U.S. over the past decade and significant in that it illuminates the many differences between the ways in which men and women 'do time.'" — Tracy Huling, Criminal Justice Consultant

"This work is an important contribution to the field of women/criminal justice and would be useful to academicians and also to those charged with the responsibility of designing policy responses to address the rising rates of female incarceration." — Zelma W. Henriques, John Jay College, City University of New York

From the Publisher

In the Mix is essential reading for those interested in corrections. Owen's books provides a wealth of information on about how female inmates deal with incarceration, and how their reponses differ from those of male inmates. She paints a complete, textured picture of life in a women's prison.
—Corrections Today

Craig Hemmens

Owen (criminology, California State U.) draws on three years of participant-observation, in-depth interviews, and surveys of women confined in the largest women's prison in the world. Common themes, such as the impact of substance use, limited economic opportunity, patriarchy, and survival thread through her description of daily life in prison which emphasizes the gendered nature of its social organization. She examines how women themselves learn about, navigate, and shape the prison experience, and argues that prison culture for women is tied directly to the role of women in society. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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