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13 Critical Criminology 1 (2005)

handle is hein.journals/ctlcrm13 and id is 1 raw text is: Critical Criminology (2005) 13: 1-16 THE PATTERNS OF MASCULINITY IN PRISON SOCIOLOGY: A CASE STUDY IN ONE TAIWANESE PRISON HSU, HUA-FU National Chung Cheng University Abstract. A prison culture of masculinity shapes the prison macho - boys don't cry. The prison macho is a real man who always hides his feelings and performs like a tough guy. These characteristics are much different from what happens in everyday life in the social spheres, where human being needs to be loved, need concerns and compassion from others and express these to others as well. In the current study, there is a recog- nition of a multiplicity of masculinities and an emphasis on how subjects are continually constituting and constructing their identity. Based on qualitative research, this study analyzes the patterns of masculinity embedded in the daily code of conduct used by prison staff to deal with prisoners and by prisoners to interact with other inmates and constitute their subculture. The investigation of prison sociology in the constitution of masculinity discourses in Tainan Prison contributes to both gender studies and to the literature exploring differences between western and eastern perspectives and policies related to incarceration. Gender relations, according to Messerschmidt (1993), are the structured actions of individuals in social practice. Men, therefore, make mascu- linity according to the social situation in which they find themselves. Male prison is a society dominated by discourses of masculinity due to a sharp hierarchy that exists not only between prisoners and guards but also among prisoners themselves. The daily experience of prisoners can be seen to be consistently and continuously mediated, not simply by their status as numbered individuals within a formal institution, but more fundamentally by their relationship as men with the other pris- oners and guards. In the study of prison sociology, it could be problematic to determine whether there are any patterns of masculinity embedded in the daily prison practice, which could be found in either how the staff cope with prisoners, or within the prisoners' subculture. The present study makes just such an effort, with an overall goal of discovering whether there are informal rules and discretionary decisions used to express masculinity. Prison staff, including uniformed guards in the Tainan Prison, were asked about how they deal with prisoners informally, and their views © Springer 2005

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