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9 Feminist Criminology 3 (2014)

handle is hein.journals/femcrim9 and id is 1 raw text is: Article Feminist Criminology 2014, Vol 9(1) 3-23 Is Motherhood Important? TheAuthor(s)203 Reprints and permissions: Impri ed Women's sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1557085113504450 Maternal Experiences Before fcx.sagepub.com and During Confinement OSAGE and Their Postrelease Expectations Sandra L. Barnes' and Ebonie Cunningham Stringer2 Abstract In recent years, sharp increases in the female prison population have landed more mothers behind bars. While the experiences of imprisoned women may differ substantially from free mothers, studies suggest that motherhood is important for many imprisoned mothers. The current study uses a sample of 210 imprisoned mothers and multivariate modeling to investigate how familial relationships before and during imprisonment and mothers' postrelease expectations influence the salience of maternal identity. Findings suggest that regardless of demographic factors, close mother-caregiver relationships, contact with family during imprisonment, and expecting to have custody of children upon release positively impacts imprisoned women's mothering identities. Keywords prison, women, mothers, identity, family While feminists debate the contemporary features of the maternal role and identity, motherhood has historically been viewed as a central feature of femininity. Receiving social cues from dominant family models, many girls are socialized from a young age to internalize conventional roles that present mothers as sensitive, ever-present nurtur- ers, problem solvers, and teachers (Collins, 2000; O'Reilly, 2006). Women who embrace and perform this role well often enjoy praise and enhanced social status. Given the nature of gendered socialization and the associated social rewards, mothering can 'Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA 2Wingate University, Wingate, NC, USA Corresponding Author: Sandra L. Barnes, Department of Human and Organizational Development and the Divinity School Peabody #90, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN 37203-5721. Email: sandra.l.barnes@Vanderbilt.Edu

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