Current Issues in Criminal Justice Sexual violence and male prisons: an Australian queer genealogy (original) (raw)
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Queensland's Criminal Justice System and Homosexuality, 1860-1954
Contemporary Queensland has a flourishing GLBTIQ (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer) scene which, although still suffering from discrimination in a society that is premised around a heterosexual norm, is a far cry from the years before 1990 when male homosexuality was a criminal offence. The queer generation has largely moved beyond binaries in gender and sexuality, and at dance parties there is a blending of cultures that knows few of the old boundaries. These new freedoms to express sexuality mean that relationships develop more easily with less fear of opprobrium. Classified advertisements in newspapers and on the internet, sex-on-premises venues and cybersex are all available to facilitate physical desires and as ways of meeting a possible future partner. Yet if one were to survey young gay men today, how many would know that between 1900 and 1990 a sodomy conviction could carry a prison sentence of up to 14 years with hard labour? Or that engaging in 'gross indecency' in public or private (usually oral sex or masturbation) could receive three years with hard labour? How many would know that the death penalty for sodomy was removed in 1865 or that between that year and 1899 the sentence for anal intercourse was 10 years to life imprisonment? 1 There is, however, an older group in the GLBTIQ community whose members remain well aware of the once-criminalised nature of this aspect of male sexuality, the police entrapment that occurred, the pseudo-medical cures and the moral pressure they once faced. They represent a living history of the changed environment and can remember the last prosecutions in 1988, when a man in Roma was charged with 40 counts of carnal knowledge against the order of nature and gross indecency. Four others were also charged and, although the cases were eventually dropped, it was not before one of the men had attempted suicide. 2 Nevertheless, even they would be surprised by the findings of research into the way Queensland's criminal justice system dealt with male homosexuality during its first century. Until a series of law reforms between the 1970s and 1990s, male homosexual activity was a criminal offence in all Australian jurisdictions and subject to severe penalties. This paper is based on an analysis of 464 cases between 1860 and
Sexual deviance in prison: Queering identity and intimacy in prison research
Criminology & Criminal Justice
Recent years have seen increased attention in both research and policy towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender prisoners as a group with distinct needs. This has been driven by wider political recognition of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights and research suggesting that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender prisoners are particularly ‘vulnerable’ to bullying and abuse within prison settings. Much of this research, and the policy solutions associated with it, we argue, ignores or side-steps queer perspectives, relying instead on liberal conceptions of identity, vulnerability and, ultimately, assimilation. Just as contemporary campaigns around marriage rights see lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities and individuals as fundamentally the same as the majority, rather than posing a challenge to the heteronormativity of marriage as an institution, much contemporary research and policy on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender prisoners sees this group as m...
Inhabiting the Australian prison: Masculinities, violence and identity work.
2018
In M. Maycock and K. Hunt (Eds.), New perspectives on prison masculinities (chapter 10). UK: Palgrave Macmillan. This chapter considers the continuum of normative masculinity practices that are valued, embodied and performed ”inside” and ”outside” of the prison. Drawing upon public records generated by official inquiries, it explores the ways in which hierarchies of difference and dominance shape relations within prisons and mirror broader society. Constructs of identity and difference thus intersect in ways that transcend the actions of individuals – these including the use of, and talk about, violence. Within a societal context marked by hierarchical power relations and the normalised positioning of certain others as different and lesser, it is argued that there is nothing fundamentally different about prison culture; (so-called) prison masculinity(ies) reflect ordinary, everyday masculinity(ies).
Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 2010
At the heart of Regina Kunzel's discussion of prison sexual practices is a mountain of evidence that depicts an abiding desire to categorize, to demarcate, and, ultimately, to confine. Indeed, two commonalities shared by many of the actors in this text are tied to this desire: be it prisoners, prison activists, prison administrators, or researchers, many held fast to a belief in a static sexual identity, and many relied on this logic to theorize a clear schema of`who fits where' within a heterosexual^homosexual binary. Kunzel handily takes this need to classify to task; in so doing, she demonstrates the ineffectual if pervasive attachments to notions of unchanging identity and the neat schemas to which these notions gave rise. Kunzel's achievement thus stems from an insightful illustration of the labour that is required to construct and maintain the notion of a sexual binary as a`modern' hegemonic ideology. As she cogently argues,``Revealing the border between homosexuality and heterosexuality to be blurred and permeable, sex in prison suggested that desire and even sexual subject positions were unfixed and unstable, produced at certain moments and in certain circumstances, rather than inhering in the psyche or body'' (page 109). Kunzel's arguments are grounded in the enormous amount of material she amassed, which is particularly remarkable in its range. She draws from, for instance, prison narratives and convict novels; writings by prison reformers and administrators; writings by gay prison activists and activist groups; research conducted by medical doctors, psychologists, sociologists; as well as data mined from popular culture: journalistic accounts and popular representations of prison life as depicted in film and television. She is as diligent as she is thorough, offering very specific explanations for the usefulness and limitations of each type of text, as well as important commentary about how each approach changed over time in its presentation, style, and attempts to reflect or resist dominant discourses about sexuality. In fact, Kunzel's critical discussion of`research findings'ösexologists' reports in one era, conclusions from the use of`scientific diagnostic tools' in anotherö is a lesson in research ethics and methods: it signals the tenuous relationship between the researcher and the research subject, the values that influence the creation of`objective' scientific measures, and the factors that may be at work for those under investigation. For example, she details the reflections of one prisoner about undergoing the Attitude Interest Analysis Survey, more commonly known as the M-F test, which was designed to identify gender inversion öand thus homosexualityöamong prison populations. Required to respond to statements like,``I would like to be a flower arranger'' and``If I were a reporter, I would like to cover the ballet'' (page 85), this male convict gave calculated answers because, Kunzel writes,``given the wide range of penalties incurred by homosexuals in prisonöincluding segregation from the general population, the possibility of long-term institutional commitment, and forfeiture of parole, as well as stigmatization, routine harassment, and vulnerability to sexual assault ö they often had a great deal at stake in appearing to be other than what they were'' (page 84). Kunzel's analysis of the assumed links between gender identity, gender performance, sexual practice, and sexual identity, and the ways these links have been interrogated in order to produce a distinct class of individuals, is a similarly compelling theme throughout the text.`W olves and punks'' (page 66), for example, were men who were understood to enact stereotypical gender roles. Wolves were stereotypically aggressive and masculine, and punks effeminate in their youthful, small stature, or attractive appearance; observers and participants translated these attributes into active or passive status, respectively, in sex acts. Likewise, dominant notions of femininity and female sexuality imbued explanations of the`familial' relationships constructed by female prisoners. For all but butch women, who were systematically ignored by researchers,
Culture, Health & Sexuality, 2019
Many papers have been written on the process of coming out by individuals with predominantly same-sex sexual orientation but few of these papers have explored the concept of how people negotiate the idea of coming out in prison. We conducted indepth interviews with 13 prisoners and one ex-prisoner in New South Wales, Australia, who self-identified as gay, homosexual or bisexual men. Data was collected and analysed using an inductive or grounded theory framework since very little was known on the sexual behaviours and identities of Australian prisoners prior to the study and elsewhere. We examined and discussed the lived experiences of prisoners whose disclosure stories were seen to fall under four thematic categories: 'coming out', 'forced out', 'going back in' and 'staying out of the closet' on entering prison. Respondents were required continuously and contextually to manage their sexual identities and disclosure to different audiences while incarcerated. Findings suggest that the prison environment and its attendant heteronormative values and hypermasculine culture, apply significant pressure on gay and bisexual men on how to manage their sexual identities and disclose their sexuality in prison.
Behind the bars of masculinity: Male rape and homophobia in and about south african men's prisons
Sexualities, 2007
This article explores the dynamics and layers of discourse surrounding sex, sexual violence and coercion in South Africa's men's prisons. Violence in prison-most of which goes unrecorded-is ritualized and is fundamental in establishing inmate identities and hierarchies. Male rape, perhaps the most severely under-reported, is one of many forms of assault occurring (predominantly) between prisoners. Drawing on interviews with (ex-)prisoners, together with related media coverage, I show how in dominant discourses on prison sex and sexual violence a blurring occurs between 'homosexuality' and 'male rape'. Consequently, inclusive understandings of diverse sexualities are negated and sexual violence in prison is denied. I trace how powerful discourses on gender and sexuality make invisible the violence of male rape, and simultaneously demonize same-sex desire behind bars. Moreover, I consider the embryonic discourses that challenge hegemonic understandings, arguing that they have not yet adequately succeeded in producing more accepting understandings of male sexuality or male victimization.
Confined queers: An analysis of the essentialist legal framework of UK prisons
Howard League for Penal Reform Early Career Academics Network Bulletin, 2018
This paper argues that the UK prison complex remains regulated on the basis of gendered and hypermasculine institutionalised dynamics which perpetuate forms of discrimination particularly affecting queer, trans and gender non-conforming individuals. By analysing prison regulations and case law concerning expressions of same-sex sexuality and the management of prisoners who do not comply with the strict gender binary division of the penal estate, this paper intends to propose two arguments. First, the current legal framework, and its interpretation by the Courts of England and Wales, contributes to the vulnerability of queer, trans and gender non-conforming prisoners. Second, oppressive gender and sexual norms are perpetuated by the way a balance is struck between the principles of security, discipline and order and the rights to human dignity and family life. In particular, the reasoning behind this approach is often vague, inconsistent and informed on what Gayle Rubin has called the “sex/gender” system (Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality, 1993), a traditionalist standard where only two genders, male and female, with specific essentialist roles, are recognised. This paper contends that policies on sexuality and gender identity during imprisonment need a comprehensive re-assessment, while their relevance for prison rehabilitation programmes should be more clearly recognised. The recent review of the prison regulations on the care and management of transgender prisoners represents an initial step in this direction, but there still exist areas for further development. To this aim, this contribution makes the case that the interpretation and implementation of international human rights standards based on queer / trans analysis can challenge the heteronormative and gendered character of prison policies, and holds the potential to dismantle current logics of imprisonment.