NCJ Number
195752
Date Published
2002
Length
14 pages
Annotation
The purpose of this chapter is to describe the sexual roles and hierarchy that exist in prison emphasizing sexual argot (language) beginning in the 21st Century and assessing how these factors have transformed prison subcultures.
Abstract
As inmates become integrated into the prison subculture, there are many issues they are confronted with such as overcrowding, fears of contracting HIV, and the extensive influence of gangs. Inmates must understand the prison subculture in order to survive in prison. The language patterns of prison inmates, known as prison argot is distinct and provides the parameters of understanding and the possibilities of building a social and cultural milieu. One critical component of correctional institution culture that builds on argot roles is the prison sexual hierarchy. This chapter focuses on argot labels and the sexual hierarchy that exists in prisons. The research outlines the early sexual hierarchy and argot roles of males and females and the new sexual hierarchy and argot labels of males and females. Inmates within correctional institutions develop an inmate code consisting of norms and values that structure the informal patterns of life among inmates. The inmate code is universal across all correctional institutions. The argot used by inmates in prisons is one element of imprisonment and the development and perpetuation of the inmate code. Sexual argot roles in prison reflect the organization, language, and status hierarchy of the prison subculture. To survive in prison, inmates must learn to reject the norms of free society and adopt the new normative order. Correctional administrators and staff must learn how to identify the sexual status and associated roles in order to minimize the number of sexual assaults within their institutions. References