agnes goes to prison: sexual assault and the “olympics of gender authenticity” among transgender...

Agnes Goes to Prison: Sexual Assault and the “Olympics of Gender Authenticity” Among Transgender Inmates

in California’s Prisons

presented at the

Gender Matters Symposium

sponsored by the Consortium for Women and Research

The University of California, Davis

by

Valerie Jenness, Ph.D. Department of Criminology, Law and Society

Department of SociologyUniversity of California, Irvine

April 23, 2010

From Policy to Prisoners to People: A JourneyToward Understanding How “Gender Matters”

presented at the

Gender Matters Symposium

sponsored by the Consortium for Women and Research

The University of California, Davis

by

Valerie Jenness, Ph.D. Department of Criminology, Law and Society

Department of SociologyUniversity of California, Irvine

April 23, 2010

“Ideas about gender have shaped prisons, literally and figuratively, from their very first appearance as institutions of social control. Nineteenth-century reformers made women’s presumed inherent difference from men the primary basis of their case for separate institutions for women, run exclusively by female staff. In a similar way, ideas about masculinity played a role in the architecture and styles of discipline advocated in early men’s prisons.”

--Dana Britton, 2003, p.3

Good Reasons to Study Transgender Inmates

• Growing awareness of transgender people in the U.S.

“Transgender” Enters the National Lexicon

Source: Newsweek, May 2007

Transgender People in Popular Culture

Candis Cayne plays Carmelita, a transgender character, on the new show “Dirty Sexy Money.” Candis Cayne is transgender herself.

Roberta Close: "At one time (and perhaps still) the most famous transwoman of the Latin world."


• Growing awareness of transgender people in carceral settings– 2008 California State Senate hearing: “Issues Facing Gay, Lesbian,

Bisexual and Transgender Inmates in California Prisons” (see testimony available today!)


Source: Schwartzapfel, B. 2010. Fixing Corrections. The Advocate, Issue 1033/1034, 20.



Bisexual and Transgender Inmates in California Prisons” (see testimony available today!)

• High-profile court cases brought forth by transgender inmates– Farmer v. Brennan (U.S. Supreme Court)

– Giraldo v. the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (San Francisco Superior Court)


Dee Deirdre Farmer, aka Douglas Farmer

Judge delays trans prisoner's trial

Issue: Vol. 37 / No. 29 / 19 July 2007

Transgender prisoner Alexis Giraldo, who is suing the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for its failure to protect her from sexual assault, appeared in San Francisco Superior Court on Monday, July 9 only to learn that her trial was delayed.

Jose A. Zelidon-Zepeda and Emily Brinkman, deputy state attorneys general, successfully delayed Giraldo's trial by filing a petition with the California Superior Court in San Francisco late July 6 to move the case to the United States District Court in Sacramento. Due to the presence of the petition and processing delays, Superior Court Judge Ellen Chaitin, who was surprised by the timing of the petition, stayed the request until Monday, July 16 to begin trial. The court is awaiting the federal court's decision to either reject the petition or receive an order to move the case to federal jurisdiction.

The delay presents a problem in Giraldo's case, according to her attorney Greg Walston, because as of Friday, July 13, Giraldo will be paroled and therefore she will no longer be in state custody. According to Walston, this motion will make it difficult to have the court award and enforce an order to change CDRC's housing and treatment policies of transgender prisoners by making Giraldo's claim moot.

"The attorney general's desperate petition has bought him one more week, but he will still lose," said Walston of the Walston Legal Group, who viewed the petition as "frivolous and untimely."

"This action brings to light the troubling and ongoing civil rights violations," said Walston, citing that transgender prisoners are "15 times more likely to suffer sexual assault than other inmates," which due to the population size in comparison with the number of assaults that occur, according to Walston, "prove that a majority of transgender inmates are raped in prison.“

Walston cited a study released last month conducted by Valerie Jenness, Professor, the University of California, Irvine for the CDCR.



Bisexual and Transgender Inmates in California Prisons”

• High-profile court cases brought forth by transgender inmates– Farmer v. Brennan

– Giraldo v. the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

• Legislative mandates (PREA, SADEA, and AB 382)


AB 382 Specifies:


• Growing Awareness of transgender people in carceral settings– 2008 California State Senate hearing: “Issues Facing Gay, Lesbian,




• Legislative mandates (PREA, SADEA, and AB 382 [pending])

• High rates of sexual assault among transgender inmates (Jenness, Maxson, Matsuda and Sumner, 2007) found in CDCR-funded study.


Violence in California Correctional Facilities:

Valerie Jenness

Cheryl L. Maxson Kristy N. Matsuda

Jennifer Macy Sumner

Criminology, Law and Society

University of California Irvine, California 92697-7080

Center for Evidence-Based Corrections

April 27, 2007

An Empirical Examination of Sexual Assault

Report submitted to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation by

AcknowledgmentsProject Managers• Kristy Matsuda • Jennifer Sumner

CDCR• Bubpha Chen • John Dovey• Sharon English• Nola Grannis• Nancy Hardy• Kimberly Kaufman• Sandi Menefee• Wendy Still• Jeanne Woodford• Wardens and other prison administrators

and correctional officers at seven prisons from which data were collected

Research Consultants • Allen Beck• Mark Fleisher• Alexander L. Lee• Merry Morash• Andie Moss

Stop Prisoner Rape• Lovisa Stannow• Lara Stemple

UC Research Team/Consultants• Victoria Basolo• Lyndsay Boggess• Philip Goodman• Ryken Grattet• John Hipp• Lynn Pazzani• Joan Petersilia• Amelia Regan• Michael Smyth• Rebecca Trammell• Susan Turner• Sylvia Valenzuela• Guadalupe Vidales

Inmates• Hundreds whose names will remain

confidential

“The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation staunchly supports the Prison Rape Elimination Act. We recognize the need for swift action. And I’ve made a commitment to a strategic planning process for complying with PREA. Not just because it’s the law, but because we have made a commitment to safe prisons and treating inmates humanely.”

-- Roderick Hickman Secretary of the CDCR

(when the PREA became law)

Major Findings

1. Prevalence of Sexual Assault/Misconduct

2. Characteristics of Victims

3. Characteristics of Incidents

4. The Lived Experience

Random Sample Transgender Sample Prevalence of Sexual Assault 4.4% 59%

Prevalence of undesirable sexual acts 1.3% 48.3%

Weapon actually used if involved 20% 75%

Officer Aware of the Incident 60.6% 29.3%

Provision of Medical Attention (if needed) 70% 35.7%

Racial composition (% of incidents interracial) 17.2% 63.9%

Relational Distance Evenly distributed Skewed toward familiarity

Select Differences between the Random Sample and the Transgender Sample

Frequency of Victimization

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Once Two toFive

Over Five Once Two toFive

Over Five

Random Sample Transgender Sample

Frequency of Victimizations

Per

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In

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es W

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Rep

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Vic

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izat

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Occ

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Sexual Assault

Non-Sexual Assault

Key Recommendations for Research

Research on other incarcerated populations, such as women and juveniles.Additional research on transgender inmates, non-heterosexual inmates, inmates of color, inmates with mental health problems, and inmates that are small in stature.


• Growing awareness of transgender people in carceral settings.– 2008 California State Senate hearing: “Issues Facing Gay, Lesbian,





• High rates of sexual assault among transgender inmates (Jenness, Maxson, Matsuda and Sumner, 2007) found in CDCR-funded study

• Systematic, empirical examination of transgender inmates is lacking



• Growing awareness of transgender people in carceral settings.– 2008 California State Senate hearing: “Issues Facing Gay, Lesbian,





• High rates of sexual assault among transgender inmates (Jenness, Maxson, Matsuda and Sumner, 2007) found in CDCR-funded study

• Systematic, empirical examination of transgender inmates is lacking

• To learn about how “gender matters” in carceral environments.


More Research!

$199,999 and Access to Prisons and Inmates

Project Managers• Lori Sexton• Jenn Sumner

Research Assistant• Tim Goddard

Research Consultants • Francesca Barocio• Lori Kohler, M.D.• Alexander L. Lee• Cheryl Maxson• Richard McCleary• Jodi O’Brien• Denise Taylor, M.D.• LGBT community members

Stop Prisoner Rape (now “Just Detention”)

• Lovisa Stannow• Linda McFarlane

CDCR• Nola Grannis• Tina Hornbeak• Suzan Hubbard• Marisela Montes• Karen Henderson• Betty Viscuso• Wendy Still• Wardens and other prison

administrators and correctional officers at 28 prisons from which data were collected

UCI Research Team• Akhila Ananth• Victoria Basolo• Philip Goodman• Kristy Matsuda• Randy Myers• Gabriela Noriega• Lynn Pazzani• Sylvia Valenzuela

Transgender InmatesHundreds, whose names will remain confidential

Acknowledgements

Scope Conditions

Target Populations1. All transgender inmates residing in California state

prisons, including “ad seg” and SHU unitsNote: EOP is included

2. English- and Spanish-speaking inmates

Target Behaviors1. Presenting as female (inside and outside prison)

2. Inmate-on-inmate sexual assault

3. Inmate-on-inmate non-sexual assault

(for comparative purposes)

Central Questions

– What are the demographic characteristics of transgender inmates?

– In what types of physical, social, and intimate environments are transgender inmates housed?

– What is the overall prevalence of physical and sexual victimization for transgender inmates?

– How does victimization vary in accordance with the demographic characteristics of inmates?

– How does it vary with the physical, social, and intimate features of their housing environments?

BALTIMORE - Maryland Division of Correction officials say they have no set policies to deal with transsexual inmates — though they now have one ordered to their custody. “We take them one case at a time,” prison spokesman George Gregory said. Spokeswoman Maj. Priscilla Doggett said prison officials will evaluate Dee Deirdre Farmer, also known as Douglas Farmer, 41, to determine whether she should be housed with men or women. “We will do a full intake and assessment to determine the correct placement,” she said. Farmer was sentenced Wednesday to 18 months in the state prison system, after pleading guilty to faking her own death to avoid other criminal charges. She was transferred from the Baltimore City Detention Center to the Maryland Division of Correction on Thursday, said Barbara Cooper, a spokeswoman for the city jail.Cooper said she could not release whether Farmer was housed with men or women. Farmer presented a forged court order indicating that she had died to the State Division of Vital Records, which noticed something unusual about the order and reported it to the Attorney General’s Office, prosecutors said. The order was a complete fabrication, prepared by Farmer in hopes of being able to use the altered death certificate to get unrelated criminal charges pending against her in federal court and Baltimore County Circuit Court dismissed, according to prosecutors. Farmer was born as a male under the name Douglas Farmer, but had a partial sex change operation and now lives as a woman. A few years ago, Farmer changed her Maryland birth certificate, using a court order from North Carolina, to reflect that she was a woman with the name Dee Deirdre Farmer. Farmer previously sued federal prison officials over a 1989 rape that occurred after Farmer entered a federal prison for men in Terre Haute, Ind. Her lawsuit claimed the government violated the constitution’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment by ignoring the risk that she would be raped by other prisoners, because of her feminine appearance. Farmer had been sentenced to a 20-year federal sentence for credit card fraud. Through her attorney, she declined to comment on this story.

State Prison Officials Not Sure Where to House Transgender Inmate

Dee Deirdre Farmer, aka Douglas Farmer

Prison 1 Prison 2 Prison 3 Prison 4 Prison 33

Inmate1

Inmate2

Inmate3

Inmate~300

Transgender Study Research Design

Housing1

Current

•Physical Location•Perceptions of the Environment•Programming•Perceptions of Staff•Perceptions of Other Inmates•Social Support – In Prison•Intimate Relationships•Actual Victimization•Transgender Identity/Presentation•Social Support – Outside Prison

Primary Interview Schedule

•General Perceptions of Victimization and Housing•Life History of Actual Victimizationin Correctional Facilities•Life History of Actual VictimizationOutside Prison•Perceptions/Interpretations of Violence•Informal Social Control•Social Cohesion/Trust•Individual Characteristics•Transgender Identity/Presentation•Perceptions of Respect•Incarceration History

Defining and Describing “Transgender”

• A clear, simple criteria to identify our target population– Do you identify as transgender?– Do you present yourself as female/feminine/transgender?– Are you currently taking female hormones?– Do you attend a transgender support group?

• Establishing a common meaning for all respondents [during the interview]– “Knowing that different people use different terms for things, I

want to clarify that, during this interview, when I talk about transgender inmates, I am referring to those inmates who identify or present as female in men’s prisons.”

Identifying Transgender Inmates

Names Provided751

Seen by Study Staff505

Determined to be Transgender332

Completed Interview315

Variation in Data Collection on Transgender Inmates by Prison

Summary of Data Collection

• 9 weeks

• 8 interviewers

• 27 prisons

• 315 face-to-face interviews (95% participation rate)– Interviews could consist of as many as 305 questions

– Interviews averaged 56 minutes

Summary of Interviewer Characteristics and Transgender

Inmate Participation by Interviewer

Project Design – Official CDCR Data

• CDC#, LifeNo• Name• Race/Ethnicity• Sex• Birthday• Height• Weight• Earliest Parole Release Date• Projected Release Date• Sentence• Primary Institution Location• Secondary Institution Location• Offense Category• Sex Registration• Mental Health Treatment Need• Classification Score• Classification Level• Sentence Type

• Gang Affiliation• Gang Verification• Age at First Arrest• Age at Admission• Highest strike count• Lifer• Movement Effective Date• Birthplace• Admission Date (arrived at CDCR for first

conviction under CDCR#)• Movement Type• Release Date• Current Location• Cell Bed• Administrative Determinant• Immigration Hold• Commitment Type (Felony, Narcotics, etc.)

Major Findings

1. Demographic Profile

2. Aggregate Prevalence Rate

3. Prevalence by Characteristics of Transgender Inmates

4. Prevalence by Characteristics of Prisons

5. Prevalence by Housing Assignments

6. Prevalence by Social-Interactional Factors (i.e., Lived Experiences in Prison)

7. Beyond Prevalence: Further Considerations

1. Demographic Profile

FIRST PUBLICATION (available today): “Where the Margins Meet: A Demographic Assessment of Transgender Inmates in Men’s Prisons,” Lori Sexton, Valerie Jenness, and Jennifer Sumner. Justice Quarterly. In Press.• Transgender Community• California Prison Population (Men’s Prisons Only)• U.S. Prison Population (Men’s Prisons Only)• California Population• U.S. Population

Variation Within the Transgender Inmate Population

• Diversity exists with regard to:– Gender identity

• Preferred gender identity label

– Sexual Orientation

– Sexual Attractions

– Gender Presentation• Female presentation before incarceration

• Plans to present as female upon release from prison

Distribution of Gender Identities

47

Distribution of Sexual Orientations

48

Distribution of Sexual Attractions

Understanding diversity can be slow-going!

50

Continuity of Female Presentation

• Female presentation prior to incarceration– “Were you presenting yourself as female before this most recent

incarceration?”

• Expected female presentation upon release from prison– “If you were released, would you present yourself as female outside

of prison?”

• The majority of transgender inmates reported continuous female presentation before and after incarceration– Continuous female presentation before and after prison: 76.7%

– Discontinuous female presentation before and after prison: 23.3%

Continuity of Female Presentation

2. Aggregate Prevalence

Prevalence of Inmate-on-Inmate Sexual Assault for Transgender

Inmates• Sexual assault: “Have you ever had to do sexual things

against your will with another inmate?”– “Just to be sure, have any of the following things ever happened

to you: groping or fondling, kissing, genital contact, oral sex or penetration against your will?”

• Prevalence:– 23.8% in current housing unit

– 58.5% during entire incarceration history (while presenting as female)

– 41.7% prevalence of sexual assault outside of prison (while presenting as female)

Prevalence of Inmate-on-Inmate Sexual Assault/Misconduct

• When you expand assault to include sexual misconduct, the numbers grow

• Sexual misconduct: “What about things that were perhaps not against your will, but that you would rather not have done?”

• Prevalence:– 34.6% in current housing unit


– 62.4% prevalence of sexual assault/misconduct outside of prison (while presenting as female)

Prevalence of Staff-on-Inmate Sexual Assault and Assault by a

Police Officer• Correctional staff

– 0.6% in current housing unit


• Assault by a law enforcement officer outside of prison– 15.2% (while presenting as female)

Transgender Inmates Experience More Sexual Victimization than

Male Inmates Male Inmates Transgender Sample Transgender Population

(2007) (2007) (Current)

Prevalence of sexual assault 4.4% 59% 58.5%

(Entire incarceration history)

Prevalence of sexual assault/misconduct 4.7% 71.8% 69.4%

(Entire incarceration history)

2. Predictors of Prevalence

58

Time in current housing unit + +

Age NS NS

Ethnicity Hispanics less likely Hispanics less likelySmall in stature NS NS

INDIVIDUAL-LEVEL CHARACTERISTICS

Results from binomial logistic regressionResults significant at p < .05

Sexual Assault Sexual Assault/Misconduct

Partial model of sexual victimization in current housing unit

Commitment offense NS NS

Custody level NS NS

Lifer status NS NS

Sex offender status NS NS

Mental health designation NS NS

59

Older or newer prison NS NS

Reception center NS NS

Highest custody level NS NS

PRISON-LEVEL PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS


Population size NS NS

Crowding NS NS

Staffing levels NS NS

Concentrated transgender population NS NS



60

Controlled unit NS NS

Specialized unit NS NS

Group unit + NS

UNIT-LEVEL PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS




61

SOCIAL/INTERACTIONAL/SUPPORT CHARACTERISTICS



Portion of other inmates transgender - NS

Portion of friends transgender NS NS

Time spent with transgender inmates NS NS

Sentiment about transgender friends

Trust in transgender friends NS NS

Feel that transgender friends care - -


Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) was an American inventory and businessman who developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph and the long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. He isis considered one of the most prolific inventors in history, holding 1,093 U.S. patents in his name, as well as many patents in the United Kingdom, France and Germany.

“Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.”

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.”

63

INTIMATE-INTERACTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS



Sexual relationship with inmate + +

Marriage-like relationship with inmate + +


64

FULL MODEL



Full model of sexual victimization in current housing unit

Time in current housing unit NS NS

Portion of friends transgender NS -

Feel that transgender friends care - NS

Sexual relationship with inmate + +

Ethnicity Hispanics less likely NS

Group unit + NS

65

FULL MODEL



Full model of sexual victimization in current housing unit with odds ratios

Time in current housing unit NS NS

Portion of friends transgender NS 0.8

Feel that transgender friends care 0.3 NS

Sexual relationship with inmate 5.3 4.2

Ethnicity Hispanics less likely (0.3) NS

Group unit 5.6 NS

Humor Break

3. “The Olympics of Gender Authenticity” Among Transgender Inmates in California

Prisons

“Clocked” in an alpha male community

“In prison, there’s no passing because I’m in here and I’m already clocked.”-- A Hispanic transgender inmate in level 4 prison

“Prison is an alpha male community. It’s run by alpha males. So, we’re perceived as punks—just women. No one is going to come up to me and give me the respect they give my old man. They see me as his property. And I guess I am. We’re seen as weak—a lower species. In a sense we are. But, people should not be taken in by the illusion. Don’t forget: we’re men. We’re just trying to get by in an alpha male community. You women—you are a woman—you have it easy. I don’t have it easy, but I have it easier while being in prison.”

-- A Hispanic transgender inmate in a level 4 prison

The Olympics of Gender Authenticity

• A dynamic related to how gender is accomplished by “the girls among men,” to quote how transgender inmates in prison describe themselves.

• Specifically, among transgender inmates in prisons for men, there is:– a recognition of standing as “male”– a palpable and well-articulated desire to secure standing as a “real

girl” or “the best girl” in a sex-segregated institutional environment; – a commitment to “acting like a lady” to earn respect and special

treatment from other inmates;– a competition for the attention and affection of “real men” in prison

as a measure of gender status; and– a commitment to displaying markers of gender that can best be

described as a Victorian.

• The situated accomplishment of gender and violence in men’s prison.

The recognition of standing as male…

• “I was born a man. I would never deny god’s work.”– A Hispanic transgender inmate who considers periodic stays in prison the price of running drugs.

• “I know I’m not a girl; I was born a boy. But I have tendencies as a girl.” – An African American transgender prisoner who lived as a woman on the streets in LA and worked as a prostitute

for over 20 years

• “I’m 40 D. Not many like that in here. And, I have a big ass, we call it booty. I don’t mind being on a yard with other transgenders because they can’t match this. And, the hormones shrink your dick and I don’t have any testicles. I had them cut off when I was a teenager…. When you’re in prison, everyone knows who you are—a man—it’s not a big secret. Or, at least they think they know who you are. I’m a man. I’m not confused. I’m not a woman. I know I don’t bleed, I can’t produce children, I don’t have a pussy, I have breasts because I grew them with hormones. It’s not like you. I just assume your breasts are natural. Anyone who says “I’m just like you” is full of shit. C’mon. We’re women, but not like you. You know the difference, I know the difference, and they know the difference. There’s a lot of lying bullshit going on in here, but no more than on the street. Those bitches on the street lie, too.”

– An African American transgender inmate who reported removing her own male genitals and being on hormones to enhance her feminine appearance since her teen years.

The desire to be a real girl…

• An interviewee asked me if I was a “real girl” and when I said “yes” she smiled and said “oh, that must be nice.”

• “Val, you’re a biologic, right? [note: earlier she explained that being a biologic means being born biologically female] After I said ”yes,” she said ”I figured. We have the utmost respect for biologics. You are perfection. I am memorex. You are what I can never attain. But, like all good memorexes, I try to get close. Always a copy. Never the real deal. But a damn good copy. People can’t tell the difference between the real deal and a damn good copy. You’re real. I’ll never be the same. Do you know Lt. Commander Data looks human and acts human, but will never be human. He’s an android, not a human. It’s kind of the same.”

– An outspoken White transgender inmate in a long-term prison marriage while serving a life sentence; self-identifies as “tg ring leader” who “takes care of the girls around here”

• When asked about getting respect and being transgender: “They [respect me because they] see that I’m all the way out—that I’m the real deal. I’m going all the way. I’m hoping to have surgery. I’m not a tg, I’m a woman. I have my breasts from hormones. I’m the real deal. I want Marcy Bowers [well known surgeon in Colorado who is on tv and is a MTF transgender herself] to do the surgery].”

– A Hispanic transgender inmate with a long history in sex work and with drug addiction and imprisonment

The importance of acting like a lady…

• “Act Like a Lady” poster above the toilet in an African American transgender inmate’s cell in a reception center.

• VJ: Does appearing more feminine get you respect from other (non tg) inmates?“Yes.” VJ: Why? “They give me a different pardon. If I’m going in line to chow, it’s likely someone will let me go first.” VJ: What exactly is a special pardon? “A pardon is a special consideration. That’s what makes me feel respected. It’s tasteful, especially if it comes from a regular guy. That’s him telling me that I’m carrying myself like a lady. It’s about being treated like a lady and made to feel like a lady. That special pardon. The more you get special pardons, the more you are being treated like a lady.”

• “I am a man, but I choose to look like a woman and I want to be treated like a woman. That’s what makes me transgender. I recently had an argument with my cellie and he told me to put my shoes on, which means to fight. I wouldn’t put them on. I wouldn’t fight.”

VJ: So women don’t fight?

“Right.”

VJ: What else makes you feel treated like a woman?

“All the courtesies a man would afford a woman, like my trays are cleared by my cellie—he takes my tray in chow line.”

The “cult of true womanhood” still largely applies as “true women” should possess four virtues: piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity.

--Patricia Hill Collins 1991….From transgender prisoners

• “Stay in the women’s spot. Don’t talk bad. Don’t make comments about things that don’t concern you. Being a woman is about staying in line.”

• “If you see me as a man, then give me respect as a man. If you see me as a woman, then respect me as a woman. As a man, you get respect on your own terms. As a woman you get respect born of a connection to another man. We’re seen as property—“that’s Mike’s man.” We’re respected as property, not as people. It’s better than no respect at all.• “If that’s that’s the way I lived on the streets [as tg], then why can’t I use it here? I want to use Secret

deodorant, not Brute for men. They don’t understand why we want Oil of Olay and a facial mask. These are just things women need. Women’s shoes, that’s what I want. They are always trying to make me a man. They say ‘you shouldn’t be a girl, this is a men’s prison.’”

• VJ: What does a lady act like?“No sleeping with everyone. No going out on the yard with just a sports bra on. C’mon, you know what a lady acts like. It’s being proper.”

On competition among the ladies….

• VJ: Would you prefer more transgender inmates in your housing unit?

“I’m not sure. Fewer, I guess. Right now all eyes are on me. I mean, I’m pretty and I intimidate them. I’ve got this [frames face] and these [cusps small breasts]. Girls want these, I got them. I have a whole waiting list of folks [in here] who want me—people don’t care that I’m HIV cuz I’m pretty and I know how to please men. At [name of prison], I’m the hottest thing. They [other transgender inmates] say I’m cute. I’m pretty. But deep down inside they’re jealous. Still, I love tgs—that’s why I became one.”

-- An African American transgender inmate from another state who self-identifies as a “crack whore on the street”

• VJ: How often have you felt pressure from other inmates to do sexual things against your will?

“Yes, they flirt, but it’s not pressure. That’s just play. They know what kind of person I am—monogamous. I don’t behave like slut. Most of the other girls do, but I don’t. I respect myself too much. [I] don’t want to live with other tgs—it’s like too many women in the kitchen. It sounds so selfish, but less tg inmates is better; like I said, too many women in the kitchen. Too much promiscuity. I want a relationship that is monogamous. Some of the girls, I don’t respect. They are more promiscuous. They are nasty. Skanky. They are. I’m not like that.”

-- An HIV positive African American transgender inmate who just broke up with her cellmate/institutional husband and has “a gentleman on the street who is waiting for me.”

On competition among the ladies….

VJ: Does appearing more feminine get you respect from other transgender inmates?

“I’m not sure. Sometimes it’s jealousy, competition. If people compete with me that means they respect me enough to treat me as a girl—and they compete.”

– A transgender inmate who is a lifer and has served over 20 years in over 10 different prisons

“Some respect you a lot; some are angered because you do better than they—you look better; some are angry because you’re not normal. Lots goes on when you’re trying to be fem. It’s fun, dangerous, and it’s real. All girls learn from other girls. Tgs learn from other tgs. It’s a way of learning to do things better, to be better women.”-- An older, white, transgender inmate who reports “my morals have come a long way.”

“No, they’re jealous. It’s like a beauty pageant. You’re all here and seemingly getting along. But not really. Really it’s a competition. They smile to your face, but not sincerely. There’s only one winner and maybe runner-up.”-- A young Hispanic transgender inmate who has been living as a female since age 14, went on hormones at age 15, and came to prison at 18 to serve a lengthy sentence (over two decades)

On the importance of getting attention from men….

• VJ: Would you prefer more trangender inmates in your housing unit? “We call them [other transgender inmates] bitches, but with affection. Because the straights will try to hit on them as much. It’s odd. You want friends, but you don’t’ want the hassle, the drama that comes with them. I’m torn. I want them around, but I don’t want them around. It’s good and bad.”

-- A Hispanic, bisexual transgender inmate who desires to be “normal” after leaving prison

• “We [my husband in prison and I] clicked and we have a lot in common. He’s very supportive of me. Because I’m on a HIV regime he does nice things for me.” VJ: Like what?“Well, like hold my hair when I vomit in the cell and not get mad at me.” -- A white transgender inmate who has been in and out of prison many times and reports struggling with drug addiction

• “I was going into chow and a couple of other inmates grabbed my ass and told me how sweet it is. They are males who are here and want sex. It’s like a guy who goes to the strip club. I’m the entertainment and the meat. I wasn’t offended. Those kinds of comments and gropes—I find it complimentary at my age. I’m [over 50]. I’m glad I can still draw the attention.”

-- A white transgender inmate who has served over 20 years of a life sentence in more than 10 prisons.

• VJ: what is the best way for transgender inmates to avoid being victimized?“Get someone to protect you. He’ll take you under his wing. He’ll become protective of you—like men do with women.”

-- A white transgender inmate who worked as a marketing researcher and as a plumber outside of prison

On the importance of getting attention from men….

“That officer showed you respect when he offered to bring me lunch so you could do this interview. He would never do that for me. He respects you.”

-- An Hispanic inmate who agreed to be interviewed during lunch, even if it meant missing lunch.

On the perceived connection between acting like a lady and violence…

• VJ: How do transgender inmates get respect?“Act like a lady.” VJ: Why does acting like a lady in a men’s prison get you respect? “If a man is a gentleman and they see a queen act that way, it’s important for him to trust you because you’re showing self-confidence in an environment that is crazy. That’s why queens don’t get hurt. You being a lady is like a gold credit card.”

• VJ: How do you avoid being victimized?“I try not to associate with straight people, especially really straight people. Really straight guys get really mad when they are with us. They want us, but they really want to be with real girls. I don’t know if this makes sense to you because you’re a real girl. Does it? They think of us as the worst thing. What gets them mad is that we’re not real women. The more you can be a real woman, the more they might not get mad.”

• VJ: Are there situations in which violence between inmates is necessary?“Gang bangers come in here and say something—like “hey half dead (to HIVs)” or “you’re dying anyway.” With me, if it becomes too much I put my purse down and fight. I’ll let that part of me come out.” VJ: What part is that? “The non-lady like. The ugly side of me.”

• VJ: Do you have any final comments? “If you can make it in here, you can make it anywhere. Who said that? A star? It’s true. We’re surrounded by men, real men, with short fuses. It’s not easy. It’s worse than being on the street. Here they are locked up and they don’t have women, even women they can buy. We’re the best they got and they hate that.”

More on how “gender matters”….

SECOND PUBLICATION (available today): “From Policy to Prisoners to People: A ‘Soft-Mixed Methods’ Approach to Studying Transgender Prisoners,” Valerie Jenness Journal of Contemporary Ethnography. In Press.

THIRD PUBLICATION“Getting to Know ‘The Girls’ in an ‘Alpha-Male Community’: Notes on Fieldwork on Transgender Inmates in California Prisons,” Valerie Jenness. In Sociologists Backstage: Answers to 10 Questions About What They Do, edited by Sarah Fenstermaker and Nikki Jones. New York: Routledge Press. In Press.

0

50

100

150

200

1 - Not at allfeminine

2 3 4 5 - Completelyfeminine

Before incarceration During incarceration

Perceived Femininity Before and During Incarceration

p <.001

Perceived Femininity Before and During Incarceration

Comparing average perceived femininity Mean femininity score before incarceration = 4.03 Mean femininity score during incarceration = 4.22

P < .001

Correlation between femininity before and during incarceration: r = .546 (p < .001)

Average Perceived Femininity Before and During Incarceration by

Gender Identity

0

1

2

3

4

5

Female Male Both Neither Other/ ItDepends

Before incarceration During incarceration

83

Expressed Preference for Living in a Men’s Prison v. a Women’s

Prison• The majority of transgender inmates expressed a

preference to be housed in a men’s prison rather than a women’s prison– Preference for men’s prison: 64.9%

– Preference for women’s prison: 35.1%

• The preference was often expressed with accompanying comments about the advantages of being in a men’s prison, especially the access to men– “Oh no, not a women’s prison! I would die. I want to be around

men. I like that song ‘it’s raining men.’ It would be safer in a women’s prison, but….”

Another Foray into the Field: A Study of the Men

…. Keeping in mind the little girl who carried her own juice on SW Flight 0849, from Chicago to LA on April 18, 2010

On having juice and getting soap….

VJ: Well, what about sexual things that were perhaps not against your will, but you would have rather not done?

“I performed oral sex on another inmate for money, something my cellmate and family couldn’t provide. A lot of guys watch me, want me, pay me for oral sex.”

VJ: What do you think this is about?

“Getting money to get things from the canteen. I’m a tg so I’m not going to use regular soap. I like things that pamper my skin. I want a razor that doesn’t cut my legs—with me being HIV positive, it shouldn’t cut my legs. I need double edged blades; they only give you single edged blades. I wish they allowed us the basics so we don’t have to blow guys. We don’t want to suck dick all the time. I do it when I’m running out of what I need—shampoo, lotion, hygiene stuff. I do one whack [blow job]. It has to be worthwhile. My other half—my cellmate, partner, husband, whatever you call him—has to understand I needed it in the household. He can’t provide it for me, so I have to provide it for myself. Ideally, he should provide it. But, he can’t. And I need it, ya know.”

-- A white transgender inmate who has been in and out of prison many times and reports struggling with drug addiction

Contact Information

Valerie Jenness, Ph.D.

Department of Criminology, Law & Society

University of California

Irvine, California 92697-7080

Tel: (949) 824-3017 Fax: (949) 824-3001 E-mail: [email protected]

agnes goes to prison: sexual assault and the “olympics of gender authenticity” among transgender...

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