Talk:Prison sexuality

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Not a European problem
My understanding is that this is mostly an American problem, and these things do not happen in Good Old Europe. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 156.111.84.180 (talk • contribs) 07:29, July 15, 2003 (UTC
 * Whatever. Ask any Turkish inmate about custodial rape being a mostly 'American' problem. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 4.230.102.76 (talk) 08:18, March 20, 2005 (UTC)
 * Midnight Express was not a documentary Mzzl 07:39, 12 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Ouch! :) - Jacottier 01:04, May 6, 2005 (UTC)
 * That's because solitary confinement is the norm in Europe: one inmate per cell --Mzzl 18:04, 15 July 2006 (UTC)
 * American prisons are overcrowded, Europe, being a nation of higher standards runs their prisons like a hotel, with computers and carpets. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.228.69.178 (talk) 21:25, October 26, 2006 (UTC)
 * Europe is one nation? News to me... —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 63.27.203.170 (talk) 03:45, 22 March 2007 (UTC).

Oh yeah the nation of Europe sure knows how to run a prison! 98.196.78.26 (talk) 05:55, 14 January 2009 (UTC)

Does this happen in female prisons also?
Is it possible to get a mention in this article about whether or not this happens in female prisons? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.3.160.7 (talk) 11:15, September 2, 2005 (UTC
 * Yes it happens in female prisons too. However, in female prisons rape among prisoners is secondary to rape of prisoners by gaurds. That also happens in male prisons, too, BTW, and along with consentual sex and masturbation, has been left out of the article. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 63.27.203.170 (talk) 03:47, 22 March 2007 (UTC).

NPOV problems
This article takes a drastic switch after the first paragraph. Rarely is the approach taken in other articles that is taken here - a "setting aside another viewpoint." It sounds bad and makes the article seem inconsistent. In addition, the bit about human nature and animal-based archetypes should be either re-worded or better investigated and cited - the phrase it's "human nature" is an absurdity. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.148.243.249 (talk) 00:33, December 18, 2005 (UTC)
 * I agree with the NPOV problems. This article seems very biased.  For instance, "Consent in prison" is argued to be inherently illusory." Even if that is true, I feel the article should start out less argumentative.
 * Xiphoris 21:48, 12 June 2006 (UTC)
 * I also agree insofar as it's NPOV issues. I'm currently too fried to really add much to the conversation, or article but some quick googling has produced this article on the topic, which does make reference to voluntary same-sex relations between inmates.  It references a study, which I have not been able to find, called: "An ethnosemantic study of the culture of prison sexuality".  Since I haven't read the study, or checked out its sources, I'm not parituclarly inclined to use it as a source.  However, would it make a decent external link?  --Scandalous 06:40, 14 June 2006 (UTC)

The article's title
The article seems to be mainly about sexual abuse between males in prison. Not only are we missing some pieces about women prisons, but I also think that the article's title is misleading and wrong. It would be better to just name it Sexual abuse in Prison, since in my view Sexual abuse is not about sexuality. The article clearly states that the abuse occuring very often has nothing to do with the Prioners' sexuality. ❝Sverdrup❞ 13:34, 4 May 2006 (UTC)


 * If the focus is to remain in that direction, perhaps, but I feel that the topic of Prison Sexuality itself should be dealt with, and this article would be the appropriate place to do so. --Scandalous 06:43, 14 June 2006 (UTC)

Maybe call it sexual behaviour in prisons, since, it doesn't just cover abuse. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.27.55.215 (talk) 11:26, 23 May 2012 (UTC)

"Bubba"
See Talk:Bubba. - 70.109.72.185 23:37, 15 June 2006 (UTC)

Low quality
This whole article is just a very condensed, slightly inaccurate, summary of the No Escape website. No Escape is a good page, but only a Male Prisoner Rape awareness site; this article should cover historical, international, male and female prison sexuality (prisoner-to-prisoner rape, guard-to-prisoner rape, and voluntary). It needs many more sources... honestly it would be better to remove what's there and let us start over IMO. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.158.187.109 (talk) 11:13, July 6, 2006 (UTC)


 * Agreed. As is, this article is extremely un-encyclopedic. 207.6.31.6


 * This entry is so bad that it might be better to have nothing, or at least cut everything that is not reliably sourced. There's very little contiguity other than the fact that it's full of subjective assertions.  If source material is contradictory, the article should acknowledge a lack of consensus among experts/researchers and elucidate those contradictions, not hit emotional arguments back and forth like a (very juvenile) tennis match.  --Anniika 18:05, 15 March 2010 (UTC)  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Anniika (talk • contribs)

Voluntary arrangements not mentioned
There didn't seem to be a mention of how some of the "victims" enter into an arangement with a "rapist" willingly in order to procure protection from the prison population.--Johnnyarbogast 23:12, 9 July 2006 (UTC)

Merger with Prison rape
Prison Rape and Prison Sexuality should probably be merged together, as much of the info is repeated and prison sexuality is basically about prison rape. Justinmeister 07:16, 1 November 2006 (UTC)


 * It Should because it ecplains the same things!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.8.79.71 (talk) 23:43, December 16, 2006 (UTC)

I think Prison Rape should be a section that is apart of Prison sexuality. Prison Rape is a type of prison sexuality.Gfrench55clu (talk) 02:11, 4 February 2017 (UTC)


 * Gfrench55clu, good point. Flyer22 Reborn (talk) 02:42, 4 February 2017 (UTC)


 * That article is certainly currently small enough to be merged into this article. There would be no WP:SIZE issues. If the prison rape material gets too big, it can be re-split into its own article. Flyer22 Reborn (talk) 02:50, 4 February 2017 (UTC)

Ethnocentric article
This article totally only looks at the american viewpoint, here. No world view. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.167.48.192 (talk) 13:35, January 7, 2007 (UTC)

Agree, and the article is still poorly referenced.--ChrisJMoor 02:08, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

Ive reviewed this article and...
Having been in prison (TDCJ), I can verify most of this as being reliable, although (no, really) the percentage of rape seems a bit high. I was on several different prison units and I assure you the people who were getting it there was because they wanted it. This page could use some cleaning up though its a bit messy IMO. I am considering adding a section on guard-offender relationships, although this isn't in the article it is imperative to ones understanding of prison sexuality and it occurs more often than people know. Species2112 16:25, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

Although as someone said earlier, this mainly reflects an american view on the subject... Would be nice to get someone who has been in prison in a foreign country possibly to add a subsection on observations or experiences in other countries.Species2112 16:37, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

DO NOT merge this article with prison rape, it is not the same thing.
If anything make prison rape a redirect to this article, as it is more comprehensive and covers a broader scope of things to be considered with prison rape.Species2112 16:35, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

US vs. Worldwide
Unless I'm missing something, this article talks exclusively about this issue in the United States, and in a manner assuming that this is understood. I suggest the title be changed to something like "Sexuality In US Prisons", at least until the wording is changed and global information is added -- MQ Duck 03:28, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

Updated template due to accuracy dispute
For a subject this sensitive and serious, I have updated the template, as the article has very few citations and really needs the input of an expert on the subject. Also, the use of language is especially critical to avoid misrepresentation and discrimination.--Soulparadox (talk) 08:42, 5 November 2013 (UTC)

Predators who will 'meet Bubba.'
I read the talk on 'Bubba,' but it's from 2006 and neither it, nor the main article, deals with the subject of frequent, approving comments by 'laypersons,' that some person who is convicted and imprisoned for child sexual abuse that he will 'meet Bubba' --that is, will be deservedly subjected to the same sexual abuse (by other inmates) to which he subjected a child or children. Note that the issue is not the reliability of such comments, but rather, what is the actual information, and what are the statistics, on inmates who are raped because they were child molesters. (For that matter, should there be a separate article about 'Treatment of child sex abusers in prison?')

JWMcCalvin (talk) 05:52, 17 November 2013 (UTC)

bull queer
The The Shawshank Redemption article links to this one using "bull queer". There is no mention of "bull" or "queer" on the Prison sexuality article. Queer has its own article. Google for "bull queer" is inconclusive in that it gets hit but nothing that looks remotely like a WP:RS. --Marc Kupper&#124;talk 03:23, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

Further on Reationships
Bibliography CHRISTOPHER HENSLEY, & RICHARD TEWKSBURY. (2002). Inmate-to-Inmate Prison Sexuality : A Review of Empirical Studies. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 3(3), 226-243. doi:10.1177/15248380020033005 Bibliography

CHRISTOPHER HENSLEY, & RICHARD TEWKSBURY. (2002). Inmate-to-Inmate Prison Sexuality : A Review of Empirical Studies. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 3(3), 226-243. doi:10.1177/15248380020033005

Gibson, Lauren E., and Christopher Hensley. 2013. "The Social Construction of Sexuality in Prison." The Prison Journal 93 (3): 355.

Timbre Wulf-Ludden. (2016) Pseudofamilies, Misconduct, and the Utility of General Strain Theory in a Women's Prison. Women & Criminal Justice 26:4, pages 233-259.

Timbre article for relationships, such as family life and why they form pseudofamilies. Ideas: -Prisoner types of relationships and how they develop -Why does the need to engage in sexual activities allow these heterosexuals to become homosexual?

I have added these ideas and topics to this article because I didn't see too much if any on these points. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Giselleduran (talk • contribs) 18:07, 29 September 2016 (UTC)

more categories and details needed
I would like to extend this topic by adding a few new sections on different sexual acts. So far this article mainly focuses on rape. I have found info on masturbation, celibacy and a different view of rape & coercion. This article could also benefit from making different sections for male and females since they are separated in prison. Info on gender roles and race playing into prison sexuality is also something that could be added. The history of sexuality in prisons is also missing and how it has evolved may be interesting to tie in if possible. Some sources I have found include: Money, John, and Carol Bohmer. "Prison Sexology: Two Personal Accounts of Masturbation, Homosexuality, and Rape." The Journal of Sex Research 16.3 (1980): 258-66. Web.

Coggeshall, John M. "'Ladies' Behind Bars: A Liminal Gender as Cultural Mirror." Anthropology Today 4.4 (1988): 6-8. Web.

Struckman-Johnson, Cindy, David Struckman-Johnson, Lila Rucker, Kurt Bumby, and Stephen Donaldson. "Sexual Coercion Reported by Men and Women in Prison." The Journal of Sex Research 33.1 (1996): 67-76. Web.

Chenier, Elise. "Prisons, Jails, and Reformatories: Men's." Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered History in America. Ed. Marc Stein. Vol. 2. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004. 423-426. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 30 Sept. 2016.

Gibson, Lauren E., and Christopher Hensley. "The Social Construction Of Sexuality In Prison." Prison Journal 93.3 (2013): 355-370. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Sept. 2016.

Hensley, Christopher, and Richard Tewksbury. "Inmate-To-Inmate Prison Sexuality: A Review Of Empirical Studies." Trauma, Violence & Abuse 3.3 (2002): 226. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Sept. 2016. --Bridgetclu (talk) 04:59, 1 October 2016 (UTC)

I would also like to add
 * how sexually transmitted diseases are much more prevalent and easier to contract in prisons. I also added the name of the bill that was passed in 2014 to distribute condoms to "inmate contraception."  I added a couple paragraphs about how HIV and AIDs is a serious issue in prison and how health is a major concern when prisoners get released and return to the community.
 * Cameryncorcoran (talk) 06:25, 11 March 2017 (UTC)


 * "California to Make Condoms Available in Prisons Statewide." FSRN. Free Speech Radio News, 4 Feb. 2015. Web. 10 Mar. 2017. .


 * Grinstead, Olga, et al. "HIV And STD Testing In Prisons: Perspectives Of In-Prison Service Providers." AIDS Education And Prevention: Official Publication Of The International Society For AIDS Education 15.6 (2003): 547-560. MEDLINE with Full Text. Web. 17 Feb. 2017.


 * Hammett, Theodore M. "HIV/AIDS and Other Infectious Diseases among Correctional Inmates: Transmission, Burden, and an Appropriate Response." American Journal of Public Health, vol. 96, no. 6, June 2006, pp. 974-978. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.callutheran.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mnh&AN=16449578&site=ehost-live&scope=site.


 * Kinner, Stuart A and Emily A Wang. "The Case for Improving the Health of Ex-Prisoners." American Journal of Public Health, vol. 104, no. 8, Aug. 2014, pp. 1352-1355. EBSCOhost, doi:10.2105/AJPH.2014.301883. FUll Text Web 9 March. 2017


 * Sevcik, JC. "California Law to Provide Condoms to Inmates in State Prisons Passes." UPI. United Press International, 06 Nov. 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2017. .


 * Cameryncorcoran (talk) 18:09, 21 February 2017 (UTC)

social constructionist perspective
This page is vague and lacking subsections. I would like to expand this article to include the subsection of the social constructionist approach to the topic.

Social- Constructionist Approach: (section already on the live page by another user. I would move this paragraph to the new subsection)[Some explanations for prison sexuality include the social constructionist theory by Groth. He implies that sexuality is not only an "inherent part" of a person but also that it may be a "construct of that person's society".[6] Additionally, he mentions that you cannot classify the prisoners sexuality as heterosexual or homosexual during their prison time because it could not be accurate; their sexuality is on hold meanwhile because they act rather on personal needs than interpersonal needs. This, however does not fully conclude that this is the sole reason for prison relationships because they also feel the genuine connection that can turn into a serious relationship.[5]]

A similar perspective was penned by Clemmer in 1940, who theorized that inmates engaged in homosexual behavior partly as they, "were deprived of a heteronormative sexual identity" (Gibson). As sexuality has been historically separated into heterosexual, or homosexual categories, this deprivation model of an inmate satisfying their needs at the cost of changing from heterosexual to homosexual fits (Gibson)

I am hoping to receive feedback on the direction I am headed before expanding this further.

Abigailgillmore (talk) 22:24, 26 October 2016 (UTC)

Possible New Section
I would like to either add a new section to this article or add on the section "Potential for Rape Activity" about how the media's view on prison rape changed over time in the U.S., considering that prison rape is an notorious issue in the US corrections system. So far I have one or two ideas to add to the section which I highly think would add more context on different perspectives to this issue.

Kcueva (talk) 08:20, 2 February 2017 (UTC)

Biased Wording
Hello I'm new and doing this for a college course. I would like to help this page to the best of my abilities. I think some of the wording in the article could be considered biased. An example is in the Female Prisoners section, "like a real family would" is used to describe a pseudo family. This is assuming that there are real families compared to fake families. I think the wording should be changed to "like traditional families" or something without negative/positive connotation to the adjectives.

Another place is in Male Prisoners, "sexual abuse is higher than the amount it actually happens" is used. I propose a change to "the fear of sexual abuse is high, the actual number of sexual assaults in prisons is lower."

If people find other phrased or paragraphs that could use rewording, feel free to let everyone know here.Gfrench55clu (talk) 02:09, 4 February 2017 (UTC)

Possible LGBT section
Hey everyone! I was thinking about adding a new section on sexuality regarding LGBT relationships in prison. Although there is some discussion about male prisoners and "situational homosexual acts" I think this should be a section of its own, including more detail about males and females LGBT relationships. Let me know what you guys think. I know there is a related page on LGBT people in prison but its more about issues and discriminations LGBT people face in the prison system. Let me know some thoughts! I am interacting with this page for a college course and I would like to contribute as much as possible.Erumpfsnavely (talk) 06:44, 16 February 2017 (UTC) Upon further thought I am thinking of reorganizing the information here. To have sections on female prisoners, male prisoners and then a separate heading on LGBT in prison. Also the second part of the intro needs some reworking. Some of the statistics used here are bit outdated as well, from 1999. I would like to make a lot of changes on here involving organization and quality of input. Please give me any comments you can in ways that would help. Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Erumpfsnavely (talk • contribs) 05:25, 17 February 2017 (UTC)

New Section - Prison Rape
I plan on adding this section and replacing the Title "potential for rape activity' to "Prison Rape" because it is a type of sexuality. I will also add this subsequent information below.

Prison is a community sexologically characterized by overt masturbation and by homosexual couplings that may be either consensual, coercive or assaultive (rape)[1]. Prison rape, like rape on it's own, is defined differently from state to state but is understood to be non consensual or unwanted sexual contact between individuals.[2] Prison rape can be between inmates or inmates and staff of the prison. This is a form of sexuality because these individuals use their capacity for sexual feelings to intimidate or control their victims which causes sociological properties of the prison to change[3].

Prisoners have two overarching reasons to rape a victim, one is to satisfy their overt sexual and need based desires that self pleasure can not. The second is to use the assault as a sort of intimidation factor to grant the rapist power in a place where these actions generally go unpunished. In prison, the phrase "a**-hole bandit" is used to describe such an inmate that would rape another (in the male case). There seems to be no shown correlation that men who are abusive to their partners outside of prison are more likely to be rapist in prisons. Such men are not known to have history of sexual assault before prison [1].

In 2003, for the first time ever, the United States government moved to protect prisoners from sexual violence. With pressure for human rights groups, the US house of representatives and senate unanimously passed the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) to protect prisoners from sexual violence[3].

Multiple types of forced sexual contact happen in prison. A few are listed. "Kids" are kept in servitude by an owner and are a sign of the owners prestige and power. "Gumps" are a used as prostitutes by a gang or group of inmates who sell the gumps sexual favors for money and prison currency. Gumps tend to be in their position because they volunteered for it at one time for purposes of coming into their sexual orientation in prison or for survival in the incarceration system. Punks are individuals who hesitate to participate in homosexual behavior, but are turned over by coercion. [4]

^ Jump up to: a b Money, John (1980). The Journal of Sex Research. Taylor & Francis, Ltd. pp. 258–266. Jump up ^ Capers, Bennett (2011). California Law Review. California Law Review, Inc. pp. pp. 1259–1307. ^ Jump up to: a b Jackson, Jessi Lee (2013). SIgns. The University of Chicago Press. pp. 197–220. Jump up ^ Coggeshall, John M. (1988). Anthropology Today. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. pp. pp. 6–8. Gfrench55clu (talk) 22:35, 9 March 2017 (UTC)

Peer Review
This articles needs more nuance in regard to conversations of race I would say that is a big part that is missing from the article. But the technicalities of the article are good such as the links, and sources with each of the facts.

--Kiessence (talk) 00:15, 21 October 2021 (UTC)Kiessence Bassett

UK Section Revert
The edit at seemed an excellent balance to the US-POV of the article. I did not write or revert it, but I'd like a discussion on whether it should have been reverted and whether it can be replaced or somehow integrated into the US-biased section above it. It reads: Multiple types of forced sexual contact happen in prison in the United Kingdom. A few are: "Kids" are kept in servitude by an owner and are a sign of the owners prestige and power. "Gumps" are used as prostitutes by a gang or group of inmates who sell the gumps sexual favors for money and prison currency. Gumps tend to be in their position because they volunteered for it at one time for purposes of coming into their sexual orientation in prison or for survival in the incarceration system. Punks are individuals who hesitate to participate in homosexual behavior, but are turned over by coercion. (REF can be found in original) Last1in (talk) 00:12, 29 November 2021 (UTC)