Living the code: how the identity practices of female corrections officers reinforce hegemonic masculinity in the officer subculture

Abstract

Despite this study occurring in the early years of the 21st century, women continue to face barriers to working in androcentric work environments. In the corrections environment, these barriers are further complicated by the hegemonic masculinity of the officer subculture and the prevalent stereotypes of women as weak, emotional, capricious, and incompetent. As a result, female officers adopt a variety of tactics and identity practices to gain acceptance into the officer subculture. This study examines the lived experiences of female corrections officers and explores the meaning they make of those lived experiences. In addition, Sasson-Levy’s (2003) theory of identity practices is applied to the lived experiences of female corrections officers, and findings indicate that this theory is applicable to the corrections environment. Furthermore, the identity practices utilized by female corrections officers reinforce and perpetuate hegemonic masculinity in the officer subculture.