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An Introduction to the Book

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Masculinities and the Adult Male Prison Experience

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Abstract

Men dominate crime, criminal justice, and imprisonment. More men commit crime, and more men work in the criminal justice system, than women. Whichever side of the law men find themselves upon, they can be sure to accrue some masculine credentials by virtue of being part of a system that is suffused with institutional masculinity (see Ellis et al. 2013). Yet, the very nature of being a man and the masculine identities of prisoners are often taken for granted in analyses of prison and imprisonment, rather than being key variables in the experience (Wykes and Welsh 2009).

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Sadly, the majority of work that does directly engage with masculinity in the criminal justice system is left at the MA/PhD stage (Aresti 2010; Bell 2012; Butler 2007; Hefner 2009; Moolman 2011; de Viggiani 2003; Whitehead 2000 for instance). There is a clear question to be asked about why such promising studies rarely continue beyond the doctoral stage—it is clear that there is not enough value being placed upon this topic to encourage early year researchers to continue along the research path.

  2. 2.

    I found this in a cupboard within the OMU of the prison I was researching.

  3. 3.

    It is very difficult to find information regarding the work of the Correctional Services Accreditation panel, or a definitive list of those programmes that are approved.

  4. 4.

    It should be understood that the Home Office discussed is now a historical entity, with its role being taken over by the Ministry of Justice.

  5. 5.

    Please note that all opinions and critiques made are done so by the author and not in any way endorsed or supported by Safe Ground.

  6. 6.

    Many thanks in particular to Paula Hamilton for helping me to see the significance of this issue.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Law and Criminology, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK

    Jennifer Anne Sloan

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  1. Jennifer Anne Sloan
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Sloan, J.A. (2016). An Introduction to the Book. In: Masculinities and the Adult Male Prison Experience. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-39915-1_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-39915-1_1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-39914-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-39915-1

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