There are a lot of unproductive conversations about sex and sexual assault in prisons because it is separated by sex and incarcerated people are usually dehumanized. The prison system reinforces the gender binary heteronormativity with this separation by sex because it assumes only men are attracted to women and only women are attracted to men. People outside of prisons often do not view incarcerated people as equal, often mocking people’s experiences in prison.
One incarcerated journalist writes that “In open society, most discussions are limited to exploitative “reality” shows, violent movies and terrible jokes about homosexuality and prison rape. But our needs are a matter of normal human behavior, and we deserve some semblance of dignity” (MaQbool, 2021). The conversations about sex, sexuality, and sex assault happening in prisons are not taken serious, particularly because the general public does not view incarcerated people as people, as equals to them.
Here are two examples of jokes about gay sex in prisons. One is a sign about not shoplifting because there is a wide acceptance of assault in prisons as a deterrent for crime. Another is a clip from the show The Office, in which one character tells his gay coworker that he would love prison. Alluding to what happens in prison that no one keeps a secret and is hardly taken seriously. These jokes are often used to attack masculinity and socially shame another by establishing dominance (Khayrallah, 2020).
Masculinity is a very prominent structure in men’s prisons. Expressions of masculinity are often projected as a way to assert control and dominance in a place where people’s rights are completely stripped. These hegemonic expressions shape the culture of prisons as well as reinforce these behaviors (Ricciardelli, Maier, Moffat, 215).
Both the jokes about sex and assault and this projection of hegemonic masculinity play into heteronormativity. Gay sex is treated as a joke and as a deterrent for crime making this undesirable. And if this is something a person does desire, particularly for men, there is shame because of gendered norms and the portrayal of masculinity in prisons.
There are disproportionately high rates of sexual assault of queer people in person. These high rates of abuse are from staff and other incarcerated people. The 2015 US Transgender Survey shows that transgender people are five times as likely to be sexually assaulted by staff and ten times more likely by other incarcerated people. This same study reports that 57% of transgender people do not feel comfortable calling law enforcement for help when they need it (National Center for Transgender Equality). This shows how underreported these issues are and how queer people are not taken seriously because of the stereotypes about prison rape.
In addition to this, transgender incarcerated people often do not have proper access to medical care and are isolated with solitary confinement. They are denied access to gender affirming care such as hormone therapy which can significantly impact their mental health as well (McCauley et al., 2018). They are isolated in order to maintain this heteronormativity in prisons. Their denial of care is the prison systems attempt to reinforce the gender binary and heterosexuality.
The language used to discuss prison rape and sexuality within prisons is very harmful. It is dehumanizing to make jokes these issues and for it to be so widely accepted in society.