Unit C - Blog 13

The media has and currently still shapes correctional officers and prison guards pretty consistently. In At Work in the Iron Cage, the introduction characterizes the popular beliefs of these individuals as “brutal and sadistic” based on some of the stereotypes that our media and society has traditionally affiliated these individuals as. The socialization of prisoners also influences these images of officers too. It is based on hegemony. The stronger is always the dominant; therefore if the inmates are strong, then the officers have to appear stronger. Another element involved with these images is weapons and guns, which the book also touches on. This again displays violence and brutality. The book also used the movie ConAir as a source for images our media displays these individuals as. I thought this was a great reference. This movie displayed these guards as larger men, the undercover officer as a large man, and many of them had mustaches. These images are directly affiliated with men, especially size and the mustache. They also portrayed the convicts, or inmates, as big brutal men that were unable to be controlled. The last thing this movie really did to buy into the socialization was include a female guard that was petite, good looking, but somewhat fierce. But in the movie, she ultimately had to be saved from sexual assault by a large physical male. These are all types of images that are regularly portrayed. It seems to me that the women officer in films and shows always has a sexual role. She is usually viewed as a sex figure, not as a guard or capable enforcer. The women are regularly having to be bailed out by men and are usually displayed as physically weaker. In the few occasions that women’s facilities are displayed in the media, the women guards are usually larger and visibly stronger than they typical image of women that society has sculpted. I want to focus on the mustache thing for a second though. This is a male gendered trait that is one of the most affiliated attributes of an officer, guard, military, or anyone in this type of field. I think this alone is something that socializes a lack of inclusion of women.