Blog 13

The first impression that I receive when I hear the word prison guard is a large buff muscular male with an intimidating face. I picture a muscular man who is not afraid to “meet violence with violence” (Britton, pg. 1). In the story, At Work in the Iron Cage, it stated that “the use of violence has always been connected with masculinity” (pg.2). Prison guards are typically displayed to be male traditional careers because traditionally, it is a masculine job.
There are women that work in these types of occupations, however, it is considered to be a nontraditional career for women. In the media, prison most guards look similar to what was described above, however they may look more rough have a lot of tattoos and either carrying a gun or club, possibly both. Women as a prison guard or even a cop draws attention because traditionally, those two types of occupations are male dominant. When I think of a women prison guard I think of a more masculine woman. I think of a woman that is definitely in shape, health wise, with her hair pulled completely back with no make up. Furthermore, I think of a muscular women and the media usually portrays these women as lesbian or with short hair and intimidating face. Whether it is a prison guard or a police officer, the media usually portrays these women to be more muscular than most women. They do not portray a sign of weakness in these women because they have to put on the “tough guy” act.
Regardless of if the site is a male prison or a female prison the image of the correctional officers remains the same. Referring back to “At Work in the Iron Cage,” “the job of an officer is the same in both settings” (pg. 4). In both settings the job of the officer remains the same which is to supervise, enforce, and deal with inmate problems whether it’s violence or any other problems that arise.