Article Constructing and Performing Sexualities in the Penitentiaries: Attitudes and Behaviors Among Male Prisoners

Prison sex research has primarily focused on overt sexual behaviors, while prisoner attitudes regarding sexuality have received considerably less attention. Moreover, little is known about the implications of such attitudes for prisoner behaviors. Applying a social constructionist framework, the present study explores how sexuality is negotiated and performed during incarceration, and situates these behaviors within the context of dominant attitudes in all-male prison environments. To this end, in-depth, face-to-face interviews were conducted with male parolees from Canadian federal penitentiaries. The results suggest that heteronormativity and homophobia are pervasive in prisoner cultures and are reflected in how sexuality is discursively constructed and acted out by incarcerated men. Implications of the current findings and directions for future research are discussed