Article Review: Motherhood As Punishment By Lynne Haney

721 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The effect of incarceration on families essay e

In the reading by Lynne Haney, “Motherhood as Punishment: The Case of Parenting in Prison”, Haney decided to focus on analyzing a facility that allows mothers to parent from prison. She analyzed what it meant for mothers to have to parent in prison. Specifically she wanted to investigate why it seemed that this program seemed to promise a new alternative, in order to reunify family. However, through her observations she saw that motherhood was being undermined and if anything the mothers had less power, even though the program promised more. She specifically discusses four main points in the article that are as follows: Motherhood is undermined, subsumed, punished, and finally how she observed parenting from mass incarceration. In regards to her discussion, I found that her first strong point was when Haney talked about how these female prisoners were recruited to enter this program with a video that showed a suburban home and a warm environment, However, when they arrived they were thoroughly disappointed because it was nothing like what they were promised. In fact, four …show more content…

My train of thought is that they lost the privilege of privacy when they broke the law. However, reading this article and seeing how the program is run, I think it is excessive. The article mentions how these woman have to go through pre-screening and are checked for history of certain abuses. Also, when simply just looking at the logic, one has to wonder if being in the program is more detrimental in terms of mental health. At least in prison, the woman do not have their children present and observing how their parents basically have to be reprimanded and monitored. I think, that being in the program and having your children so close to you, makes it hurt more when these mothers realize that they cannot actually

Show More
Related

  • Behind Convict's Eyes by Cerceral Prison

    1338 Words  | 3 Pages

    After reading the book I have gained a new understanding of what inmates think about in prison. Working in an institution, I have a certain cynical attitude at times with inmates and their requests. Working in a reception facility, this is a facility where inmates are brought in from the county jails to the state intake facility, we deal with a lot of requests and questions. At times, with the phone ringing off the hook from family members and inmates with their prison request forms, you get a little cynical and tired of answering the same questions over and over. As I read the book I begin to understand some of the reason for the questions. Inmate(s) now realize that the officers and administrative personnel are in control of their lives. They dictate with to get up in the morning, take showers, eat meals, go to classes, the need see people for different reason, when to exercise and when to go to bed. The lost of control over their lives is a new experience for some and they would like to be able to adjust to this new lost of freedom. Upon understanding this and in reading the book, I am not as cynical as I have been and try to be more patient in answering questions. So in a way I have changed some of my thinking and understanding more of prison life.

    Read More

  • Matthew Koso: Injustice For Motherhood

    670 Words  | 2 Pages

    Reading over this week forum nothing surprises me these days. I am in disbelief that society would think a 12 year old would have the mind set to even know what love really means especially loving an adult in a compassionate way. I’m just sitting here wondering if Mr. Matthew Koso had a few screws loose to think that this was the right thing to do with a child. Crystal was twelve years old when he met her.[1] She got pregnant at 13 years old.[1] She married him at 14 years old.[1] Where were her parents when all of this was going on? I think this stage in her life she should have been reading books and playing with her best friends instead trying to figure out motherhood. This case clearly shows that the parenting piece of their parents

    Read More

  • Kinship Care of Children with Incarcerated Parents

    1495 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 2007 there were approximately 77,200 fathers and 65,600 mothers incarcerated in the United States (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2007). As our society continues to grow, our jail and prison population are growing as well. When a parent or guardian is taken into custody the juvenile (child) is taken and released to a relative or child protective services. The children are either given to a close family member or a surrogate parent, meaning a foster home. This may have an emotional impact on the juvenile involved, which may lead them to committing delinquent acts. The children sometimes feel they are left to fend for themselves emotionally and the stress of these emotions are left upon the guardian at the time. These intense sufferings sometimes leave the juveniles in a harmful mental state resembling depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and feelings of abandonment from their parents/guardians. Children with incarcerated parents are five times more likely than their peers to commit crimes (Texas Department of Criminal Justice, 2008).

    Read More

  • Effects of Parent's Incarceration on Children

    876 Words  | 2 Pages

    Statistics have shown that one in every five children has seen their parent’s arrest. For young children, who were present at the incarceration have numerous short term effects. Children that are under the age of seven experienced nightmares and flashbacks from the event. At times the child is at school while their parent is being taken away. This causes them to come home to an empty house, and oblivious to the arrest. It is laborious for young children to grasp what is happening to their parent, that's why it’s crucial for parents to clarify the situation. Only about twenty percent of parents offered an explanation about the imprisonment. Supplying the children affected by the incarceration of a parent with authentic statements gives them an understanding of their new conditions. It also gives them guidance to manage the deprivation of the parent (Ross).

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Long Goodbye: Mother's Day In Federal Prison

    1148 Words  | 3 Pages

    “The Long Goodbye: Mother’s Day in Federal Prison”, written by Amanda Coyne depicts the struggles of parents and family members with the emotional trauma children go through due to the absence of their loved one. The story tugs the heart strings of readers with its descriptive account of Mother’s Day in a minimum security federal prison. Coyne describes the human emotions and truly gives an accurate account of what being in a visitation room is like. “The Long Goodbye: Mother’s Day in Federal Prison” makes the reader question the criminal justice system and convinces him or her to adjust their way of thinking towards the definition of criminalization through the logos, pathos, and ethos demonstrated throughout the text.

    Read More

  • Women In Prison Essay

    1718 Words  | 4 Pages

    Not only is prison ineffective in preventing reoffending in women and is expensive, it can be extremely damaging to the female’s well-being and their families. The effect that a custodial sentence has on women is arguably far worse than for men. Women are often not prepared or equipped for their life following their prison sentence; due to the fact that women are more likely to be lone parents before prison (Social Exclusion Unit, 2002), are more likely to leave prison homeless and unemployed (Wedderburn, 2000), and are more likely to lose access of their children whilst serving their sentence (Corston, 2007). Statistics from 2010 showed that around 17,000 children become separated from their mother by imprisonment (Wilks-Wiffen, 2011). This can be absolutely devastating to not only the female offender, but to their innocent children too. Moreover, due to the small number of women’s prisons, the average distance that women are sent away from their homes is around 60 miles (Women in Prison, 2013). Therefore, even if the women are lucky enough to keep in contact with their children, it can be tremendously hard to organise visitation and uphold

    Read More

  • Prison Foster Care And The Systematic Punishment Of Black Mothers Summary

    1053 Words  | 3 Pages

    This article describes the similarities and parallelism of the foster system to the prison systems and how they perpetuate and are influenced by each other. It describes how these systems commodify and dehumanize these human beings, especially women who receive long, severe sentences for minor offenses and are thus denied ability to parent their child from behind bars. This, thus, affects the child in the short and long term because these children are taken from their mothers by the state, often put into foster care, in which the state then refuses to take care of these motherless children. This then leads to social workers developing more aggressive and hostile tactics when dealing with these types of cases, because often the children must scavenge the streets in order to survive and become troubled by the social realities they face. The author then begins to discuss how the welfare system becomes heavily involved with these families, along with the stigmatizations government assistance is attached with. . It is unfortunate that this article only very briefly discusses pregnant, black incarcerated women, and the lack of prenatal care they are provided with during

    Read More

  • Incarcerated Black Males

    744 Words  | 2 Pages

    Black men in Jail are having drastic effects upon the black community. The first and arguably most important effect is that it intensifies the problem of single parent households within the black community. When these men are sentenced to prison, they, many times, leave behind a wife/girlfriend and/or children. If they have already have had children, that child must spend multiple years of his/her early life without a primary father figure. In addition, that male's absence is even more prominently felt when the woman has to handle all of the financial responsibilities on her own. This poses even more problems since women are underpaid relative to men in the workforce, childcare costs must be considered, and many of these women do not have the necessary skills to obtain a job, which would pay a living wage, which could support her and the children. Black male incarceration has done much to ensure that black female-headed households are now equal with poverty.

    Read More

  • Book Review: A women Doing Life

    948 Words  | 2 Pages

    Erin G., 2010, A Woman Doing Life: Notes from a Prison for Women: The Southwest Journal of Criminal Justice. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. Pp. vi, 202, Vol. 8(2)175.

    Read More

  • Behind Bars: Pregnant Inmates and the Challenges of Care

    1391 Words  | 3 Pages

    While most expectant mothers are planning for baby showers, shopping for maternity clothes and preparing the baby’s nursery, the incarcerated mother-to-be has to remain in a constant state of alertness and preparedness for situations that can put her and her unborn baby at risk, in an environment that is both intimidating and routinely violent. (Hutchinson et. al., 2008)

    Read More

  • Becoming A Mom Essay

    923 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a child growing up, there were times I would feel my mother would be out to just make

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Having Their Babies With Babies In Prison

    727 Words  | 2 Pages

    This time together in prison aids with the early mother-child bonding which is paramount for the lifelong success of the child. It helps the mother be more maturing while reducing their recidivism rate, and because the mothers can raise their children in a safer environment compared to the streets with no assistance. The mother-child bond is a uniquely powerful bond that must be established for the ultimate well-being of the child. Through these means, allowing mothers to serve time with their babies in prison is a beneficial alternative than raising them on the cold, dangerous, and rough streets. In the end, what is best for the child must be the primary goal, and mothers know

    Read More

  • Essay On Family Incarceration

    1121 Words  | 3 Pages

    Parental incarceration can affect many aspects of a child’s life, including emotional and behavioral well-being, family stability and financial circumstances. The growing number of children with an incarcerated parent represents one of the most significant collateral consequences of the record prison population in the U.S. Children who have an incarcerated parent require support from local, state, and federal systems to serve their needs. Kids pay both the apparent and hidden costs while their loved one serves out sentences in jail or prison.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Motherhood Who Needs It By Betty Rollin

    1085 Words  | 3 Pages

    In her essay, “Motherhood: Who Needs It?”, Betty Rollin emphasizes the pressures of motherhood that society puts on women and highlights the fact that becoming a mother is not a natural instinct.

    Read More

  • Women In Prison Essay

    2271 Words  | 5 Pages

    Prisons serve the same reason for women and men, they are also tools of social control. The imprisonment of women in the U.S. has always been a different experience then what men go through. The proportion of women in prison has always differed from that of men by a large amount. Women have traditionally been sent to prison for different reasons, and once in prison they endure different conditions of incarceration. Women incarcerated tend to need different needs for physical and mental health issues. When a mother is incarcerated it tends to play an impact on the children also. Over time the prison system has created different gender responsive programs to help with the different needs of female offenders. After being released from prison

    Read More

More about Article Review: Motherhood As Punishment By Lynne Haney

Open Document