What Justice Can Be: Looking At The Imprisonment Experiences Of Trans And Gender Non-Conforming Inmates Through Queer Theory, And The Role Of Social Workers In Abolition Practices
- ASU Author/Contributor (non-ASU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Lauren Rochelle Cavagnini (Creator)
- Institution
- Appalachian State University (ASU )
- Web Site: https://library.appstate.edu/
- Advisor
- Rachel Wright
Abstract: Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review the literature discussing the challenges that transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) individuals contend with while imprisoned in the United States, and to use queer theory’s concepts of gender performance and gender control as a way to examine why they face such high rates of violence. This paper also offers suggestions on how social workers can better engage in non-carceral social work practice on micro and macro levels. Methods: A modified systematic literature review was used. Search terms were determined for each section’s topic, as well as inclusion and exclusion criteria. The first section was for articles on empirical research regarding TGNC people’s experiences in the prison system. The second was to find articles that analyze gender in the prison system through the lens of queer theory. The final section looked for articles containing suggestions for abolition-oriented social work practice. The results were then presented in a narrative format. Findings: TGNC people face disproportionate amounts of transphobia-driven violence from fellow inmates and correctional officers/prison staff. Queer theory posits that this violence stems from socialized gender expectations, in particular TGNC people’s failure to adhere to expectations of gender performance.Conclusion: The construction of the prison system serves to enforce the gender binary in ways that inflict violence on TGNC people who do not conform to its expectations. In order to move away from carceral practices, social workers should engage in restorative justice and transformative justice practices that create non-violent solutions to conflict within the social welfare system.
What Justice Can Be: Looking At The Imprisonment Experiences Of Trans And Gender Non-Conforming Inmates Through Queer Theory, And The Role Of Social Workers In Abolition Practices
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Created on 1/25/2022
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Honors Project
- Cavagnini, L. (2021). What Justice Can Be: Looking At The Imprisonment Experiences Of Trans And Gender Non-Conforming Inmates Through Queer Theory, And The Role Of Social Workers In Abolition Practices. Unpublished Honors Thesis. Appalachian State University, Boone, NC.
- Language: English
- Date: 2021
- Keywords
- social work, abolition, queer theory, transgender, gender non-conforming, restorative justice, transformative justice