‘Livin’ on the Straights’: Identity, Desistance, and Work among Women Post‐Incarceration*

Abstract

This study explores how a group of women recently released from prison as parolees attempt to sustain their exit from deviant careers by constructing replacement selves. To examine this process, I analyze semi‐structured interviews with female ex‐offenders and show how they draw on work as a hook for change (Giordano et al. 2002) in their unfolding identity work. Contrary to traditional gendered scripts, these women view themselves as active participants in the world of work. Upon release not only do they desire to work to meet financial needs, but they also use employment as an avenue through which they begin to construct pro‐social replacement selves. Drawing on longitudinal qualitative data, I point out that as time on the outside passed, many of the women continued to use work as a way to fashion new conventional selves despite their experiences with low‐quality working conditions. I also provide evidence, however, that when women experience significant employment instability, they are unable to sustain their hopeful identity project and, instead, reengage their past deviant selves.

The Effects of Age at Prison Release on Women’s Desistance Trajectories: a Mixed-Method Analysis

“…Given that, it is clearly not the structural role of motherhood that inhibits offending behavior, at least not for the crimes for which many mothers are serving sentences. However, as many crimeinvolved adult women were also teenage mothers [29,113], it may be the case that with age and maturity comes a readiness to adopt a prosocial identity, and reclaiming their role as mother may indeed serve to solidify their desired change [9,10,90]. Simultaneously, there are other studies that suggest that for women who acknowledge their motherhood status and wish to elevate its priority in their prosocial lives, being younger and less criminally enmeshed serves to increase the likelihood that motherhood will catalyze these desistance efforts [45,66].…”

“…While the empirical evidence regarding the impact that marriage and employment have on women's desistance remains equivocal, recent empirical work exploring the experiences of female offenders has illuminated the importance of identity in the desistance process. Opsal [90] examined the role of both employment and identity in desistance from crime within an interviewed sample of 43 female ex-offenders, with the interviews taken both immediately after the women were released from incarceration and again approximately 3 months later. To summarize the results, Opsal found that both conventional employment and identity change were important in the desistance process, though it was impossible to make a clean causal inference as to whether identity change or jobs came first.…”

“…There was clear evidence from the narratives, however, that the process of desistance involved the ideas of a feared and possible self that are central to the identity theory. One of Opsal's study participants ( [90]: 388) reflects this: "So, I got another chance and I'm gonna do it this time, because I want to change. I want to go home and be with my kids.…”

The socio-demographic characteristics and health needs of incarcerated women applying to a transitional housing re-entry program

“…Women face unique challenges to avoiding re-arrest [5]. In addition to the barriers facing those with criminal records trying to reenter society, many formerly incarcerated women have intersecting identities that can lead to multiple layers of discrimination and inequality including racism, poverty and marginalization [6].…”

Beyond Recidivism

“…Reentering mothers often face stigma and informal sanctions for being ''bad'' mothers (Brown & Bloom, 2009;Kennedy, 2012). Yet resuming motherhood may provide FIW with a catalyst for identity change and desistance (Giordano, Cernkovich, & Rudolph, 2002;Opsal, 2012) and is cited in literature as central to their sense of self (Brown & Bloom, 2009;Leverentz, 2011). Thus, being able to provide for their children and grandchildren in small but meaningful ways may be a gender-specific aspect of success for this population.…”