Under Watchful Eyes: Gendered Surveillance and Control in Correctional Officers' Disciplinary Narratives of Incarcerated Women.

This article examines how correctional officers in a northeastern U.S. state prison system use language in disciplinary reports to enforce traditional gender norms among incarcerated women. Analyzing 2,628 disciplinary narratives from 2019, the study identifies three main themes: the surveillance and suppression of women's interpersonal relationships, strict regulation of their appearance and self-presentation, and the frequent characterization of women as insolent or defiant. These gendered characterizations operate across various rule violations, reinforcing hegemonic middle-class femininity and creating a double bind where women are punished whether they conform or resist. The findings highlight how disciplinary practices in women's prisons function as mechanisms of patriarchal control, undermining rehabilitative goals and perpetuating gender-based oppression within the carceral system.