Incarcerated Mothers: Oppresssion and Resistance

Gordana Eljdupovic

• Publisher: Demeter Press
• Year: 2013
• Topic: Social Sciences
• eBook ISBN:
  9781927335666
• Subtopic: Criminology
• Index: Social Sciences

A large proportion—and in many jurisdictions the majority—of incarcerated women are mothers. Popular attention is often paid to challenges faced by children of incarcerated mothers while incarcerated women themselves often do not "count" as mothers in mainstream discourse. This is the first anthology on incarcerated mothers' experiences that is primarily based on and reflects the Canadian context. It is also trans- national in scope as it covers related issues from other countries around the world. These essays examine connections between mothering and incarceration, from analysis of the justice system and policies, criminalization of motherhood, to understanding experiences of mothers in prisons as presented in their own voices. They highlight structures and processes which shape and ascribe incarcerated woman's identity as a mother, juxtaposing it with scripted and imposed mainstream norms of a "good" or "real" mother. Moreover, these essays identify and track emergence of mothers' resistance and agency within and in spite of the confines of their circumstances.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Notice
• Dedication
• Disclaimer
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• PART I
• The Canadian Landscape for Incarcerated Mothers
• Incarcerating Aboriginal Mothers
• When Motherhood Is the Crime
• Mothers and Babies in French Prisons
• Love Behind Bars
• Mitigating the Plight of Incarcerated Mothers in India
• Care and Respect
• Incarcerated Indigenous Australian Mothers
• PART II
• Voice of the Mothers
• “It Was Easier to Say I Didn’t Have Kids”
• Mothering Through Adversity
• “I Wanted to Be, I Tried to Be, I Will Be a Good Mother”
• Incarcerated Motherhood
• Incarcerating Mothers
• Mothering Against the Norms
• Sorry I left you
• Contributor Notes