“Let Momma Take ‘em”

Abstract

Women provide support for many vulnerable groups, work that is frequently discounted with gendered stereotypes. One growing vulnerable group is former prisoners who often return to women family members. We completed a qualitative study with 25 former prisoners and criminal justice staff to examine their conceptualizations of the demands placed on women supporters of former prisoners. Results indicate a significant burden of support experienced by women, discounted by prisoners and criminal justice staff through a dynamic of gendered idealization and stigmatization. Implications include the importance of exposing this dynamic and providing supports to decrease the burden of care that women experience.