Gendered representations of parents behind bars: An analysis of newspaper reports

Abstract

Scholars have devoted significant attention to the issue of incarcerated parents, and a separate body of research has examined the representation of crime and offenders in the media. In this study, I contribute to research on incarcerated parents and on media portrayals of offenders by examining the role of gender in US newspaper representations of incarcerated parents over the past three decades. The findings suggest that the difficulties of parenting behind bars and the intergenerational consequences of incarceration are common themes in newspaper accounts of both mothers and fathers in prison. Findings also reveal evidence of a ‘mothering discourse’ that emphasizes the importance of the mother–child relationship in accounts of inmate mothers in particular. These findings are interpreted by drawing on theoretical literature regarding family ideology, parenting discourses, and the ideological nature of the media.