The language of women’s prisons: Reflecting on violence and desistance

Abstract

This article explores the use of language and narrative in the carceral system, demonstrating how language is used as a tool of control and violence to bolster the prison industrial complex. We explore how incarcerated women are using narratives to understand and share their lived experience. In doing so, these women’s work contributes to the genre of “prison poetics” (Larson, 2010) which gives voice to the cruelty of the carceral system and thus advocates for abolition. We have chosen to integrate personal reflections throughout this article to highlight the lived experience of abolition work and the thoughts of Seeds’ Advisory Group members on the language used in prison. ¶