Who's in charge? Wives of criminals and the submission paradoxes

Abstract

This study aimed to discuss which is the family model produced in the discourses and practices of women who have affective or sexual relationships with men who are in prison, based on an analysis of intersectional feminism and the study of biopower. Through participant observations with women who visit their relatives in a male penal institution, it was possible to identify that the family model which is produced is still supported by the traditional hegemonic model, which sees the nuclear family as the representation of success and family consistency. Such family ideals operate through the reproduction of certain norms and social roles assumed by women, having - paradoxically - a certain empowering character.