Paternal pains of imprisonment

Incarcerated fathers, ethnic minority masculinity and resistance narratives

Bibliographic Data

ID12664646
AuthorsThomas Ugelvik (0000-0002-6743-5637, University of Oslo, corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume16
Issue2
Pages152-168
Publication date2014-03-05
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePunishment & Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1462-4745 • E-ISSN: 1741-3095
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1462474513517020
OpenAlexW2103541659
LanguageEN
Citations received29
References cited25

According to official statistics, about half of the male prisoners in Norwegian prisons are fathers. At the same time, just over three prisoners in 10 are foreign nationals. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in a Norwegian remand prison, this article will discuss some of the problems imprisoned ethnic minority fathers are facing, and detail some of the solutions they employ. I will focus particularly on two narrative problem-solving strategies. One is the promotion of parental values based on a strong (paternalistic) version of the pater familias combined with narratives about the sorry state of Norwegian parenting. The other is a form of symbolic resistance through narratives about violent revenge taken on responsible state agents. Finally, I will show how the imprisoned ethnic minority fathers reposition themselves as both real men and good fathers in the process

Criminology · Deviance (statistics · Ethnic group · Imprisonment · Masculinity · Narrative · Norwegian · Political science · Prison · Resistance (ecology · Sociology · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Gender Studies · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Law · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Psychology