"I had to humble myself and cry to get it! To them, it seems like you don't want to see your child": managing presence in incarcerated motherhood

Abstract

Many women who experience the prison system—inmates, survivors of incarceration, or family members—negotiate the presence of their children on a daily basis. In this process, they articulate relationships with various actors: the State; the family, often responsible for the child's custody; and the prison environment's own actors. Motherhood in prison exemplifies how mothering is reconfigured before, during, and after incarceration, exposing fissures in the prison structure that allow for the production of presence. Janete's (interlocutor) story illustrates these rearrangements: by "entering crime," she transfers the care of her daughter to her mother; imprisoned, she faces barriers to maintaining the bond, such as the mother's resistance to taking the girl to see her. Through "elements of co-presence"—such as video calls and visitation room—and (im)possible arrangements, she demonstrates that, despite the prison system's impositions of control, punishment, and surveillance, the articulations made "on the margins" are subversive and powerful.