Research Project

As I delve further into researching healthcare issues of trans individuals in prisons, I have found that I need first and foremost to broaden my area of interest. If I were t focus on neonatal and prenatal health care of trans men in prison, I would first have to do a needs based analysis on whether or not this demographic currently exists in a quantifiable measure. So I have begun looking into the reproductive rights of trans people in prison and how the prison system directly stunts the reproductive rights of trans individuals. Here are some of the things that I have come across so far;

Reproductive rights for trans inmates:

I'm still not totally sure what parts of my resources will be entirely useful

I think I'll really want the time in class to speak more with my group and see where we can go forward- I would also appreciate time to more carefully comb through and pick out useful tidbits of information from my resources.

Having read through The New Jim Crow I have found several selections throughout the book that speak to the stigma of being labelled "criminal," which I may use to substantiate my findings on artistic resistance of this label. The chapter "The Cruel Hand" speaks to this especially. I definitely need to explore more projects online like the ones I have been discussing since the start of this project, but so far I have only revisited the websites for Performing Statistics and Everyday Life in Incarceration Nation.

I'd originally planned for us to spend the next two weeks reading some of the history of Quaker involvement in prison reform. Am realizing now that this time will be better spent on your pursuing your research projects and finding containers for presenting what you have learned. So here's a record of the reading I'd selected, for the archive and also because some of you may find it particularly useful for your individual-or-collective projects:

check out http://vectors.usc.edu/issues/4/publicsecrets/

       In our Thursday group’s classes, we leave a writing prompt as homework for the women each weak which is related to the topic covered in class discussion. I believe that writing can help them deeper explore in their minds, promoting critical thinking. Only reading in class is not enough, for them to understand the world, to reflect on the issues, and to better express themselves, especially as I notice that every time the class ends in a sense of unfinished conversation, some women unsatisfied with the limit of time and space for them to wholly express their insights. Therefore, I have started to be curious about the writing experiences of incarcerated people, and I want to find a way to express their writing experience in this 360 research project.

Through my research, especially in reading Howard Zehr's Doing Life, I have started to notice some trends and themes in the way prisoners (particularly lifers) talk about themselves and the system they are in. The lifers in Zehr's book talk a lot about reforming themselves, about how they are different now than they were when they committed the crimes, about penitence and sympathy for victims and their families. Reading these narratives makes me wonder how much those included in the book were vetted, how much of their story was selected to support Zehr's arguments about prisons and prison reform.

Article about a prison art project in Philadelphia now. 

What I am really interested in is voice, and breaking the silences. One of the most problematic aspects of prison is the separation, deciding some people can not function/ do not belong/ do not deserve to participate in society. People in power have decided that certain voices are dangerous or should be silenced. I do not want my research project to only be an opportunity to learn and expand what I hold is true, because there is room for stretching ideas in so many areas.