Editorial Board:
Editor:
George H. Conklin,
 North Carolina
 Central University

Board:
Bob Davis,
 North Carolina
 Agricultural and
 Technical State
 University

Richard Dixon,
 UNC-Wilmington

Ken Land,
 Duke University

Miles Simpson,
 North Carolina
 Central University

Ron Wimberley,
 N.C. State University

Robert Wortham,
 North Carolina
 Central University

Editorial Assistants

John W.M. Russell,
 Technical
 Consultant

Austin W. Ashe,
 North Carolina
 Central University

® 

Volume 7, Number 2

Fall/Winter 2009

Generic Processes in the Production of Relations among Incarcerated Juvenile African American Males and Female Correctional Officers

by

O. Alexander Miller

Orangeburg-Calhoun 
Technical College

Mamadi Corra

 East Carolina University

and 

Danielle Taana Smith

Rochester Institute of Technology
 

Introduction

    The literature on African American masculinity has highlighted the overabundance of blacks in US prisons and the level of interpersonal violence (IPV) among adults (Tjaden and Thoennes 2000), such as "being pushed, shoved or grabbed" by one's partner and "being slapped", and the near lethal forms of violence which African American women endure, including being "beat up" by their partners, "being threatened by a gun," and "having a knife used on them" by their intimate partners (Hattery and Smith forthcoming). Our examination is provocative with its focus on the unexplored dynamic of sexual violence against female corrections officers by black juveniles. Our analyses of patterns of behavior between black juveniles and predominantly black female officers add to the literature on IPV between black males and females, and expose the sexuality of the African American cool pose.

    Entering the criminal justice system and exiting it as an ex-convict is a life altering experience (Evans 1968). The severity of prison and ex-convict experiences is illustrated by Garland's (2001) concept of mass imprisonment; the idea that higher rates of incarceration among some population subgroups have far-reaching impact on certain demographic groups. Rather than being limited to specific individuals, Garland argues that such imprisonment has significant aggregate effects (also see Wacquant 2000). Among African American youth and young adults, the effect of mass imprisonment is particularly alarming. Western and Pettit (2000) note that on an average day in 1996, more black male high school dropouts aged 20-35 were in custody than in paid employment. In 1999, just three years later, well over 20 percent of non-college black men in their early thirties had prison records (Pettit and Western 2001).

    Given the disproportionate representation of African Americans among the US inmate population, the importance of race and/or ethnicity cannot be understated in this respect. Between 1985 and 1998, the inmate population of the US increased by 7.3 percent (Gilliard 1999; Western 2002). By 1998, the number of Americans in the penal system reached 1.8 million; by 2000, it had surpassed two million; with the increase having a greater effect among unskilled African American youth (Western 2002). While constituting about 12 percent of the US population, African Americans represent 31 percent of arrests (Sampson and Lauritsen 1997). Although juveniles have special legal status and are deemed by the federal courts to lack full responsibility for their crimes and are therefore not sentenced as adults, there are racial and sex disparities in arrests and sentencing. Snyder (1996) shows that between 1989 and 1993, 81 percent of the juveniles referred to court for delinquency offenses were male. During the same time period, 66 percent of all youths referred to juvenile courts for delinquent offenses were white, 31 percent were African American, and about 4 percent were Native American or Asian/Pacific Islander.  Notably, African American juveniles were referred to court at greater rates than other groups of juveniles in all delinquency offense categories. For example, in Kentucky, minority youths make up 14 percent of the population but 44 percent of those who are detained for trial.

    The African American juvenile offense profile differs markedly from those of European Americans and other racial categories. A greater proportion of African American juvenile delinquency involves crimes against persons or drug offenses; these patterns of violence against persons continue while detained. In contrast, European American juvenile delinquency primarily involves crimes against property (Butts et al. 1995).  For some of the imprisoned African American population, the performances of actions which warrant imprisonment seem to have become natural occurrences of their formative experiences. "Have you ever been to jail?" may no longer be an uncommon question for an African American male, and the answer is frequently yes.

    Using data collected through direct observation by the first author from three correctional facilities in South Carolina, we explore processes within the prison system that provide insight into juvenile delinquency among African American males and factors which influence their construction of masculinity, which is typically viewed as maladjusted. Although African Americans make up only 30 percent of the entire population of South Carolina, in 2003, African American males constituted 68 percent of the total inmate population of the state's Department of Juvenile Justice (hereafter DJJ). We begin our study with a brief background of the US criminal justice system, in relation to African Americans.  We then describe the data and report our observations. We conclude with theoretical and practical implications of the observations. Analytic understanding is based on encounters at the male juvenile facilities where relationships between juveniles and employees were magnified by the increased numbers of juveniles. 

African Americans and the American Penal System

    The difficulties and poor treatment of African Americans in the contemporary US criminal justice system are not new, but reflect their historical treatment in America. Du Bois ([1903] 1973; [1899] 1996) describes the asymmetrical color line in colonial America which subjected Negroes to lynching and the destruction of their properties by white mobs. White America assumed that African American subordination could be secured through cruel treatment, including hangings. After the American Revolution, this treatment changed to imprisonment as the means of not only assuring the subordination of blacks, but of deterring crime. By 1820, it was assumed that rehabilitation could be effected by removing prisoners from corrupting influences through hard work and either solitary or group confinement in which model prisoners worked on chain gangs and ate together, but did not speak to each other. By the end of the Civil War, prisons were overcrowded, and ideas regarding rehabilitation were subsumed with warehousing—simply maintaining custody and control of inmates.

    In the 1960s, increasing economic prosperity and the Civil Rights movement contributed to renewed ideas about rehabilitation in therapeutic communities. During the 1960s and 1970s, legal mandates were created to prevent juvenile crimes.  The Supreme Court also assumed that juveniles could be rehabilitated so as to prevent future criminal behavior (Olson-Raymer 1973). Juvenile rehabilitation remains questionable, as evaluative research indicates that the criminal justice system is severely dysfunctional (Simpson 1976).

    Since the 1990s, there has been a renaissance of curfew laws in the US partly because of the financial benefits accruing from the reduced need for additional construction of institutional space to punish wrong-doers (Adams 2003).   Curfew laws have added benefit as high risk criminal offenders can be identified; there is a high probability that juveniles who are outside during the late night and early morning hours are not being supervised appropriately.  Young offenders, specifically those fourteen years old and younger, have been described as the "leading edge of the juvenile crime problem" (Butts and Snyder 1997). Although this group accounts for only about one-third of juvenile crime, violent crime rates between 1980 and 1995 for this group grew at twice the rate for older juveniles.

    The general argument in support of the practice of incarceration revolves around rehabilitation through incapacitation and deterrence. Incapacitation aims to reduce crime by isolating those individuals who would commit crimes.  If free, deterrence aims to reduce crime in the general population by punishing identified offenders. Punishing juvenile wrong-doers should generate disincentive for crime among potential juveniles, and also reduce the criminal behavior of the future adult population.  Problems with these approaches are that one is not certain who the potential criminals are, and how much punishment is needed to produce the desired reduction in crime (Logan 1972).

    Prisons exert deep influences on the offenders' personalities and affects how they are perceived. Their personalities are affected by increased interaction with other offenders; further, development of deep commitments with their peers rather than with their parents leads to increased deviancy (Nye 1958; Zucker 1943). Scholars argue that imprisonment portends inaccessibility to career jobs and other disadvantages (Sampson and Laub  1993; Bushway 1996; Kling 1999; Pager 2008).  For example, Sanchez-Jankowski (1991) characterizes the experience as a downward path which leads to the informal economy and/or to the secondary labor market (for a similar argument, see Sullivan 1989; Hagan 1993; Duneier 1999). This downward track which is incurred from prior experience with the criminal justice system has been shown to be negatively correlated with the likelihood of marriage and/or cohabitation (Hagan and Dinovitzer 1999); and incarceration of youngsters is linked to their strong attachment to gangs (Sanchez-Jankowski 1991; Venkatesh 2000).

    In the employment sector, Hagan (1993) argues for an inverse relationship between juvenile delinquency, and strong social networks and enduring employment opportunities. Sampson and Laub (1993) provide empirical support for a negative correlation between time served in prison and long-term employment for youth aged 17-25, and their commitment to work. Other scholars (Freeman 1992; Western and Beckett, 1999) report higher unemployment rates and low wages several years after incarceration for those youth experiencing imprisonment prior to age 20.
 In this vein, describing subjects in a New York City neighborhood, Sullivan (1989: 64-72) more pointedly asserts:

…participation in income-producing crime and the resulting involvement in the criminal justice system in turn kept them out of school and forced them to abandon their occupational goals. . . . By the end of their teens most of these youths had found and lost several jobs. . . . Wages, though irregular, replaced theft as their major source of income. . . . They were still frequently unemployed and generally made low wages when they did work.

    Few studies have examined deviant sexual behaviors in the production of relations among incarcerated juvenile African American males and female correctional officers, and how these relations contribute to the negative construction of African American male identity.   A major hindrance to doing research on the impact of prisons on African Americans has been the age old problem of gaining access to inmate participation (Struckman-Johnson et al. 1996).  Administrators have also been reluctant to allow certain kinds of research, and especially research about coercive sexuality in prisons (Alarid 2000; Ibrahim 1974). This issue remains buried deep within personnel files (Baro 1997). This article attempts to overcome some of these obstacles.  We examine how relationships which are sexual in nature not only influence African American juveniles' sense of cool pose in a threatening environment, but also reinforce their misogynist perceptions of women.

African American Masculinity: Some Explanations

    US society has traditionally held masculinity in a privileged position, bestowing power and prestige upon those who conform most closely to its ideal (i.e., being able to support one's family). For African American men, however, the ability to demonstrate masculinity in American society is further confounded by the status of being black in US society.  Stratification research has long noted the significance of race on socioeconomic attainment in the United States, with the literature being unambiguously clear: Blacks historically represent the most disadvantaged racial minority group in the United States (Franklin 1981; Farley and Allen 1987).  Thus, African American masculinity is generally viewed in the larger context of US racial stratification.

    Staples (1982), for example, argues that many of the problems faced by African American men today, including high rates of delinquency, incarceration, and drug abuse, can be attributed to their inability to fulfill the role of being a breadwinner. Lacking the opportunities to represent this most salient expression of masculinity in American society, African American males turn to alternative ways of showing their manhood; alternatives that are sometimes at odds with the values of the dominant culture. Segal (1990) further notes that in addition to being denied the "usual gender confirmations" in American society, African American men must also contend with the negative valuation of being black in a racially stratified society. Hence, as persons at the intersection of minority and majority cultures, African American males must learn to negotiate their way through the status of being a racial minority in a majority dominant society (Hunter and Davis 1992). Further, being a black male in America requires adaptation techniques that Majors and Billson (1992:2) termed as "cool pose." According to them, cool is the ability to be "poised under pressure and the ability to maintain detachment, even during tense encounters."  It is a way of "presenting to the world an emotionless, fearless, and aloof front [as a way of countering] the low sense of inner control, lack of inner strength, absence of stability, damaged pride, shattered confidence, and fragile social competence that come from living on the edge of society" Majors and Billson (1992: 8).  In short, cool pose is a technique of expressing masculinity in the context of being black and male in American society: a man seeking to represent his manhood but lacking the culturally approved way of doing so. Hence, Majors and Billson (1992:9) argue that "being cool enhances the Black man's pride and character, helps him cope with conflict and anxiety, and paves an avenue for expressiveness in entertainment…." 

    The Dozens, a "unique cultural phenomenon that has developed in many African American communities," is a related concept (Majors and Billson 1992:91).  The Dozens "is a way of establishing a 'rep' (reputation) on the street, as well as a way to avoid violence in confrontations. It is a rehearsal for life, for if one can handle himself playing the Dozens, one can handle himself with anyone" (Al-Mateen 1993:270).  Believed to be rooted in slavery, an explanation for the Dozens is that: "Field slaves used the game in place of physical assault on untouchable, higher-status house slaves .... field slaves could vent their spleen by insulting their parents and remote ancestors. If the insults worked and the house slaves showed discomfort, then the vilification became even more lewd and vulgar" (Majors and Billson 1992:98).  The Dozens also reveal ambivalence towards the women in one's life.  It is "a contest of verbal dexterity, a high level of trading insults, frequently involving the women in one's life" (Al-Mateen 1993:271), which is similar to the concepts of thugging and piping used in this study.

    Although much is known about factors that give rise to juvenile delinquency, there is very little understanding about the phenomenon among juveniles termed thugging. The term "thug" is not a new expression; currently, it is used in the popular music culture of rap and hip-hop, and has been adopted into mainstream culture. Thug is a term that juveniles at the observed facilities use to galvanize their collective identity, and thugging describes their behaviors to resist institutional demands. In addition to being thugs, juveniles in our study identified themselves by region of origin when feuding among themselves. Metro identifies juveniles from Columbia, SC; Charleston Boys are those from the lower country and Greenville Boys are those from Greenville, SC. However, the thug identity was more salient than these other identities. Juveniles who were thugging responded to officers' directives with "Shut up;" "F_ _ _ k you;" or "Do it yourself."  Juveniles tended to thug more frequently against newer officers, and less so against seasoned officers, social workers and administrators whom they believed could extend their detention.  For example, it is the rule that hats are removed indoors of correctional facilities.  On one occasion, a juvenile, John, was asked to remove his hat after entering the cafeteria.  He responded, "No f_ _ _ k you."   The officer had followed procedures, and John was familiar with the request, yet he blatantly refused. His refusal is just one example of how juveniles resist authority.  Another juvenile, Robert, clarified that juveniles may choose to cooperate or choose to act as thugs.  He stated:

When these boys decide to thug there is no telling what they will do.  Fights break out, batteries are thrown at staff, they refuse to go to school, and the Captain has to come.

    Data for the study were obtained from direct observations at three correctional facilities in South Carolina: a maximum security adult correctional facility which housed youthful offenders; a transitional juvenile group home; and a closed juvenile correctional facility.  The transitional juvenile group home was observed over a one year period (2000-2001) and the closed juvenile correctional facility was observed over a six month period (September 2002- February 2003).

    Juveniles, considered to be youth up to age 18, usually enter the juvenile justice system in South Carolina when they are taken into custody by law enforcement or when a Solicitor or a school refers them to the DJJ. At this stage, personnel at a DJJ county office interview the juvenile. DJJ has offices in 43 of South Carolina's 46 counties. Of the 27,328 cases referred to DJJ during fiscal year 2003/04, 68 percent of the total population was male and 56 percent was African American. The average age was 14.5 years. Sixty-four percent of the total population came from households with annual incomes of less than $20,000. The primary charge associated with cases referred to DJJ statewide was school disturbances (www.state.sc.us/djj/pdfs/
DJJ-2004- Report-Card.pdf).

    At the close of fiscal year 2003/04, a daily population of 795 juveniles was held in hardware secure facilities at DJJ. A daily population of 657 juveniles was located in staff secure placements in the community such as in group homes or in community residence placements.  Secured facilities housing consist of double cells, and all perimeters are single fenced with extensive electronic surveillance. Inmates are closely supervised and their activities and movement within the institutions are highly restricted, with several head counts at each point of movement. Recidivism data for fiscal year 1999/2000 indicate that 12 months after release (parole) into the community following incarceration, 46.6 percent of juveniles reoffended. By 24 months following release, the rate of reoffending increased to 68.1 percent (www.state.sc.us/djj/pdfs/DJJ-2004-
Report-Card.pdf).

    Typically, juveniles start out in a closed facility with chain linked and razor wire fencing.  Prior to returning home they are transitioned into a group home where there are no fences and far fewer youth.  Juveniles who become older than eighteen while serving their sentences are then sent to adult facilities. The correctional facilities observed in this study were composed mainly of African American male inmates and correctional officers.  Three out of 46 juvenile correctional officers were Caucasian, and ten out of approximately one hundred juveniles were Caucasian.

    Data were also collected from 1992 to 1998 on young offenders ages 17-25 at an adult facility which housed on average 20,776 adult inmates in twenty-eight institutions.  These institutions are categorized into four distinct security levels: high security (level 3), medium security (level 2), minimum security (level 1B) and community-based pre-release/work centers (level 1A). The architectural design of the institution, type of housing, operational procedures, and the level of security staffing determine an institution's security level. Inmates are assigned to institutions which meet their specific security, programming, medical, educational, and work requirements. The first author worked at a level 3 institution designed primarily to house violent offenders with longer sentences and inmates with behavioral problems. Housing consists of single and double cells, and all perimeters are double-fenced with extensive electronic surveillance. Inmates at level 3 facilities are closely supervised and their activities and movement within the institution are highly restricted. The institutions utilized similar organizational structures in the custody and control of inmates.

    As an employee at all three facilities, the first author had ample opportunity to participate in the everyday experiences of officers and inmates, and to observe, record and validate the identified patterns of relationships. He was encouraged by more experienced officers to learn about the juveniles by reading their intake files which noted their offenses, family structure (e.g. single parented or not), family income, and institutional rehabilitative progress.  He was able to engage in conversations with administrators regarding institutional concerns. A senior official estimated that 90 percent of juveniles come from single female headed households with income below the poverty level. Since data were collected through direct observation, a tape recorder was not used.  However observations were recorded immediately after work. Officers, administrators, and inmates were asked for clarifications as needed.

    This study is a rare insider's view of the ways in which different actors contribute to juvenile rehabilitation. Exploring juvenile rehabilitation entails understanding the relationships between specific actors in particular settings; one cannot be separated from the other (Garfinkel 2006). Within the context of this research, participant observation was an effective method for collecting data as it permitted the first author to systematically study and understand social life from the perspective of actors within their lived environments. As such, this study is predicated on the fundamental assumption that social reality is not static, and that people create their realities through their lived experiences as they reflect on, interact with, and respond to others (Pruss 1996). Comparative analysis was used to systematically review and identify primary themes that emerged in notes taken from each institution. To maintain anonymity and in keeping with field research protocol, pseudonyms were created for all personal names, but location names were left unchanged.

Resistance through Thugging

    Thugging occurred more frequently and most forcefully against new female officers. They had to give repeated verbal orders for juveniles to obey.  Emblematic of this was the unit which housed sex offenders.  These juveniles responded to orders given by new female officers to leave for school by knocking down lockers which were stacked against the wall of the day room onto the floor and by refusing to attend school. Some juveniles did not perceive thugging to be resistance to rules, but as a deep attachment to their communities and peers. Thus what others in authority classify as defiance, some juveniles take to be symbolic of community attachment.  When peers were present, juveniles would much prefer to resist as part of their commitment to being like their peers. Private and individual conversations with juveniles were cordial at the facilities. However, attempting to carry on a conversation in the presence of their peers elicited aggressive thug responses, which included the use of expletives.

    The language of resistance which juveniles utilized was reflected in the rap music which they listened to. The lyrics were littered with the frequent use of expletives, depicted graphic violence and referred to women as bitches. At times individual juveniles would cry foul, but these juveniles would then later disrespect female officers. Jim was overheard in conversation with other juveniles:

Jim: I think Eminem is the bomb.

Other Juvenile: 50 Cent can out rap Eminem any day.

Jim: I think Eminem is better but he went too far in disrespecting his own mother on stage. I couldn't curse my own mother, that's just going too far for me.

Female Correctional Officers

    In general, officers were a vital part of the system as they took the brunt of breaking up fights, escorted unruly juveniles to eat and to recreate in the gym, and accounted for the whereabouts of juveniles through daily institutional head counts. In many ways the female officers were unsupported and had to be creative with material resources. For example, some officers resorted to metering out scarce rolls of toilet paper to juveniles, and negotiated with other juveniles for toilet paper when the supply was exhausted. It is important for officers to have the cooperation of juveniles.  Officers saw to the cleanliness of the units by asking juveniles to clean the unit, although there were always broken and insufficient numbers of buffers, mops, and buckets.  When the units were not up to par, the officer was blamed, and incoming shifts would refuse to accept charge of a dirty unit.

    It was not uncommon for female correctional officers to trade playful blows with male juveniles to construct cooperative relationships. For example, once while marching in the courtyard, a juvenile walked up to the side of a female officer and lightly kicked the side of her ankle; the female officer in turn kicked the juvenile's foot. He then broke out into a wide grin. On occasion, juveniles initiated play which could involve touching intimate areas of the body. In one pointed case, a juvenile used his backside to repeatedly bounce into the pubic area of a female officer as she stood in the entrance doorway, in full public view of other juveniles and her male peers. These interactions run counter to the intended system of control in which officers, despite their gender, give orders and juveniles in turn, learn obedience.  Yet these incidents were common at the juvenile facilities.   The administration paid lip service to this flagrant disregard for institutional rules and verbal abuse of officers by threatening to replace female officers with male officers. Male officers supported this and an officer stated that "we are having a hard time with the female officers.  We need positive male role models for these young boys."

    The senior administration, which was all male, knew that female officers had befriended the juveniles and were living out the maxim that familiarity breeds contempt. The male administration desired a militaristic atmosphere in which juveniles, like military personnel, were to be obedient and respectful.  It was toward this end that an ROTC program was introduced, but its success was questionable in an environment of rampant disrespect.

    The ineffectiveness of female officers was noticed by males who pointed out that there were few incident reports in which a female officer physically assisted a male officer in restraining an out of control juvenile. Female officers typically played the role of observer, who watched the male officer wrestle juveniles into submission. On several occasions male officers complained that females sided with juveniles by encouraging juveniles who were restrained to write biased and accusatory statements of physical abuse.  Rather than display aggression, female officers tended to play with juveniles as a means of securing compliance. These officers explained that permitting playful touching from the juveniles was a way of carrying out their job function of control in a male dominated environment.

    At times play relationships were effective and at other times they were not. Sometimes making a joke out of a directive is an effective method of encouraging juveniles to immediately comply. This is because the DJJ is not based on a system of punishment, but on incentive and cooperation.  With this approach to juvenile justice and rehabilitation, an officer cannot physically force a juvenile to comply with institutional directives. The officer has to develop what a senior male official described as the military capability to maintain the control of juveniles through verbal demands. Playing was how female officers interpreted this rule and creatively gained juvenile compliance.

    Despite the creativity, play relationships did not work when male juveniles were to be frisk searched for contraband. In some instances juveniles openly declared that they wanted to be frisk searched by female rather than by male officers. On one occasion, juveniles lined up for Joan, a female officer to frisk them but refused to be searched by Eric, the male officer. A juvenile in the line called Joan his mother but cursed at Eric and threatened him with assault. Female officers who gave into such frisk search requests became targets for sexual harassment. Fran, a new officer, exemplifies this process. One afternoon, she spent an hour conversing with five juveniles on the playing field. After returning to their dormitory for the evening change of shift, Jed was particularly exhilarated. He and one of his peers were singing to the tune of Jingle Bells to symbolize their scrotums and Fran having touched them during the frisk search. Fran did not understand that by conversing with the juveniles and later frisk searching them that they had become sexually stimulated. Later that evening Jed and his friend both took out their penises in front of Fran as she did security rounds.

    However the play approach was sometimes effective as it enabled some female officers to enter into cordial relations with male juveniles while overcoming the daily hardships of working in a harsh environment. Feminist analyses of sexual harassment point out that these discriminatory practices are constituted within a framework of male social, political and legal dominance (MacKinnon 1979; Samuels 2003).  These conditions often were intolerable to many of their peers who had by then made the difficult choice to resign. Some officials quoted a 98 percent turn-over rate of officers over a one year period.

    Notable about play relations between female officers and male juveniles was that orders given by new female officers were usually not obeyed by the juveniles. In contrast, more seasoned officers who also played with the juveniles had their orders obeyed minimally, after many friendly reminders. In fact, juveniles with status helped to control their mates once seasoned officers gave directives. The play approach used by females was tolerated but not encouraged by the administration.  The male administration preferred the militaristic approach of giving orders and having them obeyed, as the play approach encouraged juveniles to gratify themselves sexually after a period of play with female officers.

    Male officers also played with juveniles, but juveniles referred to their play as "feeling of the muscle." It was through the use of actual physical restraints and horse playing that males established their authority in the system. After being restrained, juveniles could be heard remarking, "He is strong," or the reverse, "I thought you were strong." Nigel, an example, was restrained by a male officer for refusing to report to his room and for exhibiting physical defiance to a female officer.  Referring to the male officer, Nigel could be heard telling other juveniles, "He is strong." This statement came even though Nigel had reported the male officer to the prison administration for brutality. More seasoned male officers understood the need for feeling of the muscle and encouraged new male officers to physically restrain juveniles so as to become established, which meant that juveniles were more apt to obey orders that were given by that officer. Some established male officers handed out candy bars and supplied toiletry items to juveniles. These items replaced the play which female officers permitted. For example, Fred bought the dormitory in which he worked hair clippers and buckets of wax for the floors, and brought in his own toilet paper.

Quid Pro Quo and Piping

    The term quid pro quo is used to refer to cases of sexual harassment between male and female employees.  A common example of quid pro quo often used by trainers is of a male employee in higher authority demanding sexual favors from a female subordinate in exchange for promotions. The demand for sexual favors is expressed directly as in, "If you go to bed with me, I will make sure you keep your job or get a raise," or can be implied as in cases of touching, grabbing and/or fondling. Quid pro quo has broader applications to any relationship in which one party gives something and demands something else in return. This sexual harassment of working women is widespread and systemic. Although written policies and procedures exist to identify sexual harassment and to provide legal and other means of recourse, the actions remain frequently ignored in the workplace, with devastating consequences for the victim (MacKinnon 1979; Boland 2005; Baker 2007).

    Although juveniles have no administrative power, they have legal rights which they use to justify their actions, including making their own unspoken sexual demands in return for the favor of temporary compliance with institutional demands. One way that the juveniles brought female officers to a point of willingness to play was for the more daring juveniles to pipe officers.  They referred to piping as when the juvenile exposed his penis to the officer while openly masturbating and even ejaculating. This act could be performed individually or in a group.  For new female employees this act occurred daily.  Within their first two days of employment, piping occurred twice for Joan and three times for Sarah. These new female officers were still at the "I give you orders and you obey" stage. Once a deal is struck, female officers evolve to the "I play with you and you do not openly pipe me" stage. At this juvenile facility, three of the seven female officers on the shift were seasoned playful females who had been at the institution for more than three years.  They were not piped openly, but juveniles hid and peeked at them while masturbating. Part of the tacit deal that seasoned female officers made with the juveniles included knowing when to conduct security checks, knowing when juveniles were piping them and when they should intentionally stare at the television rather than walk the hallways. Teachers in the facility were also well seasoned and whenever they suspected that a juvenile was piping behind doors, they would begin slamming doors to break the offender's penile erection and mental concentration. In contrast, the new employee, usually with less than a year's tenure, continuously walked the hall and therefore frequently contended with piping. Joan was such a committed new officer.  She was so perturbed and distraught by her many piping experiences that she did not come to work for four days and threatened to quit her job.  Joan complained that nothing was done to juveniles who piped her. Sometimes the juvenile went to lockup for a week or so but would be right back to repeat the offense. The juvenile who piped Joan on that night was never sent to lock-up.

    Juveniles often commented on their relationships with their mothers as ones in which they could drown out their mother's orders and continue to do as they chose. In describing his relationship with his mother, a juvenile screamed:

"F_  _ k my mother; she has never been   there for me!"

    The term piping was never used at the Department of Corrections, instead inmates were said to "flash." The difference was that the inmate exposed himself without masturbation.  Tensions regarding sexual perversions were less evident at the Department of Corrections than at the juvenile facility.  At the Department of Corrections, flashing occurred routinely but female officers chose to ignore and not to report them. The older ages of inmates at the Department of Corrections compared with inmates at the juvenile facility may partially explain why incidents were lower. 

    For increasing numbers of African American males, imprisonment is expected during their lives.  Therefore it is necessary to understand how juvenile incarceration experiences impact their social relations.  This research supports the position that imprisonment represents degradation through reconstituted selves. The former identity becomes accidental and the new, degraded prison identity becomes the basic reality.  Recent juveniles who complied with institutional rules soon assumed delinquent roles. This study discussed the concepts of thugging and piping which relate to African American male juvenile imprisonment and their ideas of masculinity.  Thugging adds to existing concepts such as cool pose (Majors and Billson 1992) and the Dozens (Al-Mateen 1993), which explain how adult black males make sense of their lives. In addition, with its debilitating effects, thugging explains how juveniles galvanize their sense of masculinity in an extremely threatening environment. Correctional officers as well as the juveniles experienced degradation. Officers who came in adhering to institutional rules soon realized that they were not the norm.  Employees had to broker deals with juveniles to gain their compliance, thus maintaining the roles of thugging and piping.  Piping, or public masturbation and ejaculation performed by thugs, adds to the literature on how black juveniles perpetrate violence against female officers. Piping reverses prison gender roles in which male guards harass female prisoners such that male juveniles now sexually harass adult females. Piping was particularly troubling for new female officers as it mitigated their authority in a male dominated setting.

    Juvenile acts of delinquency were in part the product of group influences.  New residents learned both the techniques and the motives and drives involved in committing deviant acts within a group context.  Acts of thugging and piping which are deviant within the context of the larger society were the constant standards of relations between African American male juveniles and female correctional officers. The implications for African American males are grave as many of their lives revolve around a broken warehousing residential system whose efforts at rehabilitation are less than effective. This is reflected in 2002 to 2007 patterns of black, male, youth gang violence in Columbia, South Carolina, showing that gang-involved suspects and victims in violent crimes are primarily between the ages of 16-19.

    Finally, there are limitations to this exploratory study. Most notable is that while the prison system in the state of South Carolina may be similar to systems for the entire country, there may be factors of incarceration that are specific to South Carolina and not representative of other states.  Thus cases discussed in the study may not be representative of cases in other states.  Despite the limitations of the study, this exploratory analysis is based on direct observation within the American penal system. It provides a first hand glimpse into the formation of relationships among juvenile inmates and female correctional officers. 

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