Cafeteria, Commissary and Cooking: Foodways and Negotiations of Power and Identity in a Women’S Prison
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City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 2013 Cafeteria, Commissary and Cooking: Foodways and Negotiations of Power and Identity in a Women’s Prison Amy Brooks Smoyer Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1974 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] CAFETERIA, COMMISSARY AND COOKING: FOODWAYS AND NEGOTIATIONS OF POWER AND IDENTITY IN A WOMEN’S PRISON by AMY B. SMOYER A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Social Welfare in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2013 ii © 2013 AMY BROOKS SMOYER All Rights Reserved iii This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Social Welfare in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. ______Deborah L. Tolman. EdD_______________ ________________________ _________________________________________ Date Chair of Examining Committee ______Harriet Goodman, DSW________________ ________________________ _________________________________________ Date Executive Officer ______Mimi Abramovitz, DSW________________ ______Willie Tolliver, DSW__________________ ______Rosemary Barberet, PhD________________ Supervisory Committee THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iv ABSTRACT CAFETERIA, COMMISSARY AND COOKING: FOODWAYS AND NEGOTIATIONS OF POWER AND IDENTITY IN A WOMEN’S PRISON by Amy B. Smoyer Adviser: Professor Deborah L. Tolman This study uses foodways theory to build knowledge about the lived experience of incarceration by analyzing women’s narratives about prison food and eating. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 formerly incarcerated women in New Haven, CT. The interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed. Findings explain the different ways that inmates collect, prepare, distribute and consume food, and the centrality of these activities to incarcerated life. By shedding light on these daily routines, the world of prison life comes into greater focus. Thematic analysis of the data further illuminates the prison experience by suggesting the positive and negative ways that food impacts inmate’s perceptions of themselves, their social networks and the State. Negative foodways humiliated the women, accentuated their powerlessness, and reinforced their perceptions of the State as nonsensical and apathetic towards their needs. Positive foodways illustrated the inmates’ capacity to resist State power, build/maintain relationships and construct positive self-narratives. Racialized foodways narratives began to reveal how food stories may be deployed to reinforce prison’s racial character and construct the identities of self and other. Foodways interventions to support the rehabilitative goals of correctional facilities are proposed. These data suggest that inmates want to build positive relationships and identities and that prison food systems could do more to help women realize these intentions. v DEDICATION For the women and girls across time and place who have been denied the opportunity to attend school. This one is for you. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Everyone has a story. Mine includes a huge cast of characters; here are the leading roles: First, the scholars. The PhD role models who led, and inspired, by example: Carl, Dr. David D., Jonathan, Stacy, and Trinka. My mentors at work who urged me to start, and stop, and gave me the flexibility to make it happen: Kim and Nate. My CUNY cohort, each of whom brought a unique style and curiosity to this endeavor: Craig, Jama, Johanna, Johanna, Martha, Michelle, Rhoda, Shannah and Wan. All of my teachers along the way, especially Sandra Sparrow, Elizabeth Blackmar, Sharon Maxwell, and my dissertation chair, Deborah Tolman. May your findings always be significant. Second, the blog readers: Alycia, Jennifer, Jessica, Jon, Pete, Trace and my English class in Pontepedriña. Your tolerant enthusiasm and attention to my ranting can never be repaid. Third, the New Haven-Hooker community of friends who keep me all fuzzy and warm: Andy & Cameron; Christine & Lance; Kaveh, Salma & PK; Libby; Lisa & Rich; Monica & Todd; Rebecca & Ben; Sandy & Jay. Pam at Evergreen. Thanks for inviting me over and letting me stay. Fourth, my family from Marion to Santiago de Compostela, Fairbanks to Akron, young and old, dead and alive, who have created the foundation from which this all grows. Especially my parents who taught me to be unafraid and curious, cheered me on every step of the way, and covered the home front; my in-laws, for their unconditional support; cousin JJ, the keeper of the ring; and my sister, Laura, for listening and always agreeing with me, unless I am wrong. Finally, the ones at the center. The women who participated in this study and allowed me to learn and grow from their survival. My little mermaid, always kicking deeper. My patient boy. And the cute guy who thought it was a good idea and has never stopped believing that. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………………. iv DEDICATION…………………………….……………………………………………. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………………… vi LIST OF APPENDICES…………………………………………………………………. xiii INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT OF RESEARCH………………………………. 1 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW AND PROBLEM FORMULATION………….. 8 A. Prison Studies 1. Historic overview 2. Themes and theory a. Order and legitimacy b. Resistance c. Desistence and identity d. Race B. Women in Prison 1. The female prison experience a. Relationships b. Violence 2. The female prisoner a. Descriptive statistics i. The 1994 BJS report ii. Other BJS reports iii. Other quantitative data a. Access to health care b. Physical health care c. Mental health care d. Gender-responsive interventions b. Qualitative Data 3. Gaps in knowledge and critique a. Construction of the Other b. Quotidian activities c. Qualitative data about the prison experience C. Food and Foodways 1. Foodways theory a. Culture and identity b. Social space 2. Gendered foodways a. Culture and identity b. Social space viii 3. Prison foodways a. Prison nutrition and food service b. Foodways analysis D. Summary and Conclusions CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY...……………………….. 49 A. Qualitative Methodology 1. Study purpose 2. Epistemology and ontology B. Target Population & Recruitment 1. York Correctional Institution (YCI) 2. Evergreen a. Description of Evergreen organization and services b. Evergreen as the study’s recruitment site c. Representativeness of Evergreen clientele 3. Human subjects protections 4. Recruitment steps and phases a. Screening and verifying eligibility b. Changes and exceptions to eligibility criteria c. Description of sample C. Interview Instrument and Data Collection 1. The semi-structured interview 2. The pilot phase (2009) a. Pilot successes b. Lessons learned 3. Continuation of data collection (2011) 4. Transcription 5. Member checking D. Data Analysis 1. Listening, reading and memo-writing a. Participant matrix 2. Coding process a. Coding tree b. Applying, editing and consolidating codes 3. Generation of findings a. Description of foodways b. Thematic analysis E. Summary CHAPTER 3: DESCRIPTION OF PRISON FOODWAYS ……………………………… 73 A. Food During Arrest and Intake 1. Police lock-up a. Baloney and juice b. Fast food 2. YCI intake 3. Transitional units ix 4. Court runs B. Eating in the General Population 1. Cafeteria a. Social space b. Cafeteria hustles 2. Commissary a. Funding accounts b. Commissary hustles 3. Eating at Work and School a. Kitchen jobs b. Commissary jobs c. Groundskeeping jobs d. Classroom food 4. Cell Cooking a. Recipes b. Cooking tools c. Cooking groups C. Other Spaces: Foodways in the Special Units 1. Segregation 2. Medical unit 3. Therapeutic communities 4. Other spaces CHAPTER 4: NEGATIVE FOODWAYS ………………………………………………. 100 A. “Let Them Eat Cake”: The Apathetic Nonsensical Institution 1. Apathy 2. Nonsense 3. Summary B. “Hungrier than a Hostage”: Power and Powerlessness in Prison 1. Hungry for food a. Initial hunger b. Nighttime hunger c. Apathy and nonsense redux 2. Hungry for power a. Control over food b. Control over self and others 3. Summary C. Food and Punishment 1. Punishing foodways a. Nasty b. Rushed c. Watched d. Served i. Cafeteria x ii. Commissary iii. CO foodstuff e. Cooking 2. Foodways punishment a. Humiliation b. Body searches 3. Summary D. Conclusion CHAPTER 5: POSITIVE FOODWAYS………………………………………………….. 130 A. Food and Resistance 1. Portion resistance a. Resistance by cafeteria workers b. Resistance by tier workers c. CO reaction to portion resistance 2. Hoarding, smuggling and stealing a. Hoarding b. Smuggling and stealing i. Smuggling to court runs ii. Smuggling to cafeteria iii. Smuggling from cafeteria iv. Stealing from the kitchen 3. Cell eating and cooking a. Eating b. Cooking i. Rule breaking ii. Re-purposing 4. Summary B. Feeding Relationships 1. Relationships Outside a. Received money for commissary b. Did not receive money for commissary 2. Relationships Inside a. Controlling food knowledge b. Controlling food resources i. Tier workers ii. Kitchen workers iii. Kitchen cooks iv. Tier cooks c. Cooking groups xi d. Cafeteria relationships 3. Summary C. Good & Healthy: (Re)construction of the Self through Prison Foodways 1.