The Social Construction of Sexuality in Prison

Prison sex research has generally followed an essentialist theoretical approach. Only Alarid used a social constructionist approach to understand sexuality behind bars. Using data collected from 142 male inmates in a Southern maximum-security correctional facility, the purpose of the present study was to examine whether engaging in sexual behavior affects a change in the sexual orientation of male prison inmates. Applying a social constructionist theoretical approach, the influence of several sociodemographic and situational variables on the change in sexual orientation was also examined. The only statistically significant variable associated with a change in sexual orientation was engaging in homosexual behavior. Inmates were more than 52 times more likely to change their sexual orientation if they engaged in homosexual activity while incarcerated, supporting the social constructionist approach.