Gender, Masculinity, Contemporary History and the Psychiatric Secure Estate: Back to the Future?

In contemporary history, the use of gendered treatments for women with mental health issues in the psychiatric secure estate is an issue of major concern in Great Britain. This paper examines women and gender in the psychiatric secure estate from a structural analysis drawing influence from Connell’s (1987) theoretical and conceptual work on hegemonic masculinity. Bio-psychological approaches have almost dominated academic discussion in relation to women’s incarceration and there is an reflexive need to develop other sociological frameworks on hegemonic masculinity because dominant bio-psychological models have failed to identify underlying configurations which combine to oppress women whilst simultaneously reproducing consequences of masculinity and power within institutional structures.