Abstract
This study aims to discuss imprisoned women’s affective and sexual relationships based on six case studies with female prisoners in a small Brazilian mixed prison. The instruments used were semi-structured interviews, analyzed according to critical feminist criminology and attachment theory, by John Bowlby. The affective-sexual relationships in adulthood were understood based on childhood experiences, marked by the lack of satisfaction of their affective needs, multiple violence, disruption of affective bonds, and the desire of constituting what is deemed as a traditional family. In prison, they face contact limitations, breakups and, sometimes, strengthening of the relationships. In all the cases analyzed, they aspire to reiterate the function of being a woman by establishing a family to obtain recognition as a subject. This research made apparent the need for questioning social gender normativities, restrictions on contact imposed within prisons, and current Brazilian incarceration policy.
Keywords:
Imprisonment; Affective-Sexual Relationships; Gender; Attachment Theory