42 votes

What it’s like to have your period in prison

20 comments

  1. MimicSquid
    Link
    Indignity after indignity after indignity. The lack of appropriate sanitary supplies coupled with the shaming of bodily functions by the other inmates and a lack of understanding or sympathy from...

    Indignity after indignity after indignity. The lack of appropriate sanitary supplies coupled with the shaming of bodily functions by the other inmates and a lack of understanding or sympathy from the guards is a terrible combination. There are so many things wrong with incarceration in the USA, but this is definitely one of them.

    11 votes
  2. [7]
    snake_case
    Link
    I wonder what they do if you enter prison with an IUD? I feel like Id just keep that a secret unless it makes me sick. From what I read in theory they can stay in for forever, but I guess the...

    I wonder what they do if you enter prison with an IUD? I feel like Id just keep that a secret unless it makes me sick. From what I read in theory they can stay in for forever, but I guess the periods would come back when the hormones run out.

    4 votes
    1. [6]
      DefinitelyNotAFae
      Link Parent
      Having worked with people on parole at least in my state, there's no reason they'd remove it unless there was a problem or possibly if it hit its end of life. Prison medical care is not great either.

      Having worked with people on parole at least in my state, there's no reason they'd remove it unless there was a problem or possibly if it hit its end of life. Prison medical care is not great either.

      4 votes
      1. [5]
        snake_case
        Link Parent
        Right, I’m thinking they wouldn’t even know about it unless I told them.

        Right, I’m thinking they wouldn’t even know about it unless I told them.

        2 votes
        1. [4]
          DefinitelyNotAFae
          Link Parent
          You'd probably want them to know, because it's the sort of thing where a perforation or something could occur and you might need medical support. Prison time is generally a sentence over 2 years...

          You'd probably want them to know, because it's the sort of thing where a perforation or something could occur and you might need medical support. Prison time is generally a sentence over 2 years (serving at least 1 of those). But they do catalog medical info.

          4 votes
          1. [3]
            snake_case
            Link Parent
            I feel like Id get medical support if that ever happened, and theyd figure it out then

            I feel like Id get medical support if that ever happened, and theyd figure it out then

            1 vote
            1. [2]
              DefinitelyNotAFae
              Link Parent
              My best advice is honestly stay out of prison. It's a shitty place to be. And once you're there, everyone assumes that you deserve to be nowhere else

              My best advice is honestly stay out of prison. It's a shitty place to be. And once you're there, everyone assumes that you deserve to be nowhere else

              12 votes
              1. snake_case
                Link Parent
                Bahaha well yes, of course. My anxiety be plannin tho you know how it is

                Bahaha well yes, of course. My anxiety be plannin tho you know how it is

                5 votes
  3. [12]
    Asinine
    Link
    This frustrates me personally, similarly as Shane Bauer's American Prison did. The system is so screwed up on every aspect that it almost doesn't matter anymore why the people are in prison: the...

    This frustrates me personally, similarly as Shane Bauer's American Prison did. The system is so screwed up on every aspect that it almost doesn't matter anymore why the people are in prison: the system is just as bad.

    2 votes
    1. [11]
      DefinitelyNotAFae
      Link Parent
      I've said before I'm just shy of being an abolitionist, but I'd be hard pressed to argue that prison abolition would cause more aggregate harm than the status quo.

      I've said before I'm just shy of being an abolitionist, but I'd be hard pressed to argue that prison abolition would cause more aggregate harm than the status quo.

      6 votes
      1. [10]
        Asinine
        Link Parent
        I don't see that as the solution at all, but reform is definitely going to be difficult to achieve.

        I don't see that as the solution at all, but reform is definitely going to be difficult to achieve.

        5 votes
        1. [9]
          DefinitelyNotAFae
          Link Parent
          I've hit a point where the system would have to be burnt down and replaced to even approach being something that isn't about dehumanization and punishment.

          I've hit a point where the system would have to be burnt down and replaced to even approach being something that isn't about dehumanization and punishment.

          6 votes
          1. [8]
            Asinine
            Link Parent
            Maybe, but there other systems here in the US that are so sadly similar: namely healthcare for one.

            Maybe, but there other systems here in the US that are so sadly similar: namely healthcare for one.

            1 vote
            1. [7]
              DefinitelyNotAFae
              Link Parent
              The difference for me is the people doing the day to day work - not the insurers or the For Profit owners of hospital systems - but the nurses and techs and doctors are mostly still in the...

              The difference for me is the people doing the day to day work - not the insurers or the For Profit owners of hospital systems - but the nurses and techs and doctors are mostly still in the business of helping people. Correctional Officers are IME as institutionalized as the inmates.

              We wouldn't need to burn it down, but we'd need the will to tell the money to fuck off.

              3 votes
              1. [6]
                slade
                Link Parent
                At the risk of stating the obvious, that's not the American way.

                we'd need the will to tell the money to fuck off.

                At the risk of stating the obvious, that's not the American way.

                1 vote
                1. [5]
                  DefinitelyNotAFae
                  Link Parent
                  I mean it's not a particularly helpful statement, no. We're not going to stop incarcerating those and treating them as less than human either by that standard. I live here. I'm aware. But if in...

                  I mean it's not a particularly helpful statement, no. We're not going to stop incarcerating those and treating them as less than human either by that standard.

                  I live here. I'm aware. But if in response to prison reform, someone says we have other things that need reformed, and so I give my thoughts on those other things, and the response is we won't do that either, well fuck us I guess.

                  Except I do believe it's possible to make change. I'd just rather actually talk about that than "nothing will happen" because that just terminates the conversation.

                  2 votes
                  1. [4]
                    slade
                    (edited )
                    Link Parent
                    We are in agreement. It can change. I'd like it to change. I support it changing. I agree with you that it can only be fixed if we gain the will to put ethics over dollars. I didn't say "nothing...

                    We are in agreement. It can change. I'd like it to change. I support it changing. I agree with you that it can only be fixed if we gain the will to put ethics over dollars.

                    I didn't say "nothing will happen", I said that it's not the American way. That's a lamentation about today (or everything you've said above wouldn't be true). It was pithy but I stand by it. What it was not is a prediction of the future nor an attempt to stop us talking about it.

                    I'd just rather actually talk about that than "nothing will happen" because that just terminates the conversation.

                    I appreciate everything you've said here. I thought my response was in line with your conclusion that "we need the will to tell money to fuck off", which is the core of all of America's most emergent problems. I can't add solutions but I thought it would be okay to commiserate and share my frustration. I didn't expect it to come across as a shutdown.

                    2 votes
                    1. [3]
                      DefinitelyNotAFae
                      Link Parent
                      I appreciate you coming back to clarify, and while it did feel like a shutdown, I understand and appreciate that that wasn't what you intended. It may have just been a function of coming into the...

                      I appreciate you coming back to clarify, and while it did feel like a shutdown, I understand and appreciate that that wasn't what you intended. It may have just been a function of coming into the conversation there, or my brain at the time.

                      No hard feelings on my part, just frustrated at the state of the world I guess.

                      1 vote
                      1. [2]
                        slade
                        Link Parent
                        Things are hard. I should be more thoughtful about adding to it with insubstantial negativity. Thank you for taking the time to talk about the things that you do. You're actually a significant...

                        Things are hard. I should be more thoughtful about adding to it with insubstantial negativity. Thank you for taking the time to talk about the things that you do. You're actually a significant reason why I wanted to join the community.

                        2 votes
                        1. DefinitelyNotAFae
                          Link Parent
                          I'm flattered, thank you. We're all just trying to get by I think

                          I'm flattered, thank you. We're all just trying to get by I think

                          2 votes