ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how men and women in prison perform gender through several socially constructed gender roles. It introduces the Prison Rape Elimination Act, a federal statute that rhetorically proclaims 'zero tolerance' of sexual victimization while, according to its critics, lacking meaningful enforcement tools. The chapter examines how courts have responded to prisoner lawsuits arguing that non-conforming expressions of gender merit constitutional protection. It presents the constitutional arguments for and against permitting same-sex marriage between an inmate and a non-inmate. In 2001, Human Rights Watch faulted prison staff for doing little to prevent sexual assault in prison. Congress enacted the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 to study the incidence of prison rape, to train staff and inmates alike to counter prison rape and other forms of sexual victimization, and to create standards to guide staff in detecting and responding to sexual victimization, including sexual harassment, by inmates as well as staff.
