The first aim of this book was to fill a theoretical gap in the existing feminist literature by examining the development and establishment of the semi-penal institution as a significant arena of social control for 'deviant' women over two centuries. As mentioned in Chapter One, although there already exist some very comprehensive and critical analyses of various types of semi-penal institutions for women, these studies primarily focus on distinct and specific nineteenth and early twentieth century establishments.1 Thus, what these studies have generally failed to do is explicitly identify the common theoretical issues and discourses that make the development of such institutions for women a history rather than events in history.