‘Can’t hack the whack’: Exploring young men’s gendered discourses on time in prison
| Author | Conor Murray |
| DOI | 10.1177/1748895820914379 |
| Published date | 01 November 2021 |
| Date | 01 November 2021 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1748895820914379
Criminology & Criminal Justice
2021, Vol. 21(5) 705 –724
© The Author(s) 2020
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DOI: 10.1177/1748895820914379
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‘Can’t hack the whack’:
Exploring young men’s
gendered discourses on
time in prison
Conor Murray
Ulster University, UK
Abstract
Although there is a growing body of literature that documents prisoners’ experiences of time
in custody, and while prison is usually the experience of young men, there are few studies
that focus on young men’s experiences of time in prison. Based on findings from a 9-month
ethnographic study of a young offenders’ institution, this article addresses these gaps in the
literature, exploring how young men’s (aged 18–24) gendered discourses on time in prison shape
their prison experience. This is explored through three principal themes: ‘heavy-whacking’, the
subordination of those young men who were struggling to cope with their time in prison; ‘time-
hierarchy’, the gendered discourses in prison that associated sentence length with toughness; and
the ‘Young-Elders’, a group of young men who benefitted from the gendered discourses in the
prison and lived relatively free from stigmatisation on the most enhanced landings in the prison.
Keywords
Gender, masculinity, prison, time, young men
Introduction
Although there is a growing body of literature that documents prisoners’ experiences of
time in custody (Cope, 2003; Crewe et al., 2017; O’Donnell, 2014; Sloan, 2016; Wahidin,
2006; Wahidin and Tate, 2005), and while ‘prison is usually the experience of young
men’ (Jamieson and Grounds, 2005: 53), there are few studies that focus on young men’s
experiences of time in prison (Cope, 2003). Based on findings from a 9-month ethno-
graphic study of a young offenders’ institution – Hydebank Wood Secure College, Belfast
(hereafter Hydebank), which houses young men aged 18–24 – this article addresses this
Corresponding author:
Conor Murray, School of Applied Social and Policy Sciences, Ulster University, Newtownabbey
BT37 0QB, UK.
Email: c.murray4@ulster.ac.uk
914379CRJ0010.1177/1748895820914379Criminology & Criminal JusticeMurray
research-article2020
Article
706 Criminology & Criminal Justice 21(5)
gap in the literature, exploring young men’s gendered discourses on time in prison.
Within this context, ‘gendered discourses’ refers to the spoken language, practices and
beliefs that are adopted by the young men in Hydebank and that suggest men should act
in a specific, gendered manner (Sunderland, 2004).
The findings included within this article are explored through three principal themes:
first, this article examines how some young men’s inability to cope with their ‘whack’ of
time in prison resulted in stigmatisation and bullying, with those who could not ‘hack the
whack’ being labelled ‘heavy-whackers’. Second, it considers how the gendered dis-
courses in Hydebank associated sentence length with toughness. This contributed to the
creation of a gendered hierarchy, with the young men utilising signs and signals to pro-
mote their positioning within the hierarchy. Finally, this article explores how certain
young men (named ‘Young-Elders’) benefitted from the gendered discourses relating to
time in Hydebank, due to being some of the longest-serving prisoners in the institution.
These young men lived relatively free from stigmatisation on the most enhanced land-
ings in the prison. The article begins with a discussion on time-punishment and the gen-
dered nature of prison time before progressing on to the findings from the study.
Time-punishment
Awareness surrounding the value of time has increased since the development of indus-
trialisation. During this period, time became a tool in the structuration of power relations
and a means of implementing discipline, evidenced through the introduction of timeta-
bles and ritually ordered time (Foucault, 1977; also see Medlicott, 1999; Wahidin, 2006).
Time became an economic variable interconnected with labour and capital, a quantified
resource measured in lengths (Wahidin, 2006); time became ‘currency’ (Thompson,
1967: 21).
In terms of punishment, time is inextricably linked with imprisonment, since, through
the deprivation of liberty for a specified period, the state quantifies a prisoner’s debt to
society in the currency of time. Within prison, time is largely externally controlled: the
period of imprisonment is determined by the court, eligibility for parole decided by gov-
ernors and prison officials, and daily routines moderated by prison staff in their enforce-
ment of the regime (Cope, 2003). Time becomes a disciplinary tool, a method for further
punishment through the extension of sentences; or a reward for good behaviour, via early
release. The principle underlying time-punishment is that linear time, travelling in one
direction, ends with mortality, which should – but does not always – impart a sense of
urgency about how to best use time. Thus, an individual is punished by the removal, from
their life, of time that cannot be regained (Wahidin, 2006).
Through time-discipline, prisons limit prisoners’ capacity to make decisions regard-
ing their daily lives (Foucault, 1977). Time-discipline is enacted through structured time-
tabling of the prisoner’s movements and regular ‘headcounts’ (Wahidin, 2006). Time
structures control how long an individual is able to spend with visitors, how long he or
she can shower, associate, eat and so on. Prisoners are thus forced to live by prison time,
which can affect their sense of temporal autonomy (Medlicott, 1999). The strict imple-
mentation of timetables, counting procedures and observation as disciplinary tools can
be stressful and can have psychological effects on prisoners (Scraton et al., 1991).
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