"This book explores power relationships in three women's penal establishments in England. The book's central argument is that a prison's control over its subjects is contingent and incomplete. Women manage to resist the pains of imprisonment, to some degree, despite their limited choices and opportunities. Particular attention is given to the ways in which choices and opportunities in race, class and sexuality enable such resistance.

The study breaks new ground by combining theoretical analysis of agency and identity with empirical research conducted in prison."--BOOK JACKET.