“Straight away I was aware that I was Black”: Conceptualising the racialised pains of maternal imprisonment in England

Thomas, Monica and Stevens, Alisa (2026) “Straight away I was aware that I was Black”: Conceptualising the racialised pains of maternal imprisonment in England. Incarceration: An international journal of imprisonment, detention and coercive confinement, 7. ISSN 2632-6663

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Abstract

The gendered pains of imprisonment, and particularly the partial or complete deprivation of mothering, have been increasingly recognised in prisons scholarship. Yet, given the ‘colour-blind’ representation of maternal imprisonment in much of the British literature, the distinctive experiences of Black mothers have received little attention. This article begins to address this problematic oversight by drawing upon narrative interviews with nine Black mothers who have lived experience of imprisonment in England. From the standpoint of Black Feminist Thought, our analysis identities three intersecting pains of Black maternal imprisonment: Marginalised mothering, subtle discrimination, and self-censorship and appeasement. We argue processes of racialised and gendered oppression combine to shape Black mothers’ experiences within and through the prison walls and thus explicate the ways in which the prison perpetuates the systematic repression and regulation of Black motherhood.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number:	10.1177/26326663261456388
Dates:	Date Event 1 June 2026 Accepted 4 June 2026 Published Online
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Pains of imprisonment, Black motherhood, mothering, Black feminist thought, intersectionality
Subjects:	CAH15 - social sciences > CAH15-01 - sociology, social policy and anthropology > CAH15-01-02 - sociology
Divisions:	Law and Social Sciences > Criminology and Sociology > Criminology
Depositing User:	Gemma Tonks
Date Deposited:	09 Jul 2026 15:15
Last Modified:	09 Jul 2026 15:15
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/17111

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