Queer Approaches to Understanding Women’s Punishment Experiences in Cyprus

This chapter combines insights from the sociology of punishment and queer thought to explore the experiences of punishment and imprisonment among women ex-prisoners in Cyprus. Prior research in this context has revealed that ex-prisoners often describe experiences of pleasure and suffering during their time in prison. The chapter seeks to examine the gendered aspects of incarceration without oversimplifying the women’s stories, instead focusing on the paradoxes and ambiguities in their narratives. The empirical data is drawn from interviews with six women ex-prisoners—including a trans woman—and argues that the notion of resistance or compliance is influenced by gender and entails a complex and non-linear journey, leading to contradictory adjustments in the prison environment.