This article details the history of imprisoning women from the late-1800’s through 1989. Prior to twentieth century, women who committed crime were seen as needing moral correction and protection and were placed in reformatories specifically for women and run by women. Their offending was generally viewed as particularly heinous since women’s offending violated social norms of femininity in a patriarchal society. A shift in the thinking about women’s offending occurred in the latter part of the twentieth century when female offenders were viewed as needing punitive punishment rather than moral correction. For instance, during the 1980’s, the get tough on crime movement began when President Reagan declared the war on drugs because the media
