Food and penal legitimacy in women's prisons

Prison is a space of deprivation of liberty with multiple ‘pains of imprisonment’ inflicted on those serving time. One component of the prison experience seldom discussed is the impact of food, particularly the ways in which food communicates broader issues about penal legitimacy. Penal legitimacy – how the penal regime operates in ways which command authority and willingness to comply – has been understood through a multitude of prison regime elements, but rarely in the context of food. We reflect on the outcomes of these experiences and perceptions of food from the perspectives of women in prison, highlighting how these perceptions can impact on the legitimacy of the prison establishment and overall quality of life in prison. Data is drawn from fieldwork in four women's prisons in England, comprising 108 study participants.