The Prison Boom

The prison boom refers to the large increase in the population of women prisoners starting in the 1970s. "Emancipation theorists" such as Freda Adler have proposed that the women's liberation movement that had created new opportunities for women in the working world also did so in the criminal world. Women could now commit crimes such as embezzlement and fraud, and they were able to participate in more aggressive crimes such as burglary, violence, and more.

Women of color have been disproportionately represented in this prison boom, particularly with drug charges, as the targets of both gendered and racial discrimination. As of 2009, there are 2.8 black women imprisoned and 1.5 Latina/Latinx women in the United States to every 1 white woman. This has the effect of racially disenfranchising women who, as a result of being incarcerated, have their political and civil rights rescinded. Particularly for women, it has also inhibited their ability to have children or raise families. Some prisoners may be subject to sterilization, and though sterilization now requires "informed consent," evidence shows that this "consent" is not really consensual. These women suffer a "social death", a term coined by Lisa Marie Cacho, meaning that their rights are not recognized.