A new article by researchers from the Law Institute of the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences, Dr. Artūras Tereškinas and Dr. Rūta Vaičiūnienė, titled "Investing in Femininity: A Case Study of Incarcerated Women in Lithuania", has been published in the international academic journal "East European Politics and Societies".

The newly published study examines the experiences of women serving prison sentences in Panevėžys Prison, focusing on expressions of femininity, institutional refeminization, and resistance. The article highlights that women who commit crimes violate not only codified legal norms but also socially constructed gender roles associated with normative understandings of femininity. The prison, in this context, becomes an institution of control and discipline aimed at restoring denied femininity.

The findings of the qualitative study reveal that femininity among incarcerated women is practiced in various ways, including attention to physical appearance and personal hygiene. However, social status, family responsibilities, and motherhood also play a significant role. Although expressions of femininity are constrained by limited material resources, femininity is still perceived as a form of social capital, an investment, and a part of one's identity – and in some cases, as a means to ease the suffering caused by imprisonment or to express homoerotic desire.

The article is available in English here.