Wounded Masculinities Behind Bars: The Role of Prison Policies in Men’s Behaviour Within Intimate Relationships

Men’s incarceration disrupts their intimate relationships by destabilising their masculine identity built on autonomy, virility, and the role of the provider. This article examines how incarcerated men respond to this destabilisation within their intimate relationships and how penal policies shape these responses. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in prisons in France and Spain, this article combines participant observation with semi-structured interviews involving incarcerated men and prison professionals. The analysis shows that incarceration initially produces jealousy among incarcerated individuals and drives attempts to control female partners, as men seek to reassert their threatened masculine position within the relationship—a trend observed across both countries. However, these dynamics develop differently in each country over time. In France, the state’s limited and inconsistent implementation of policies addressing gender and violence against women allows control-oriented practices within couples to persist, often taking the form of coercive control. In Spain, by contrast, gender-focused prison policies and rehabilitation programs aim to foster emotional reflexivity and self-regulation, leading to incarcerated individuals seeking to gain control over their self rather than their romantic partners. These findings suggest that prison policies shape men’s intimate relationships and may contribute to reducing violent behaviours and fostering more respectful forms of intimacy.