What Exactly is a Prison Sissy?

Published June 10, 2022

It’s not a secret that inmate rape is very much prevalent in prison. In most cases, it’s either dealt out as a punishment or as a form of control.

But whatever the reason behind the assaults, it’s clear that the rape culture has become a part of the prison system. In some prisons, it’s so prevalent that it became central to a convoluted type of social hierarchy that inmates have to adhere to. Inmates who get trapped in this brutal and organized form of sexual slavery are often referred to as “prison sissy”.

What Does It Mean to be a Prison Sissy?

In simple terms, a prison sissy is an inmate who receives “protection” from other inmates in exchange for sexual favors. They are also known by other terms like punk, fresh meat, mines, gumpy, young thing, boy, or gay boy among others.

As you know, prison life is vastly different from the life that most of us are used to. I mean, it’s a place where people who’ve had run-ins with the law are being kept together 24/7. So there will always be bound to be some degree of violence.

Because of this, a sort of social hierarchy develops. The “strongest” inmates are obviously at the top. While inmates who are seen as “weak” are often bullied and assaulted.

To avoid getting preyed on or being targeted for assault, some inmates who are deemed weaker will ally with a more “powerful” inmate (often referred to as big daddy, daddy, boss, papa, or your man). 

In prison terms, this arrangement is often referred to as a “husband-wife” relationship. Thus, prison sissies are also known as “prison wives”.

Though in these arrangements, the prison sissy isn’t often treated as a husband or a wife in the traditional sense of the word. Instead, they become the sexual property of the stronger inmate and may be loaned, prostituted, or sold to others.

Rape in Prison

About 65% of sexual assaults in the United States go unreported, making it among the most underreported crimes. Sexual abuse in correctional facilities is a systematic, widespread issue. Society cannot overlook this issue with more than 7 million incarcerated Americans in U.S. correctional facilities or under community supervision and around 95% returning to their communities after serving their terms.

A number of factors influence sexual assaults in correctional institutions. Overcrowding and growing jail and prison populations are vital factors when addressing safety and violence under current conditions. Housing convicts in facilities meant for fewer people, operating facilities with insufficient staff who frequently work overtime, and decreasing programs and treatment opportunities contribute to a potentially violent environment.

In general, a sexual assault is defined as an act that is intentional and committed by:

1. The use or threat of physical force without the victim’s consent; or
2. Taking advantage of the victim’s mental incapacity, mental retardation or disorder, physical helplessness, and inability to consent.

Prison Sissy Stories

Randy Payne, age 21, was sentenced to a Texas maximum-security prison for breaking and entering a warehouse as well as stealing liquor. After eight days, he died. He was killed after he refused to pay for protection from prison gangs. According to what most incoming inmates were informed, the currency demanded was sex. Thus, the gangs ambushed him. Twenty different inmates beat him for nearly two hours in a prison day room. The guards claimed to have witnessed nothing.

Typically, criminals employ a combination of deception, intimidation, implicit and explicit threats, and in some situations, physical force to force the victim into a sexually submissive position. If the person is able to fight or repel the attempt during these initial encounters, he demonstrates that he is a “man” and will likely be left alone.

If the targeted inmate cannot repel the attack and his attacker(s) succeed in committing rape, the victim has been “turned out.” In prison, he has become a “prison sissy,” or “punk,” and is likely to face repeated assaults, both from the initial perpetrator(s) and others. In other situations, the sissy in prison is forced to serve as a “sex slave” to men across the jail or to a subpopulation within the prison, such as a prison gang.

Factors in Committing Prison Rape

Sexual assault theorists have long maintained that sexual assault is always about power and control and that sex is simply the chosen weapon. The strong in men’s prisons maintain their masculinity through sexual conquests of the weak. Sexual threats, taunts, and assaults are prevalent when new convicts enter.

A method of social control used by aggressors in the male prison society is rape or the threat of rape. In this culture, the aggressors are the leaders, gaining respect and status, while their victims, or sissy in prison, are feminized and portrayed as weak. Furthermore, the aggressor is always assumed to be heterosexual; his “prison sissy,” or “punk,” is simply a substitute for a woman. In prison, rape is motivated by sexual gratification, power, and control.