# Going to jail not as big a deterrent as wearing pink? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 26, 2006, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-jail-not-as-big-a-deterrent-as-wearing-pink/378035 "2006-10-26T22:38:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![XaMcQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/f9ae1b/32.png) [@XaMcQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XaMcQ)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-jail-not-as-big-a-deterrent-as-wearing-pink/378035/1 "2006-10-26T22:38:20Z")
Okay, so it’s a small town, and it’s Texas besides. But according to [this story](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0610170172oct17,1,5460137.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed), having the jail painted pink and having to wear pink jumpsuits is so embarrassing that prisoners are seemingly putting more effort into not coming back. The sherrif, Clint Low, whose idea this was, claims > [@](#): > > the recidivism rate in the county is down 70 percent since he switched to pink jumpsuits for the inmates. He also said there have been no fights between inmates since the jail, built in 1894, was painted. It’s a small jail, and not a long enough test to be scientific by any means. But if it is true, I really have no idea what I think about this. It has to be related to homophobia, doesn’t it? Why else would wearing pink be more embarrassing than being thought of as a criminal low-life? Is it a step down the road to Abu Ghraib? I mean, if it could be shown that just wearing pink is knocking back crime by 70%, maybe making prisoners wear lingerie would give us empty prisons. I doubt it and I am NOT advocating it! Gah. I hate homophobia. I hate crime! I don’t want to think that the one is an effective deterrent against the other! :smack: :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-jail-not-as-big-a-deterrent-as-wearing-pink/378035/2 "2006-10-26T23:07:19Z")
I have to wonder about what sort of person would be deterred by the prospect of wearing pink in prison, who is not already deterred by the prospect of being fucked up the ass in a prison shower. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-jail-not-as-big-a-deterrent-as-wearing-pink/378035/3 "2006-10-26T23:33:55Z")
Not everyone looks good in pink, I know I can only wear a little of it at a time. That would certainly deter me. Then again I also look terrible in orange so I already have my deterrent. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-jail-not-as-big-a-deterrent-as-wearing-pink/378035/4 "2006-10-26T23:40:09Z")
> [@](#): > > Low, who was a deputy in Mason before being elected sheriff, estimated the recidivism rate in the county is down 70 percent since he switched to pink jumpsuits for the inmates. He also said there have been no fights between inmates since the jail, built in 1894, was painted. I wonder what the rates are for inmates who left the county. Perhaps they would rather commit crimes outside of the county. If so, the sheriff merely exported his problems to others. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-jail-not-as-big-a-deterrent-as-wearing-pink/378035/5 "2006-10-27T00:02:25Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] I have to wonder about what sort of person would be deterred by the prospect of wearing pink in prison, who is not already deterred by the prospect of being fucked up the ass in a prison shower. [/QUOTE] Dude, it’s _Texas._ They’ve got some really deep-seated issues about machismo and insecurity there. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-jail-not-as-big-a-deterrent-as-wearing-pink/378035/6 "2006-10-27T00:19:30Z")
I can’t access the OP’s link without registering, but a [similar story](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/10/national/main2077390.shtml) suggests that while the pink clothing is for embarrassment purposes, the pink paint is for soothing effects: > [@](#): > > Low bought the pink jumpsuits soon after taking office in 2005 and painted the jail pink about eight months ago. The jumpsuits are to keep inmates from coming back to jail, and the pink walls are designed to keep tempers and emotions cool in a jail that is tiny by today’s standards. It’s a nice idea if it works, but Low’s claim of a 70% drop in recidivism rates sounds somewhat less impressive when the absolute numbers of inmates are considered: > [@](#): > > The Mason County Jail is among the oldest working jails in the state. It has a capacity of five inmates — four males and a female — and, on Friday, was at capacity […] It’s hard to come up with statistically significant results based on the behavior of a mere handful of people over the course of a few months. ---
**Author:** ![black\_rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-jail-not-as-big-a-deterrent-as-wearing-pink/378035/7 "2006-10-27T00:42:59Z")
I’ve gotta say, living in what can be euphamistically called a “historic urban neighborhood,” that being forced to wear pink [isn’t as big a deterrent as you might think](http://www.eatliver.com/gangsta/). A couple of summers ago, most of the “street merchants” were wearing huge pink t-shirts that came down past their knees. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-jail-not-as-big-a-deterrent-as-wearing-pink/378035/8 "2006-10-27T01:27:35Z")
[QUOTE=XaMcQ] … It has to be related to homophobia, doesn’t it? Why else would wearing pink be more embarrassing than being thought of as a criminal low-life? … [/quote] How about just because pink is a nasty horrible yucky colour? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Fredescu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/73ab20/32.png) [@Fredescu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fredescu)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-jail-not-as-big-a-deterrent-as-wearing-pink/378035/9 "2006-10-27T01:48:03Z")
> [@XaMcQ](#): > > Gah. I hate homophobia. I hate crime! I don’t want to think that the one is an effective deterrent against the other! What? Why is not liking pink homophobic? Is it the official homosexual colour? If anything, pink is a feminine colour. The majority of men in jail are probably not very feminine at all and thus probably don’t like pink. Trying to link a dislike of pink to homophobia is a real stretch. ---
**Author:** ![XaMcQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/f9ae1b/32.png) [@XaMcQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XaMcQ)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-jail-not-as-big-a-deterrent-as-wearing-pink/378035/10 "2006-10-27T02:00:20Z")
[QUOTE=Fredescu] What? Why is not liking pink homophobic? Is it the official homosexual colour? If anything, pink is a feminine colour. The majority of men in jail are probably not very feminine at all and thus probably don’t like pink. Trying to link a dislike of pink to homophobia is a real stretch. [/QUOTE] Hoo boy… so what country are you from, friend? Here in the Deep South, GAY MEANS FEMININE! It means swishy, girly-men, sissy boys! And yes, in the mind of many people, pink(and sometimes purple!) do mean homosexual. I swear to Og, in my hometown there is a business that orders _purple ink pens_ for use by the public, because they get stolen much less often. I assume if they went with pink ones, some people would just flat out refuse to use them, lest the gay cooties get on them and infect them. ---
**Author:** ![Fredescu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/73ab20/32.png) [@Fredescu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fredescu)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-jail-not-as-big-a-deterrent-as-wearing-pink/378035/11 "2006-10-27T02:12:36Z")
They don’t have women in the Deep South? Were I’m from, they’re fairly feminine too. Almost as feminine as our gay men. My point is that you could just as easily ascribe a dislike of pink to misogeny as homophobia. But why bother when it’s not necessarily either? I don’t like wearing pink and have a strong dislike for pastel shades of pink in particular. I don’t have anything at all against women or gay men though. Why assume that the only reason inmates don’t like wearing pink is because they are homophobic? ---
**Author:** ![XaMcQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/f9ae1b/32.png) [@XaMcQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XaMcQ)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-jail-not-as-big-a-deterrent-as-wearing-pink/378035/12 "2006-10-27T02:34:18Z")
[QUOTE=Fredescu] They don’t have women in the Deep South? Were I’m from, they’re fairly feminine too. Almost as feminine as our gay men. My point is that you could just as easily ascribe a dislike of pink to misogeny as homophobia. But why bother when it’s not necessarily either? I don’t like wearing pink and have a strong dislike for pastel shades of pink in particular. I don’t have anything at all against women or gay men though. Why assume that the only reason inmates don’t like wearing pink is because they are homophobic? [/QUOTE] I assume these guys are at least intelligent enough to realize that no one is going to mistake them for women just because they are wearing pink, but that they think someone will rib them for it if they are seen in public. So what kind of insults are you thinking they are concerned about? “Dude, pink is not your color?” Nope. It will be something about how it makes them look somehow feminine, and in my experience, a great many Southern rednecks and good ol’ boys equate the comparison of ‘womanly’ in a man with ‘gay’. As far as it being the official color, it has been used that way. The orange that is common is a hideous color, and those stripes? They make you look at least ten pounds heavier. [link](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_triangle) ---
**Author:** ![Fredescu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/73ab20/32.png) [@Fredescu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fredescu)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-jail-not-as-big-a-deterrent-as-wearing-pink/378035/13 "2006-10-27T03:05:57Z")
In a universe where homosexuality didn’t exist, I would bet that these men would still have an issue wearing pink. I’m not trying to claim that none of them are homophobic. I just think that turning a new and apparently working crime deterrent into an issue of homophobia when it doesn’t need to be isn’t a good thing. I do like that bright orange though ---
**Author:** ![XaMcQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/f9ae1b/32.png) [@XaMcQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XaMcQ)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-jail-not-as-big-a-deterrent-as-wearing-pink/378035/14 "2006-10-27T03:29:28Z")
Botheration. That sentence and link got disconnected. Preview, Xa, preview! As for pink being an official homosexual color, it has been used that way in the past. [link](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_triangle) ---
**Author:** ![Fredescu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/73ab20/32.png) [@Fredescu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fredescu)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-jail-not-as-big-a-deterrent-as-wearing-pink/378035/15 "2006-10-27T03:45:05Z")
I figured that’s the way you meant it, and I should have thought about the pink triangle before I made the “official colour” comment. I’ve walked past pubs with that symbol on them almost every day for the last couple of months. ---
**Author:** ![XaMcQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/f9ae1b/32.png) [@XaMcQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XaMcQ)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-jail-not-as-big-a-deterrent-as-wearing-pink/378035/16 "2006-10-27T04:11:10Z")
[QUOTE=Fredescu] I figured that’s the way you meant it, and I should have thought about the pink triangle before I made the “official colour” comment. I’ve walked past pubs with that symbol on them almost every day for the last couple of months. [/QUOTE] Well, I asked a friend of mine and she agrees with you about it merely being ‘girly’. I don’t see it myself. To me it’s a culture-wide association. Pink is girly. Men don’t wear pink because it is girly, and girly men are gay. I am trying really hard to put myself in some kind of position where I had to go to jail and wear something that made me feel ‘manly’ that would mortify me so. Fake beards maybe? A strap-on penis? Not the color blue, though. I’m too sleepy to be coherent. Maybe some dopers smarter than me can chime in now. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-jail-not-as-big-a-deterrent-as-wearing-pink/378035/17 "2006-10-27T06:21:14Z")
[QUOTE=XaMcQ] Why else would wearing pink be more embarrassing than being thought of as a criminal low-life? [/QUOTE] Um, dude, they don’t think of themselves as low-lives. If anything recidivist criminals are proud of how rough, tough, and bad-ass they are - the criminality proves it, to them. [QUOTE=Miller] what sort of person would be deterred by the prospect of wearing pink in prison, who is not already deterred by the prospect of being fucked up the ass in a prison shower [/QUOTE] It’s not seen as homosexual activity - if non-consensual it was rape so not their fault; if consensual it’s just something a guy has to do to get his rocks off. Like those straight married guys who take a walk on the wild side every now and then - in their own mind they’re not gay or even bi, it’s just something they like to do. The ability of the human mind to rationalise things to itself is almost unlimited. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-jail-not-as-big-a-deterrent-as-wearing-pink/378035/18 "2006-10-27T08:17:30Z")
[QUOTE=Fredescu] Why is not liking pink homophobic? Is it the official homosexual colour? If anything, pink is a feminine colour. [/QUOTE] A distinction without a difference. If you threaten a man with the prospect of wearing a pink jumpsuit in jail, you’re basically telling him “everyone on the ouside will laugh at you and think you’re a fag.” Disliking pink isn’t homophobic. If the male population of this county was so repulsed by the idea of being forced to wear pink that they stopped committing crimes, they would undeniably have some issues. Since this jail is so small, the reduction in crime rate is meaningless anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Hakuna\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hakuna\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakuna_Matata)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-jail-not-as-big-a-deterrent-as-wearing-pink/378035/19 "2006-10-27T12:05:26Z")
no cite on this other than my own observations. I know of several General Contractors who have pink hard hats for workers who forget their hardhat for the day and they tell me that it cures that forgetfullness! Walking around a construction site all day with a pink hard hat gets a lot of attention! 🙂 I know that many of the General Contractors I deal with tell me people forgetting their hardhats and boots, etc are a big deal—so they use this as a way to get people to remember their own stuff. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-jail-not-as-big-a-deterrent-as-wearing-pink/378035/20 "2006-10-27T17:51:09Z")
I used to be very anti pink. My girlfriend, however, bought me a pink J Crew dress shirt. It does look pretty sweet. I also have a pink tie that doesn’t look at all gay. In fact, with my blue suit, it gets the most positive attention. Now if pink man-capri pants were in style, I’m not so sure about that. Look, these Texans who are afraid to wear pink in prison probably think holding down a steady job is indicative of homosexuality. It’s actually a brilliant move and has nothing to do with homosexuality. I have often questioned the whole concept of modern prisons and the way it hardens criminals. Why the fuck would you lock a bunch of guys up and give them nothing to do but lift weights and get freakin huge? I say make prisons as effeminate as possible. That way, the next time some punk ass thinks he’s all hard because he’s been to the joint, people will be like “dude…”. Fredescu - I also have a bright orange Polo shirt. I mean really bright. Like traffic cone bright. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-jail-not-as-big-a-deterrent-as-wearing-pink/378035.md?page=2)