And They Were Cellmates: Gender, Power, and Intimacy Under Surveillance

“And They Were Cellmates” began as a simple sociological paper and quickly became something more. Drawing inspiration from Turned Out: Sexual Assault Behind Bars, I found myself tracing the ways institutions shape gender, sexuality, and identity -- often quietly, through structure and surveillance. The deeper I went, the more I saw how space, confinement, and the gaze of authority can reshape intimacy and expression, especially for people already pushed outside binary norms. This project ultimately became an exploration of how power hides in language, policy, and the stories we tell about people.