Medical officers, bodies, gender and weight fluctuation in irish convict prisons, 1877-95

Abstract

This article focuses on the function of the convict prison infirmary and views it as a site of arbitration, resistance and 'contested power'. In accordance with the rules and regulations periods of incarceration in convict prisons began and ended with an obligatory medical examination. While the primary function of the initial test was to measure the convict body in order ascertain physical ability to conduct hard labour it also provided a thorough bio-metrical description for future identification purposes. The final examination was not as comprehensively undertaken but also concerned itself with anthropometrical observations. It would be reasonable to assume that the balance of power was weighted in the authority's favour but this research has found evidence to the contrary. For instance, that there was a fair degree of physiological knowledge within the convict population and that some convicts used the infirmary for dietary gains and reprieve from hard labour. Using body mass index (BMI) as an instrument to measure physical wellbeing this article views the doctor-convict interface as a crucial component of the penal experience. It analyses 251 convict medical records to show that the balance of diet and work led to what might be considered a counterintuitive outcome - a preponderance of weight gain, particularly for males in Irish prisons.

Figure 1:

Body type assigned to male convicts, 1885 and 1895. Source: NAI/GPB/PEN 1885 and 1895.