fact that women in prison are held to especially high standards of femininity, and prisons encourage them to conform to very traditional ideas of being a woman. This model of femininity requires women to be “pure, passive, heterosexual, and located in motherhood." When women do not comply with this standard while imprisoned, they are punished further. In fact, some prisons specifically isolate women who seem “butch” or not traditionally feminine. Another catalyst for being put into solitary confinement that applies overwhelmingly to women is that prisoners who complain of abusive treatment by guards are often segregated as retaliation. In particular, women who speak out after guards have sexually harassed them are often put into segregation. Not only does this mean that guards who are guilty of sexually harassing inmates go unpunished, it also decreases the likelihood that women will report harassment. In some prisons, women may be put into solitary confinement because their mental health issues prove to be too difficult for the authorities to deal with or are exhausting their resources. If the prison authorities are unable to address their inmates’ health concerns, they may put them into solitary confinement to avoid solving the problem. This means that the women in solitary confinement are often already at risk for mental health or other challenges, due to previous health concerns or sexual abuse. Consequences for women Solitary confinement has been shown to be detrimental to the mental and physical well-being of all inmates, but there are some ways in which being put into segregation can be more harmful for women than for men. This is often due to patriarchal structures that exist outside of the prison environment as well. They “experience segregation as women”; they are both subjected to slightly different treatment than men are and their perception of this treatment may differ as well. Psychological effects Being put into solitary confinement can be very damaging to the mental health of female inmates, particularly those with a history of mental or physical illness, as has been found in a number of studies that observed and interviewed women who were being held in solitary confinement. Being held in a small space without access to objects, recreation, or human contact can lead to claustrophobia, anger, depression, hallucinations, insomnia, and obsessive ideation or fixation on dying. On a psychosomatic level, inmates in solitary confinement often experience a loss of appetite and/or weight, dizziness,