Women-in-Prison Short Stories: Store Whores

This is the fourth entry in the series "Women-in-Prison Short Stories".

In women’s prison, bartering purchased goods from the prison store (like food [especially], personal hygiene items, and clothes) for personal services is the normal way of life. That means those who have the funds to make purchases in the store (the “haves”) have power over those who do not have the resources to make such purchases (the “have-nots”). Power and influence is the name of the “game” in women’s prison.

The central setting of the short story "Store Whores" is the prison store which is the marketplace for the exchange (barter) of purchased goods for all types of personal services, including sex - hence the title "Store Whores". The spectrum of social and sexual relationships between female inmates in terms of the motives for and outcomes of such relationships is described, including the quest for longer-term, loving relationships by female inmates with severe sentences. This quest spawns a search for the meaning of true and lasting love, intimacy, and soul mates – as it pertains to life both inside and outside prison walls.