Until recently, sexist perceptions of the role of women in society have led to highly paternalistic treatment of incarcerated females. Unlike male offenders, who have generally been viewed as violent and as requiring protective custody, female offenders have been considered in need of reformation. Changes in perceptions of the aggressiveness of women, and some changes in the patterns of women in crime, have led to more punishment-oriented treatment in some cases. Womens' prisons tend to be smaller and more isolated than prisons for men and tend to offer fewer medical and rehabilitative services. The focus of women's prison litigation has shifted to a focus on areas such as prisoner transfers, denial of work release, parental rights, challenges to prison conditions, and integrated class action suits with male prisoners. Sentencing female offenders to community-based or diversion programs and establishing coed prisons to provide females with access to more services are promising alternatives to incarceration. Recent trends suggest that the system is reacting to women's attempts to improve prison conditions by increasing repression. Notes, 23 case citations, and 45 references are given.