The impetus for the study arose from observations that in the inmate hierarchies of total institutions, sex offenders and even paedophiles could play leadership roles and assume positions of power commanding the respect, admiration, and obedience of fellow inmates. This is in direct contrast to much criminological literature, which has assumed that such offenders are discriminated against and persecuted by their inmate peers because of the nature of the sex offense. The author argues that the prison world is less rigorously ruled by 'inmate honor codes' and other assumed inner structures and that the offense stigma is less predominant among inmates than it is in the society outside. A total of 21 references are given.