Female gangs in the United States

Female gang members in US street gangs operate within either exclusively female gangs or mixed-gender gangs

History

In her book on females in gang culture, Taylor claims that historians have documented female gang membership and all-female gangs dating back to the early twentieth century, but traditionally limited their studies to how such gangs relate to existing male versions.Taylor, C. (1993). Girls, Gangs, Women and Drugs. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press Due to this, researchers like Taylor began drawing attention to women in gang culture and argued that the topic deserved to be studied in its own right. Modern research has shifted towards the belief that all-female gangs are not exclusively tied to male gangs, and merit their own study. Chesney-Lind and Hagedorn note that female gang membership does not perfectly mirror male membership, and because of this, interventions aimed towards potential female members must be tailored to women's unique needs and motivations.Chesney-Lind, M. & Hagedorn, M. (1999). Female Gangs in America: Essays on Girls and Gender. Chicago, IL: Lakeview Press

Demographics

Although the exact number varies slightly between measurements, the National Gang Center estimates that females account for roughly 10% of all gang members.National Gang Center. National Youth Gang Survey Analysis. Retrieved 10/19/2014 from The National Youth Gang survey found that 39% of gangs report having female members,OJJDP Fact Sheet. National Youth Gang Survey Trends From 1996 to 2000. Retrieved 10/19/2014 from but this statistic is largely dependent on geographical location. Half of all rural gangs, for example, report female membership while less than a quarter of large city gangs demonstrate such participation, according to the National Gang center. One survey found that 2% of all gangs in the US contain only female members.Gang Violence. Gang Statistics. Retrieved 10/19/2014 from Eghigian and Kirby (as cited by Law teacher) list 12-13 as the average age of girl inductees.Female Street Gangs. Retrieved 11/04/2014 from

Types of involvement

Female gang members can function in one of three capacities, as theorized and defined by Walter Miller: independently functioning units, coed gangs, and female auxiliaries to male gangs. Independently functioning units are all-female gangs that operate under their own gang colors and name, without oversight from existing male gangs. Coed gangs possess both male and female members. Most leadership positions are held by males, although Taylor notes that positions and power held by female members varies from gang to gang, and are often dependent on the gang's structure, most notably whether or not it operates for profit. Female auxiliary gangs adopt the symbols of and modify the name of an existing male gang, but operate semi-autonomously. They act in the interests of the male gang, but control member initiation and internal affairs of the group.

Crime and violence

Female gang members have greater delinquency rates than female and male non-members, according to Bjerregaard and Smith.Miller, J. (2002). Young Women in Street Gangs: Risk Factors, Delinquency, and Victimization Risk. National Crime Journal, Ch.3> Despite this, statistics show that male members commit more crime than females and that the acts tend to be more violent, and Peterson found that girls in majority male gangs exhibit greater delinquency than female members of other gangs. Female gang members were incarcerated most often for drug-related activities (use and selling), domestic issues, and petty theft/larceny. Joe and Chesney-Lind's research amongst female gang members found that girls are less likely to become involved in typical gang-violence, although willingness to support a fellow member in a fight was a necessary trait of a good gang member. Miller found that when females do engage in violence, they tend to avoid weapons like guns and instead prefer fists or knives.

Motives

Female and male recruits often share similar motivations for joining a gang. Hagedorn found that gangs are almost exclusively found in low socioeconomic neighborhoods, especially those occupied by ethnic minorities.Hagedorn, J. (1991). Special Issue on the Underclass in the United States. Social Problems, 38(4), 529-542. Most young adults in such areas face poor job prospects, and often the only sources of employment are low-paying and require minimum skills. Survey responses from Hawaiian gang members indicated that youth may find that illegal activities associated with some gangs are the easiest and most profitable sources of income.Joe, K. & Chesney-Lind, M. (1995). “Just Every Mother's Angel”: An Analysis of Gender and Ethnic Variations in Youth Gang Membership. Gender and Society, 9(4). 408-431 Furthermore, the research also implied that hopelessness and boredom stemming from a dearth of opportunities provide incentives to become part of a social unit that faces a similar future. A gang can become a surrogate family for a child whose parents must work long hours at a low-wage job to be able to provide for the family. Many gang members in the Hawaiian study and Campbell's study reported fleeing to gangs as a source of protection from dangerous neighborhoods or abusive households.Campbell, A. (1987). Self Definition by Rejection: The Case of Gang Girls. Social Problems, 34(5). 451-466 Female gang members are especially likely to grow up in families where they are victims of sexual abuse, and they remove themselves from such situations by living with the gang; in fact, one study found that approximately half of all female gang members had suffered some form of sexual abuse, and that two-thirds of those attacks occurred in the context of the family. Despite the unstable home lives of many female gang members, a study conducted by Miller demonstrated that girls with family members (typically brothers or cousins) involved in gang activity were much more likely to join themselves.Miller, J. (2001). One of the Guys: Girls, Gangs and Gender. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Campbell also posits that girls may join gangs in order to reject “various aspects of membership of three interlocking social identities: class, race, and gender.” According to this theory, female gang members are not necessarily united by attributes they assign themselves, such as social deviance and “toughness,” but instead join by berating behaviors and characteristics of outside groups, such as the passive role assumed by other poor women in their community.

Sexuality

Many modern researchers, such as Joe and Chesney-Lind, found that early work on female gang members typically describes them as promiscuous, sexually loose young women. However, when female gang members were interviewed by Campbell about their sexual activity, having multiple partners was viewed in a highly negative fashion, and Valdez found that women from other gangs were often referred to as “hoodrats” and “hos,” both derogative terms for women thought to be sleeping around.Valdez, A. (2007). Mexican American Girls and Gang Violence. New York, New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Campbell's research found that sex with long-term partners was viewed as acceptable, but casual hookups were not. Burris-Kitchen reported that members who were “sexed-in” as part of gang initiation were thereafter viewed with lower respect than those that were “ jumped-in” or beaten, even when promised they would become full-fledged members.Burris-Kitchen, D. (1997). Female Gang Participation. Lampeter, Wales: The Edwin Mellen Press. Furthermore, Miller found that sexed-in members face greater risks of sexual exploitation and abuse by fellow male members, and Moore and Hagedorn's research found that sexual promiscuity and heavy drug and alcohol use at social gatherings is often viewed as license for such abuse.Moore, J. & Hagedorn, J. (2001). Female Gangs: A Focus on Research. Juvenile Justice Bulletin, 1-11.

Leaving the gang

In Carlie's research, female gang members who chose to leave gang life did so for many of the same reasons men did, including growing older, marriage, and/or getting a steady and legal job.Into the Abyss: A Personal Journey into the World of Street Gangs. Part 15: Getting Out of a Gang. Retrieved 10/19/2014 from O’Neal, E., Decker, S., Moule Jr., R., & Pyrooz, D.(2014). Girls, Gangs, and Getting Out. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice. However, according to the research of Moore and Hagedorn, when a female gang member has a child, she is much more likely to invest the time and resources necessary to raise it than her male counterpart is. Campbell found that although not all gangs require members with children to leave, it is often considered unacceptable for mothers to participate in certain elements of gang life and as a result, some choose to leave the gang entirely. These factors may contribute to Thronberry's finding that women tend to remain in gangs for less time than men do.

References

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Gangs in the United States
Women's organizations based in the United States
Gender and crime