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by Meda Chesney-Lind and John M. Hagedorn |
"This volume devotes considerable attention to gang girls' violence, not simply their victimization. The various chapters explore female fighting and violence as one way gang girls "do gender," but none of the more recent authors sees female violence as simply girls "acting male." In general, many of the selections included in this volume explore how racism and patriarchal priviledge shape (or distort) girls' lives and their choices. They disaggregate the gang experience, showing how girls and boys live both together and apart in marginalized communities. There is evidence from several studies that, on the whole, girls come from more troubled families than boys. The female gang acts as a kind of a refuge for many girls, while for most boys the male gang is an extension of a mainstream, aggressive, male role."
Essay by Meda Chesney-Lind on the decline in violence by girls
| Female gang members are mothers, daughters, sisters, and friends. Social Science research, at its best, dispels stereotypes and presents a moving picture of the different kinds of girls who join gangs |
As with other sections of gangrearch.net, articles and data from John Hagedorn's Milwaukee research is made available. In this case, tables and data from Hagedorn's Homegirl Study are dispalyed. The Final Report of the Homeboy and Homegirl Studies are also available.
In pdf format there is also Hagedorn's article exploring the nature of masculinity within male gangs, "Frat Boys, Bossmen, Studs, and Gentlemen: A Typology of Gang Masculinities" f rom: Masculinities and Violence edited by L.H. Bowker.
Perhaps the best overall treatment of girls in gangs within the context of a community is by Joan Moore in her 1991 Temple University book: Going Down to the Barrio: Homeboys and Homegirls in Change. Moore treats the life of boys and girls, men and women within a community and gendered context that is unique in the literature.
