NCJ Number
240928
Journal
Journal of Gang Research Volume: 20 Issue: 1 Dated: Fall 2012 Pages: 19-32
Date Published
2012
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This study used semi-structured qualitative interviews with 10 female Latina gang members in order to explain the important role that the gang plays in the lives of young oppressed Latina women in the Los Angeles area.
Abstract
For decades sociologists and criminologists have sought to understand and explain the phenomena of gang-related crime and delinquency. The classical literature on this topic has typically been related to the male delinquent experience. Recent literature related to female experiences has tended to explain female gang behavior from a male perspective. This study used semi-structured qualitative interviews with 10 female Latina gang members in order to explain the important role that the gang plays in the lives of young oppressed Latina women in the Los Angeles area. By examining Latina gang women's stories from a feminist epistemological standpoint, this study explains the ways in which identities are constructed for Latinas in disenfranchised neighborhoods in Los Angeles, and how their sexuality and femininity is reconstructed through their affiliation with the gang. (Published Abstract)