NCJ Number
168706
Date Published
1994
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This video portrays a Phil Donahue program in which Phil interviews female juvenile gang members about gang-related behaviors and motivations.
Abstract
The program opens with Phil's interview of two female gang members from the same gang. They discuss the girls' ownership of handguns (both have a .380 magnum) and their having used guns to retaliate against rival gangs. Rival gang members' behaviors that can precipitate the use of a gun in retaliation are considered. Other topics discussed are identification graffiti, gang initiation (a video of an actual gang initiation fight is shown), and why girls join gangs. Neither of the girls expresses enthusiasm about gangs or violent gang behaviors, but they appear resigned to the reality of gang life and its expected behaviors. Another female gang member and a female ex-gang member also appear on the show with their mothers. The current gang member is a rival of the gang in which the other two girls are involved. They talk about the behaviors that have caused them to retaliate against one another in the past. In addition to the interviews with the female gang members and two of their mothers, a woman (Susan O'Malley) who has spent time with and written about female gang members discusses her perception of girls who join gangs. She views gangs as part of the subculture in which many youth grow up, but her conversations with female gang members indicate that they still hold many values of the mainstream culture that can be the seed for a better life than the gang can offer.