NCJ Number
184408
Date Published
1999
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This paper attempts to create an understanding of girl gang members that makes their lives more accessible to others.
Abstract
The chapter attempts to make clear that the divides between women have been used by the media to demonize young women of color, thereby making them responsible for their own marginalization, while simultaneously warning their more privileged white sisters of the “dark” side of their efforts to seek a better life for women. Girls have long been members of gangs, their roles in the gangs have been considerably more varied than early stereotypes would have it and their occasionally violent behavior has been largely ignored. The periodic media discovery of these facts must be serving other political purposes. Today, “gang” has become a codeword for race. Media stories on the youth gang problem can create a political climate in which the victims of racism and sexism can be blamed for their own problems. Responsible work on girls in gangs must make clear the dynamics of this victim-blaming, and must continue to build an understanding of girls’ gangs that is sensitive to the contexts in which they arise. Tables