NCJ Number
149277
Journal
Journal of Contemporary Ethnography Volume: 18 Issue: 4 Dated: (January 1990) Pages: 363-387
Date Published
1990
Length
25 pages
Annotation
Based on participant observation and interviews with outlaw motorcycle gang members and their female associates over the course of 17 years, this paper describes the place of women in motorcycle gangs and the motivations and backgrounds of women affiliated with outlaw biker clubs.
Abstract
Most of the research was done in Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Arkansas. The researchers attended biker parties, weddings, funerals, and other functions; they also visited in gang clubhouses, went on runs, and attended cookouts with several outlaw organizations. The analysis compares biker women to females associated with street gangs in terms of their gang participation and their relationships with male gang members. Over the course of the study, the role of females in motorcycle gangs changed. Although earlier biker women were simply partners in parties and hedonistic sexuality, the women in modern outlaw gangs are expected to be engaged in economic pursuits for their individual men and sometimes for the entire club. The changing role of the biker women appears to be influenced by the gangs' increased involvement in crime and other money- making activities. 35 references