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Why Do Female Youths Join Gangs? Female youths join street gangs on the basis of gender conflict, lack of family support and violence in their lives. Through adolescence young females have a much harder time than young males dealing with family, sexuality and the harsh reality of living in the urban ghetto. Young females who must endure these facets of life have little opportunity to succeed. Consequently, these young women turn to a replacement family, a place where they feel they are needed and loved and can escape reality, even if momentarily.
This type of place is in the common street gang. Presently, inner city minorities are hopelessly discriminated and isolated from economic opportunity. Young females see society as having nothing to offer young minority women. Neglected communities with high crime and a lack of resources force young females to turn to others in the same situation for support.
Thus, they develop an exaggerated sense of belonging and gain excitement lacking in their lives (Chesney-Lind 53). According to Thornberry there are three types of models that account for gang membership: selection model, social facilitation model and enhancement model. Female membership seems to fall into the selection model. The selection model states that gangs only recruit or associate with already delinquent persons (Dukes, Martinez, Stein 143). In 1994? females accounted for 24 % of all juvenile arrests? (Chesney-Lind 11).
Also, female gang members show higher levels of delinquency than non gang members (Curry 12). However, they do not necessarily influence members once in the gang. Such as many researchers have found; once in a gang, female members are not expected to involve themselves in delinquency. Recent estimates of female gang involvement have shown a tremendous increase in female membership. These increases have become great enough to turn researchers attention to female gang members.
Studies have shown that ten to thirty eight percent of gang members are female (q. in Miller 431). Miller has recognized two different types of female gangs. First, the independent female gang. The independent female gang is completely separate of the male gang. The females make their own set of rules and have decision making powers.
Miller? s studies have shown that less than ten percent of female gangs are independent (q. in Chesney-Lind 46). Second, the auxiliary gang (q. in Curry 105). The auxiliary female gang is the most common and one in which the females are separate from the males in the gang, but are still apart of the whole gang.
The males make all the decisions and essentially control the females. These type of female gang groups are, ? an expression of the gender relations and boundaries of society? (q. in Laidler, Hunt 150).
According to Lauder back, Hansen, and Waldorf independent female gangs show they have less interest in status and reputation, but more interest in making money in a? bleak environment with no legitimate opportunities and lack of support? (q. in Laidler, Hunt 150). Gang members tend to have identity problems, no self esteem, little confidence in their academic abilities, low feeling of purpose in their life and weak attachments to their own ethnic group. This proves there is a complete lack of social bonds throughout their life. Psychosocial theory by Hirschi states that internal control is the mechanism for explaining conformity and delinquency.
Socialization is shown to help individuals develop a strong conscience and sense of morality that prevents delinquent behavior. Therefore, detachment from socialization breeds delinquent behavior. Youths growing up in the urban ghetto lack this socialization, because of growing up in a one parent or no parent household where family relationships are absent and there is a failure to attend school. Consequently, these delinquents turn to other delinquents for support (Dukes, Martinez, Stein 142 - 143). Gaining insight into the family lives of these female gang members will demonstrate the lack of socialization, gender bias and violence inherent in these youths lives. Therefore, establishing why these female youths turn to street gangs.
A self identified study was conducted by Laidler and Hunt where sixty five female gang members were interviewed face to face. Of these sixty five females, fifty one were Hispanic, ten were African American and four were Samoan (152). The African American females described their family homelife as impoverished. Their fathers were reported as being unskilled laborers or unemployed.
The females had little or no contact with their fathers, because the fathers were living on the streets addicted to drugs and alcohol. Only half of the mothers were employed in the service industry, the other half unemployed. Several of the females severed contact with their mothers, because of their severe substance abuse. One young female was quoted as saying, ?
I don? t see my parents. They are into alcohol and drugs and they just don? t care. Really they just don? t care? (q.
in Laidler, Hunt 154). Most of the females never finished high school, were unemployed and on public assistance or hustling for money. All, but one had a child living with them. The Latina females on the other hand described their family homelife a little differently. Some reported having good relationships with their parents, however, their parents held very strict and traditional views of femininity. Fathers punished these females by hitting them, calling the police or kicking them out of the house.
If the females didn? t get kicked out they would end up running away. The mothers and fathers both worked semi skilled to unskilled jobs. Half of the females interviewed had nine years or fewer of education.
Surprisingly, over 40 % of the females interviewed had a primary income source (152 - 153). Females see joining a gang as protection from this type of violence in their family and from the men in their lives. Many of these young females come from underclass urban societies where? violence against women is heightened by the nature of the urban street world? (q.
in Miller 430). These young females see their mothers being abused by their fathers and most of the time are subject to the same abuse. Consequently, because of the cultural support for violence and power over women in these type of societies, females are more likely than boys to be sexually abused. Approximately 70 % of victims of sexual abusive are female (Chesney-Lind 25). As a result of this abuse females tend to run away from home; not as an act of rebellion, but as a way of coping, to escape the harsh reality of the urban ghetto (q. in Curry 109).
In conclusion to a study on female gang members, Bowker and Klein found that, ? the overwhelming impact of racism, sexism, poverty and limited opportunity structures is likely to be so important in determining the gang membership and juvenile delinquency of women and girls in urban ghettos? (q. in Curry 110). For females a gang fills an emotional void left because of a weak family structure. The gang provides a safe retreat and surrogate family (Chesney-Lind 54). According to Curry in his publication Female Gang Involvement, a female gang study was conducted by Ruth Horowitz that showed female participation emerged as a form of a struggle against male control (112).
Males such as boyfriends or relatives are used as an entrance into the gang. Once in the gang females tend to separate themselves from the males and gain a solidarity (Curry 103). Although, gang involvement is seen as protection from male violence and escape from male control, these females are exposing themselves to victimization by their fellow male gang members. Things such as being coerced into having sexual relations with one or multiple male members to gain status in the gang. Therefore, leading to the social injury hypothesis which states, ? any benefit in personal liberation that girls may gain from involvement is outweighed by the social costs of such affiliation? (Curry 107).
Gender combined with delinquency a contributing factor in female youths involvement in gangs. The liberation hypothesis falls into this category. The liberation hypothesis is a way for young females to liberate themselves from male control by committing not only more crime, but more violent male centered crime (Chesney-Lind 21). This increase in violence and delinquency leads young females to the open arms of a gang. A gang for most of the females is another way to gain their liberation through means of respect and toughness. As mentioned earlier females are abused by their fathers, boyfriends and other male gang members.
Consequently, these young females see their female counterparts as more dependable than men. These are the very reasons females are looking to liberate themselves any way they can. For the economically challenged, uneducated, minority females there are few opportunities to liberate themselves. Hence, a recent increase in independent female gangs.
While researching female gangs, Miller found only one independent female gang in 1975. In 1982 she reported six and in 1988 twenty two independent females gangs were found. By 1992? ninety nine independent female gangs spread over thirty five law enforcement jurisdictions? (q. in Curry 104). As Taylor stated, ?
the male-female gang relationship is being altered? (q. in Chesney-Lind 47). In contrast, some females use their gender to their advantage instead of trying to escape from it. Gender inequality gives a protective edge for these females that are willing to utilize it. They see it as a way to get into the gang, but not have to live up to the gang member standards. Females are able to avoid the serious delinquent involvement that the males engage in.
There is less expectation from male and female peers for females to be involved in delinquent or violent crimes. Also, they are seen as not having to risk whole life for gang. That is the males job (Miller 440). By compiling all the research, the studies that have been conducted and the theories that have been developed, it is easy to answer the question, ?
Why do female youths join gangs? ? Simply stated, female youths join gangs to liberate themselves. Some of the researchers came to the conclusion that females were joining gangs to liberate themselves from the? female?
label. Other researchers noted females as joining gangs to escape family abuse and neighborhood violence. Poverty, cultural bias and weak family structures was also seen as a key factor in determining female gang involvement. In fact, all of these findings are related to liberation. Escaping family abuse and violence; removing oneself from those surroundings is liberation. Breaking the mold and removing the?
female? label is liberation. Leaving behind poverty, finding new family ties and becoming culturally strong is liberation. In summary, female youths join gangs to liberate themselves from the downward spiral of their environment. Bibliography Works Cited Chesney-Lind, Meda. The Female Offender.
California: Sage Publications, Inc. , 1997. A vivid compilation of females and crime. Includes information on female youth gang membership and delinquency. Curry, David. ? Female Gang Involvement. ? Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 35 (1998): 100 (19).
Focuses on female participation in gangs and the crimes they commit. Dukes, Richard, Ruben Martinez and Judith Stein. ? Precursors and Consequences of Membership in Youth Gangs. ? Youth and Society 29 (1997): 139 (27). A study conducted to find what causes youths to join gangs and how society has to deal with the gangs in their neighborhood...
Fleisher, Mark S. Dead End Kids: Gang Girls and the Boys they Know. Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1998. A collection of studies done on specific female gangs and a step by step look at their lives.
Laidler, Karen A. Joe and Geoffrey Hunt. ? Violence and Social Organization in Female Gangs. ? Social Justice 24 (1997): 148 (22). Discusses the influencing factors behind female gang involvement. Miller, Jody. ?
Gender and Victimization Risk Among Young Women in Gangs. ? Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 35 (1998): 429 (25). Connects female gang involvement with the risk of victimization and violence. Pattillo, Mary. ?
Sweet Mothers and Gang bangers. ? Social Forces 76 (1998): 747 (28). Studies a black middle class neighborhood in chicago and the gangs that live there. Venkatesh, Sudhir Alladi. ? The Social Organization of Street Gang Activity in an Urban Ghetto. ?
The American Journal of Sociology 103 (1997): 82 (30). Demonstrates the relationship between low socioeconomic neighborhoods and gang membership and activity.
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