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Gang Masculinity and High Risk Sexual Behaviors

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Abstract

Context

High risk sexual behaviors (HRSB) are one of many problem behaviors, including relationship violence and substance use, which often cluster together among adolescents in high risk settings. Adolescent gang members often show the highest rates of HRSB, substance use and relationship violence.

Methods

This paper uses 58 in-depth interviews with male and female gang members from 6 different gangs. We explore the role of gangs as powerful socializing peer groups that set gender, sexual and relationship roles and expectations for their male and female members.

Results

HRSB among gangs included sex with multiple partners and group sex. Gang norms included the belief that male members were sexually insatiable with multiple sexual partners and that female members should be sexually available to male members. Alcohol and drugs were seen to have a large influence on sexual desire and the inability to use condoms. Much sexual behavior with gangs, such as group sex, was viewed with ambivalence and seen as somewhat coercive. Finally,

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Gangbangs and Drive-bys: Grounded Culture and Juvenile Gang Violence.

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Abstract

This study, based on quantitative and qualitative data gathered over a twelve-year period, takes its title from the two predominant styles of gang violence: "drive-bys," which have replaced "rumbles" as the primary form of gang violence; and "gang-bangs"--a generic term for other gang violence that includes assaults, knifings, and beatings. The author attempts to understand the situations in which a young man would drive up to another human being and, without further ado, blow his head off. By examining hundreds of such situations, and employing both structural and phenomenological analysis, Sanders explores the various configurations of gang violence. Gangbangs and Drive-bys also examines the routines of gang members and their view of life, the different styles of gangs, and changes undergone by gangs from the early 1980s to the end of the same decade. Over that period, the emphasis shifted from parties and paybacks to big money from the sale of rock cocaine, and from unstructured to organized crime. Along with that shift

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Alcohol and Violence in the Lives of Gang Members

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Life within a gang includes two endemic features: violence and alcohol. Yet, to date, most researchers studying gang behavior have focused on violence and its relationship to illicit drugs, largely neglecting the importance of alcohol in gang life. Because alcohol is an integral and regular part of socializing within gang life, drinking works as a social lubricant, or social glue, to maintain not only the cohesion and social solidarity of the gang, but also to affirm masculinity and male togetherness. In addition to its role as a cohesive mechanism, particular drinking styles within gangs may operate, as with other social groups, as a mechanism to maintain group boundaries, thereby demarcating one gang from another. Other examples of internal gang violent activities associated with drinking include fighting between members because of rivalries, tensions, or notions of honor or respect. At a more symbolic level, drinking is associated with two important ritual events in gang life: initiation, or “jumping in,”and funerals. By better understanding the link

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The Lives of Female Gang Members: A Review of The Literature

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Abstract

Although female gang membership was overlooked for several years, recent work by feminist criminologists has provided a much more complex picture of female youth involved in gang life. This literature demonstrates that gender shapes the risk factors and consequences of gang involvement for female youth in several ways. In the current review, four main areas are discussed: 1) risk factors for female youths’ gang involvement, 2) the extent and characteristics of female gang members’ violence and crime, 3) the influence of gender on victimization experiences resulting from gang membership, and 4) female gang members’ desistance from gang life. In each section, work specifically focusing on female gang members as well as work comparing the experiences of male and female gang members are presented. Finally, directions for future research are offered

1. Introduction

For many years, researchers largely neglected to study female gang membership. Studies that were undertaken tended to focus on girls as sex objects or auxiliary members, and researchers assumed there were

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Gangs – Family, Gangs, And The Gang As Family

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The term gang often provokes images of violence, drug use and dealing, and crime. However, youth gangs also have other consequences. Gangs can provide youths with a sense of belonging and identity, social support, and solidarity. Gang youths often compare their gangs to family, and in some respects gangs resemble families.

In some neighborhoods, many members of a family have belonged to the same gang. These multigenerational gangs develop in different settings, but have been most often observed among Hispanics. Sanchez-Jankowski (1991) reported that many gang members told him that their families had a long history of gang involvement that included older brothers, and in a considerable number of cases, fathers and grandfathers. Thirty-two percent of the Los Angeles fathers he interviewed said that they had been members of the same gang to which their children now belonged, while 11 percent reported that four generations of their family had membership in the

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Sexuality and Gang Involvement

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Recent gang research has explored various dimensions of diversity including sexuality and has provided important insights regarding sexual identity and sexual behavior within the context of youth street gang involvement. Insights include the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (LGBTQ) gang members such as their prevalence rates, reasons for joining, gang activities, homophobia within youth street gangs, and how gang structure and composition affect their ability to be open about their sexuality within the gang context. These insights were preceded by scholars’ descriptions of the “homosexual activities” of gang members, particularly in mid-20th-century works, but early-21st-century works include empirical research and documentaries that explore the lived experiences of self-identified LGBTQ gang members. Another major area of study explores the ways that young women are subjected to various forms of sexual violence within gangs, partially because female gang members are often viewed as sex objects. Girls may be “sexed in” to a gang, targeted for sexual

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History of Gangs in the United States

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Introduction

A widely respected chronicler of British crime, Luke Pike (1873), reported the first active gangs in Western civilization. While Pike documented the existence of gangs of highway robbers in England during the 17th century, it does not appear that these gangs had the features of modern-day, serious street gangs. Later in the 1600s, London was “terrorized by a series of organized gangs calling themselves the Mims, Hectors, Bugles, Dead Boys [and they] fought pitched battles among themselves dressed with colored ribbons to distinguish the different factions” (Pearson, 1983, p. 188). According to Sante (1991), the history of street gangs in the United States began with their emergence on the East Coast around 1783, as the American Revolution ended. These gangs emerged in rapidly growing eastern U.S. cities, out of the conditions created in large part by multiple waves of large-scale immigration and urban overcrowding. This chapter examines the emergence of gang activity in four major U.S. regions,

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Deterring Gangs from Your Neighborhood Turf

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Coast to coast, crime prevention and government work to curb gang-related crime.

Yakima, Washington: “Innocent 6 year old girl shot outside home during possible gang shooting” (KAPP TV)

Washington, DC: “Police: Gang member killed for trying to quit MS-13” (The Washington Examiner)

Marion, South Carolina: “Two churches defaced with gang graffiti” (CarolinaLive)

Long gone are the Jets and Sharks of Hollywood lore. The headlines above ust three of hundreds from this past July alone—speak volumes about gangs and society. Gang-related crime and violence has evolved over the years in America, while no community is “immune” to the emergence of gangs. Most communities have no reported gang problem. According to the National Gang Center’s 2009 National Youth Gang Survey, an estimated 28,100 gangs with 731,000 members are active in the United States.

No longer focused solely on battling local rivals, some gangs have involvement in international drug cartels, prostitution and human trafficking, and other illicit activities. Yet, even homegrown groups threaten

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The Myth of the Street Gang as a “Family Substitute”

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Consumers of popular lore and many adherents to contemporary sociological thinking believe that affiliation with a street gang is psychologically motivated, at least in part, by a desire to belong to the family the individual never had while growing up. Ostensibly, the gang offers support, sustenance, acceptance, and a structure that the youngster lacked at home. Gangs offer a hierarchy of leadership and a path to gain approval and achieve success. In a highly structured gang, one can "earn" one's way and gain a sense of belonging, status, and power. Sociological determinists have contended that gang membership constitutes an understandable, even "normal," means of adapting to circumstances that are bleak, if not seemingly hopeless. If this were true, everyone who lives in an impoverished, decaying, and otherwise brutal environment would join gangs.

In nearly forty years of research and clinical practice, what has impressed me far more than the environment from which people come is how they choose to deal with whatever their circumstances are.

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Labeling and Deviance: Fraternities and Gangs

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Gangs: Society and The Labeling Theory

There is a dichotomy that exists in today’s society between the privileged and the poor. Those who are wealthy seem to be able to commit violations and avoid punishment for it, while the poor bear the brunt of law enforcement. When you hear the word gang, what do you think of? Most likely, you do not think of a group of college students who belong to a fraternity. You think of a group of hoodlums who tote guns, sell drugs, and ruin neighborhoods. This is why it is necessary to understand the labels that society places on certain people and the effects that it has on behavior. Why are some people labeled as deviants? Who makes the labels? The Labeling Theory asks two questions: what is defined as deviance? and what is defined as a deviant? Different behaviors mean different things in certain areas, which makes deviance very difficult to define. Research has tried

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Gang Organization and Gang Types

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Gang organization has been an aspect of research that is often explored and debated. The concept of organization is intertwined with questions of whether gangs have leaders, whether gangs can be considered organized crime, which groups are actually street gangs, and other related questions. Though there are some crossover categories, street gangs are viewed as distinctly different than organized crime groups, prison gangs, outlaw motorcycle clubs, skinheads, stoners, and taggers.

Gang structures are widely varied, with a few being highly organized and most being loose networks of associates. The organization of a gang may change over time. There is an array of membership types that range from core members who might maintain affiliation well into adulthood to temporary members who only spend a short time in the gang. Gangs may have sub-group clique structures based on age-graded cohorts, neighborhoods, or criminal activity. Leadership roles in gangs rarely take the form of a recognizable figurehead.

These variations have led to a plethora of gang

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Gang Behavior, Law Enforcement, and Community Values

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Btween 1960 and 1990 crime rates in the United States increased dramatically: murder rates rose from 5.0 to 9.4 per 100,000; aggravated assaults increased from 85 to 424 per 100,000; and auto theft was up from 182 to 658 per 100,000. The response to this upsurge has been increased law enforcement activity, with the incarceration rate more than doubling. Has this policy been the correct response? Are there policy alternatives that have not been adequately pursued? The “bricks-and-sticks” approach to crime ignores the possibility that changing community attitudes toward crime and law enforcement play a role in the current crime wave and that the proper response must involve a conscious attempt to alter those values. This essay focuses on the role of community values in controlling crime. Community cooperation with local police is essential to law enforcement. Community members decide to cooperate either with the police since the criminals have violated their values or with the criminals,

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Poverty, Broken Homes, Violence: The Making of a Gang Member

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Sylvester Akapalara, 17, Hanzel Saucedo, 18, Genaro Ramirez, 19, Alexander Ibarra, 17, Aljoven Canalete, 19, and Ebony Huel, 16 were all found murdered in gun-related shootings in the past two months. Some of these teens were members of gangs, others were innocent people in the wrong place at the wrong time. Approximately 5750 people were killed in Los Angeles county alone in the past ten years in gang-related violence, many of them children and teenagers. With gangs reportedly recruiting members as young as eleven, this is a social problem that mustn’t be ignored.

There are many risks associated with gang membership including exposure to violent crime, and possible incarceration. Why are so many adolescents willing to join? Several risk factors have been identified that increase the likelihood that a teen will join a gang including the presence of gangs in the neighborhood, having gang members in the family already, histories of

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Preventing Gang Violence and Building Communities Where Young People Thrive

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Introduction

The proliferation of gangs can bring fear and violence to every block of a city. In addition to suffering unacceptably high numbers of deaths and injuries, gang-besieged neighborhoods are plagued by intimidation, economic and physical decay, and withdrawal from civic engagement. As these neighborhoods decline, the bonds that hold communities together weaken: children fear going to school; parks become unusable; shopping and taking a bus to work become dangerous ventures. Fortunately, cities are experimenting with a wide range of new approaches that not only seek to suppress gang violence, but also build communities that do not produce gangs in the first place. According to noted gang expert James Howell, gang-plagued jurisdictions have learned that enforcement and other police actions are not an adequate answer, and that city leaders need to involve the entire community, including neighborhood organizations and residents. “Police should not be expected to assume sole responsibility for youth gang problems. Broad based community collaboration is essential...

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