NCJ Number
149104
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 21 Issue: 3 Dated: (1977) Pages: 221-228
Date Published
1977
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Based on interviews with African-American female gang members in Philadelphia, this study profiles factors in and patterns of African-American females' involvement in gangs.
Abstract
The findings show that females are clearly part of Philadelphia's black youth gang subculture. They are not always confined to peripheral gang activities such as social and sexual affairs; females often have roles intrinsic to the maintenance of the gang. In the sexually integrated gangs, the females are involved in a multitude of gang- related affairs, and females are among the combatants in intergang conflicts. The all-female gang, exemplified by the "Holly Ho's," is just as violent and aggressive as the all-male gangs, with a reputation just as potent as that of many male gangs. Because females are exposed to essentially the same milieu as that of the males in Philadelphia's low- income neighborhoods and because these females also are in search of their identity within a subculture where opportunities are limited to the ghetto-specific lifestyle, violence and aggressive behavior become a viable means for establishing that identity. To become popular and be involved in the excitement of gang activities, females will join and function in Philadelphia's black gang subculture, so that any discussion of black youth gangs of Philadelphia must include females. 15 references