“Girls come to the gang for very different reasons than boys. For boys in marginalized communities, they have a gender problem, and they solve it often through gang membership. They find an ability to do masculinity in a way that reasserts their importance in a society that mostly ignores them. For girls, they're coming out of more damaged backgrounds. Their families are often the reason they get propelled into gang membership.” WayDifferentReasonProblemGirlCommunityAbilityBoysImportanceGenderSolveBackgroundsComing OutMasculinityGangMembershipMarginalized Author:Meda Chesney-Lind
“The gang may be a safer place than home, but it's not without its problems. In some instances, especially in the Latino community, the boys have very traditional views of femininity even though they are gang members. The girls can be [seen] as sexually available, but not the good girl that you want to take home to your family, even by young men in the gangs.” MenWantMayProblemHomeYoungGirlCommunityViewsBoysMembersAvailableTraditionalInstanceOur FamilyYoung ManFemininityGangLatinoSexuallyGood GirlGang Members Author:Meda Chesney-Lind
