9. Liberating Yet Limiting: The Paradox of Female Gang Membership

Nurge, Dana; Kontos, Louis; Barrios, Luis

doi:10.7312/kont12140-009

Cited by 14 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…While scholarship on at-risk girls has increased, little of this research has focused on health-compromising behaviors, and even less on the eating practices of these “at-risk” girls (Arcan, Kubik, Fulkerson, & Story, 2009; Harris, 2004), such as girls in street gangs, who are at the nexus of a variety of different high-risk behaviors (Neumark-Sztainer et al, 1997). These girls grow up in marginalized communities, often in troubled families, and participate in a high-risk peer group; thus they experience, in an extreme way, significant risk factors for dietary health problems experienced by many poor, minority youth (Miller, 2001; Miranda, 2003; Nurge, 2003; Thornberry, Krohn, Lizotte, Smith, & Tobin, 2003; Valdez, 2007). While gang-involved girls may be seen as “too specific” or unrepresentative, we believe that research on the diet and eating practices of these at-risk girls can highlight issues related to diet and eating faced not solely by gang girls, but by low-income, ethnic-minority girls in general, who live in similar high-risk neighborhoods and face many of the same dietary issues as gang girls.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food in the family. Bringing young people back in

et al. 2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article analyzes eating and beliefs about family meals in the qualitative interview narratives of 30 “at-risk” gang-involved young women in the San Francisco Bay Area. We begin our examination of consumption practices with a study of households and identify three major types–extended, single-parent and blended. Within these households, food purchasing and consumption activities are varied, and in many cases, our respondents rely upon extended family members and non-kin relations for support. In examining eating within the family, we identify two sets of practices and meanings: eating alone, and eating with others. Eating alone is symbolic of independence from one’s family of origin, or is the result of familial conflict at the dinner table; however, it does not necessarily change our respondents’ eating patterns. Eating with others in the family remains important, and many of the young women value family meals, although there are significant obstacles to eating regularly with the entire nuclear family. Many of these young women play an important role in the purchasing and preparation of food for family members as well. This paper highlights the importance of understanding family eating practices from the perspective of young people in the family, whose contribution to family ingestive practices has tended to be underestimated in much of available research literature.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food in the family. Bringing young people back in

et al. 2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Yet recent studies by Quicker (1983) and Campbell (1984) offer alternative theoretical approaches to understanding women's participation; other researchers, too, have shown themselves much more aware of the importance of gender (see Joe and Chesney-Lind, 1995;Brotherton, 1996;Miller, 2001;Brotherton and Salazar-Atias, 2003;Nurge, 2003;Schalet et al, 2003, among others who have highlighted the experience of gang females as 'agents ... constructing their life worlds' (Daly and Maher, 1998: 4; see also Anderson, 2005)). …”

Section: Bringing Resistance Back Inmentioning

confidence: 96%

Beyond social reproduction

Brotherton

2008

Theoretical Criminology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Researchers and theorists have described violent street gang subcultures in the USA as a response to the intersecting forces of marginalization inflicted on minority communities. Most gang scholars agree that the urban youth street gang is the quintessential example of social reproduction at work. While evidence can be mustered to defend such a position, it is important to consider how street gangs may constitute counter-hegemonic forms of both individual and collective resistance. In this article, I concentrate on the theoretical questions posed by such a perspective. My argument is that the open-ended view of earlier criminologists has been discarded and a pathological view of gang behavior holds sway. While this latter perspective may apply to some gangs, it does not pertain to all such subcultures. Based on my own and other studies, I advocate a return to resistance-based theory informed by literatures not normally consulted in gang criminology.

show abstract

“…Given the recent attention not only with girl gang members but also young motherhood in general, it is somewhat surprising that the issue of motherhood and gang membership has not generated more research (see Campbell 1991, Moore 1991, Dietrich 1998, Moore and Hagedorn 1999, Miller 2001, and Vigil 2008 for key exceptions). In contrast to popular stereotypes of gang girls as either irredeemably violent or sexually promiscuous (Joe and Chesney-Lind 1995, Nurge 2003), an understanding of their experiences of pregnancy and motherhood may challenge these dominant images. An analysis of these young mothers will reveal the extent to which becoming mothers shapes their life trajectories, as well as provide an opportunity to understand how these young women negotiate between two conflicting identities: gang member and mother.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…In recent decades there has been a significant expansion of scholarship focusing on young women in gangs (Quicker 1983, Fishman 1988, Fleisher 1998, M. Harris 1988, Campbell 1991, Moore 1991, Joe-Laidler and Hunt 1997, 2001, Venkatesh 1998, Chesney-Lind and Hagedorn 1999, Miller 2001, 2009, Miranda 2003, Nurge 2003, Hunt et al . 2005, Valdez 2007).…”

Section: Young Mothers In the Hoodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Young mother (in the) hood: gang girls' negotiation of new identities

Moloney

Hunt

Joe‐Laidler

et al. 2010

Journal of Youth Studies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article examines the experiences of young women in street gangs who become mothers. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 65 young women in the San Francisco, CA, Bay Area, we examine their narratives about the transition to motherhood. In particular, we focus on the ways these young women negotiate femininities and attempt to reconcile their identities as young mothers and gang girls—both stigmatized identities. For many of the young women, motherhood entails a retreat from the street and a renewed emphasis on time spent in the home. While many receive (financial and childcare) support from their families, this also often means a diminution of the autonomy they experienced while more heavily involved in the gang. Issues of respect and respectability remain important for the young women, but the dimensions on which these are based change.

show abstract

9. Liberating Yet Limiting: The Paradox of Female Gang Membership

Cited by 14 publications

References 0 publications

Food in the family. Bringing young people back in

Food in the family. Bringing young people back in

Beyond social reproduction

Young mother (in the) hood: gang girls' negotiation of new identities

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About