Dealing with a gendered economy: Female drug dealers and street capital

Grundetjern, Heidi; Sandberg, Sveinung

doi:10.1177/1477370812453103

Cited by 69 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…This finding echoes previous studies that have found that compared to their male counterparts, female IDU are more likely to rely on high risk income generation activities (DeBeck et al, 2007) and to experience higher unemployment (Richardson et al, 2010; McCoy et al, 2007; Pelissier & Jones, 2005). This earning disadvantage for female IDU may represent structural barriers that make it more difficult for female IDU to acquire high paying positions in both the legal labour market and shadow economies (Shannon et al, 2008; Pelissier & Jones, 2005; Grundetjern & Sandberg, 2012). Overall, these findings add to the empirical evidence supporting the need for interventions that provide economic empowerment, especially for female IDU (Deering et al, 2011; Richardson et al, 2010; DeBeck et al, 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Income level and drug related harm among people who use injection drugs in a Canadian setting

Long¹,

DeBeck²,

Feng³

et al. 2014

International Journal of Drug Policy

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Background Higher income is generally associated with better health outcomes; however, among people who inject drugs (IDU) income generation frequently involves activities, such as sex work and drug dealing, which pose significant health risks. Therefore, we sought to examine the relationship between level of income and specific drug use patterns and related health risks. Methods This study involved IDU participating in a prospective cohort study in Vancouver, Canada. Monthly income was categorized based on non-fixed quartiles at each follow-up with the lowest level serving as the reference category in generalized linear mixed-effects regression. Results Among our sample of 1,032 IDU, the median average monthly income over the study follow-up was $1050 [Interquartile range=785–2000]. In multivariate analysis, the highest income category was significantly associated with sex work (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR]=7.65), drug dealing (AOR=5.06), daily heroin injection (AOR=2.97), daily cocaine injection (AOR=1.65), daily crack smoking (AOR=2.48), binge drug use (AOR=1.57) and unstable housing (AOR=1.67). The high income category was negatively associated with being female (AOR=0.61) and accessing addiction treatment (AOR=0.64), (all p < 0.05). In addition, higher income was strongly associated with higher monthly expenditure on drugs (>$400) (OR=97.8). Conclusion Among IDU in Vancouver, average monthly income levels were low and higher total monthly income was linked to high-risk income generation strategies as well as a range of drug use patterns characteristic of higher intensity addiction and HIV risk. These findings underscore the need for interventions that provide economic empowerment and address high intensity addiction, especially for female IDU.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Income level and drug related harm among people who use injection drugs in a Canadian setting

Long¹,

DeBeck²,

Feng³

et al. 2014

International Journal of Drug Policy

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“…Other successful women in drug economies enact typically masculine traits, particularly "street masculinity" (Grundetjern & Sandberg, 2012). These women claim that aggressive, tough, or masculine personas are necessary to gain access to and survive in certain criminal networks even when that means adopting male perceptions of women as weak and incapable (Brookman, Mullins, Bennett, & Wright, 2007;Miller, 1998).…”

Section: Women and Drug Economiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“The times have changed, the dope has changed”: Women's cooking roles and gender performances in shake methamphetamine markets*

2019

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Drug markets are typically portrayed as male dominated, with men occupying the higher positions and women fulfilling the lower positions. Yet, the results of recent work highlight how women's participation and experiences in drug economies varies by the structure and organization of the specific market. We focus on the shake‐and‐bake (“shake”) methamphetamine (meth) market, which seems to have emerged mainly in response to legal attempts to curtail methamphetamine production. We explore how women adapt to structural changes and how they perform gender to navigate a market in which the focus is on personal consumption instead of on monetary gain. By relying on semistructured interviews with 40 women who cooked meth, we identify the gendered strategies they adopt and how these coincide with their position in the drug market. Cooking roles took three forms (partner, lead, and team), and each role was characterized by distinct patterns of gender performance and autonomy (emphasized femininity, matriarchal control, and gender neutral). We show that certain market conditions allow for increased participation among women in meth manufacturing. Yet, even within favorable conditions, variability remains in women's positions and gender performances. The findings highlight the role of organizational and legal context in shaping both the roles women adopt in drug markets and the ways they perform gender.

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“…Another way these dealers accomplished being viewed as one of the guys was through actively downplaying feminine bodily characteristics and abstaining from random sexual activity, previously referred to as desexualization (Grundetjern and Sandberg, ). Karen (36) explained how she responded to continuous sexual approaches by male colleagues.…”

Section: Findings and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Women's Gender Performances and Cultural Heterogeneity in the Illegal Drug Economy

Grundetjern

2015

Criminology

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Based on interviews with 32 female drug dealers in Norway, this study investigates different gender performances among women situated in the illegal hard drug economy-a context with strong gendered "rules of the game." Using grounded theory methods, I have identified four predominant patterns in which women enact their gendered identities being part of the drug economy: performing emphasized femininity in the context of marginalization; performing street masculinity; employing a feminine business model; and last, flexible use of cultural repertoires. The findings suggest that different gender performances among dealers are rooted in variations in the cultural tool kits they have at their disposal. I find that the content of women's cultural tool kits varied with three sociodemographic factors: 1) age, 2) time of entrée to the drug economy, and 3) educational and employment history. Combined, these influenced the type of gender performances the dealers tended to use as well as their position in the drug market hierarchy. The research suggests that those dealers using cultural repertoires flexibly are the most successful as they skillfully employed the model best suited for the context they were in.

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Dealing with a gendered economy: Female drug dealers and street capital

Cited by 69 publications

References 27 publications

Income level and drug related harm among people who use injection drugs in a Canadian setting

Income level and drug related harm among people who use injection drugs in a Canadian setting

“The times have changed, the dope has changed”: Women's cooking roles and gender performances in shake methamphetamine markets*

Women's Gender Performances and Cultural Heterogeneity in the Illegal Drug Economy

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