Female Gangs

U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention March 2001 Female Gangs: A Message From OJJDP A Focus on Research For many years, female gangs were regarded simply as satellites of male gangs and rigorous research to Joan Moore and John Hagedorn better understand them was rarely undertaken. This oversight has The proliferation of youth gangs since 1980 methodological problems with many re- resulted in gaps in our knowledge has fueled the public’s fear and magnified ports on female gangs. This Bulletin sum- about the girls and young women possible misconceptions about youth gangs. marizes both past and current research on who are at risk for gang involvement To address the mounting concern about female gangs and draws attention to pro- and juvenile delinquency. youth gangs, the Office of Juvenile Justice grammatic and research needs. It consid- Part of OJJDP’s Youth Gang Series, and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP’s) ers the underlying reasons for female this Bulletin represents a step toward Youth Gang Series delves into many of the gang membership, assesses the delin- rectifying the deficiencies of prior key issues related to youth gangs. The series quency and criminal activity of female research. It summarizes past and considers issues such as gang migration, gang members, examines how ethnicity present research and tracks the rise gang growth, female involvement with and gender norms may influence female in the number of female gangs and gangs, homicide, drugs and violence, and gang behavior, and discusses the long- the increased public recognition of the needs of communities and youth who term consequences of gang membership female gang involvement as a live in the presence of youth gangs. for females. It concludes with some significant social problem. proposals for future research. Much of the research on gangs has ig- The authors consider the motivations nored females or trivialized female gangs.1 for female gang membership, assess Influential early studies of gangs, which Early Reports: A the delinquency and criminal activity for years shaped the research agenda, History of Stereotypes of female gang members, examine concentrated almost exclusively on Gangs are studied because they are of the influence of ethnicity and gender males. The implicit message of these norms on female gang behavior, and studies was that female gangs were unim- social concern. That concern stems from typically “masculine” acts of vandalism, discuss the long-term consequences portant. Even within the past decade an of gang membership. Recommenda- expert commented: “The notion seems to violence, and other serious threats. It was often assumed that females did not tions for future research are also be that female gangs and their members offered. are ‘pale imitations’ of male gangs” take part in such behavior, so early (Spergel, 1995, p. 90). researchers were not interested in the Girls and young women who are at delinquency of female gang members.2 risk for gang involvement deserve Given the lack of research, much of what Researchers and journalists saw gangs as our attention and assistance. This has been written about female gangs and a quintessentially male phenomenon. Bulletin provides a historical and then reproduced in textbooks has been Thus, most early reports focused on research context that will enable us based on the reports of journalists and whether female gangs were “real” gangs to better understand this serious social workers and on the statements of or merely satellites of male groups. One societal problem and to determine male gang members. With the exception review concluded that in these early its solutions. of a very few early studies, gang research- studies, “girls were defined solely in ers did not begin to take female gangs se- terms of their . relations to male gang riously until the 1980’s, when Campbell’s members” (Campbell, 1990, p. 166). (1984a) book on New York gangs appeared. Even now, there continue to be “Sex objects or tomboys”—these are the determine how each kind of gang struc- pregnancy (cf. Moore, 1991). Finally, field images that, until recently, dominated the ture affects the members’ behavior (Miller, research, although its reports are usually literature on female gang members. Indi- 2000a). Existing information does indicate, limited to one time and place, can offer vidual females were portrayed in terms however, that joining a gang—regardless additional insights. For example, in San of their sexual activity, with an occasional of the gang’s structure—is a significant Antonio, TX, field research has identified mention of their functions as weapon act for an adolescent female, often with groups of girls who consistently hang out carriers for male gang members (e.g., important consequences later in life. with male gangs. Even though they rarely Spergel, 1964). Even when describing define themselves as gangs, they may be female gang members as tomboys, re- seen as “gangs” by outsiders (Valdez and searchers emphasized that the females’ Number of Female Cepeda, 1998). In some cities, females motivations were focused on males. Miller Gang Members constitute up to one-third of the members (1973, p. 34), for instance, explained that Both male and female gangs proliferated in some gang cliques but are completely “the behavior of the [girls] . appeared in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Although the absent in others (Moore, 1991). to be predicated on the assumption that percentage of gang members who were the way to get boys to like you was to be Surprisingly, female gangs are somewhat female is difficult to ascertain, all sources more likely to be found in small cities and like them rather than [sexually] acces- agree the numbers were significant. sible to them.” Campbell (1984a) points rural areas than in large cities. Their ethnicity varies from one region to an- out that “sex object” and “tomboy” are Nationwide surveys of law enforcement both variants of the “bad girl” role. Good agencies provide the most widely used other, with African American gangs predominant in the Midwest and Northeast girls are modest and feminine; bad girls data, although they have limitations. The are not. first such survey, conducted in the mid- and Latina gangs predominant in the 1970’s, estimated that 10 percent of all Southwest (National Youth Gang Center, These studies were conducted before gang members were female (Miller, 1975). 2000). women entered the labor market in such Some 20 years later, in 1992, another na- large numbers as they do today. It was an tionwide survey found that only 3.7 per- Being in a Gang: era when most people viewed homemak- cent of all gang members were female ing as the only acceptable goal for women. (Spergel, 1995). A criminologist associ- The Background The studies reflected the widespread no- ated with the latter survey commented Joining a gang is a significant, poten- tion that for males, gang membership that this low proportion may have re- tially life-altering, event. The reasons for might involve delinquency, but it does not sulted because 32 percent of the sur- any single juvenile’s joining a gang are violate gender-role norms. However, gang veyed jurisdictions did not, “as a matter complex and personal. Though most membership for females was more shock- of policy,” identify females as gang mem- females join gangs for friendship and ing because it involved real deviance and bers (Curry and Decker, 1998, p. 98). Two self-affirmation (Campbell, 1984a, 1987; seriously violated gender-role norms. other nationwide surveys of law enforce- Moore, 1991), recent research has begun The accuracy of early descriptions of fe- ment agencies, conducted in 1996 and to shed some light on economic and fam- male gang members as sex objects and 1998, estimated that 11 percent and 8 per- ily pressures motivating many young tomboys is difficult to judge because cent, respectively, of all gang members women to join gangs. there are not enough reliable data in were female (Moore and Terrett, 1998; these reports. Most historical information National Youth Gang Center, 2000). Economic and Ethnic about female gangs comes from journal- Other sources provide figures that are Forces ists (e.g., Asbury, 1927; Rice, 1963), who much higher than most law enforcement Throughout the 20th century, poverty and were likely to emphasize the sensational, estimates. In surveys of youth in a wide economic marginality were associated and from social workers (e.g., Hanson, range of cities, for example, the propor- with the emergence of youth gangs, but in 1964; Welfare Council of New York City, tion of self-identified gang members who the 1980’s and early 1990’s, the loss of 1950), who were likely to emphasize mem- were female ranged from 8 to 38 percent, hundreds of thousands of factory jobs bers’ personal problems. Both sources and the proportion of females surveyed made conditions even worse in America’s fed the “bad girl” stereotype. who claimed gang membership ranged inner cities.3 Hagedorn’s (1988) study of However, in retrospect, the early skepti- from 9 to 22 percent (Bjerregard and gang formation in Milwaukee, WI, a city cism about whether female gangs were Smith, 1993; Cohen et al., 1994; Esbensen then suffering economic decline, shows “real gangs” seems odd. It seems to have and Huizinga, 1993; Esbensen and Des- that although the parents of most gang been based on a very narrow view of what chenes, 1998; Esbensen and Osgood, members usually held good jobs, these a gang really is. Gangs—male and female 1997; Fagan, 1990). Such surveys provide jobs had disappeared by the time their alike—differ greatly from one another. a valuable supplement to police sources, children were grown. It is not surprising Those differences affect the behavior of despite some limitations (which are dis- that gangs proliferated rapidly during young members and their chances of ma- cussed on page 4).

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