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Social Sciences $€ £ ¥ social sciences $€ £ ¥ Article The Semiotics of the Evolving Gang Masculinity and Glasgow Robert McLean * and Chris Holligan School of Eduaction, Interdisciplinary Research Unit on Crime, Policing and Social Justice, University of the West of Scotland, Hamilton ML3 0JB, UK; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +44-012-928-860-00 Received: 1 June 2018; Accepted: 25 July 2018; Published: 30 July 2018 Abstract: Glasgow has a persistent and historical gang culture. Dimensions of ‘the gang’ are widely recognized in terms of behavior, formation, membership, and territoriality. The gap in our knowledge lies in the nature of a gang’s evolutionary flexibility. Given that life-course criminology foregrounds continuity and change in offending, it is surprising that this evolution has gone unrecognized in Scotland. Many contemporary studies of youth gangs connect ‘gang talk’ exclusively with territoriality and masculinity overlooking criminal progression. The argument of this article does not dispute the dominant received conceptualization of the youth urban street gang. The article’s contribution is to progress beyond these narrowing tropes and chronological age boundaries to encompass a more complex portrayal of Glasgow gangs and the lives of the indigenous Scottish young lads who were interviewed. The article does this by voicing the lived experiences of those whose lives are enmeshed with gang membership and whose linguistic register rarely achieves a serious platform in the middle-class world in control of the British media. Keywords: crime; evolution; gangs; Glasgow; masculinity; Scotland 1. Introduction This article explores youth gangs in Glasgow, examining both the activities in which they partake in, and the evolving capabilities they may retain. Prior to the article being written, the authors input the phrase “violence in Glasgow” as a search term into a major UK research-led university library. This term yielded 68,849 hits—these included health and medicine, epidemiology and community health, feminist reviews, and studies published in contemporary British history journals. Our focus belongs with a very extensive context that addresses the multidimensionality of violence in relation to living in Glasgow. Our article seeks to address this violence in Glasgow through the lens of youth gangs. This is done by: (a) firstly, providing an in-depth analysis of youth gangs in the given context; and (b) exploring how gangs are by no means synchronic entities but rather retain evolving capabilities towards more serious forms of criminality. Figure1 (below) points to the gangs’ capacity to evolve. Yet exploring the gang beyond a single stage is beyond this paper alone, thus the focus here is solely on the youth gang and how the gang may aid potential gang organization for some. Figure1 denotes change in criminal seriousness and their positional threat to society. Not unlike holding a university degree gang membership is a positional good, but one that helps to set conditions for a life involving legal incarceration, not enlightenment. This original theorization proposes that at this stage the youth gangs tend to be the coming together of various peer groups of similar age who all live within close proximity to one another: usually within a single housing estate or ‘scheme’ as it is labelled in Scotland (Deuchar 2009). These various groups regularly drift in and out of affiliation with a smaller body of persistent offenders seen to be the core body of the larger gang structure (Aldridge et al. 2005; Davies 2013; Deuchar et al. 2015; McLean 2017a; Patrick 1973; Soc. Sci. 2018, 7, 125; doi:10.3390/socsci7080125 www.mdpi.com/journal/socsci Soc. Sci. 2018, 7, 125 2 of 17 Violence Reduction Unit 2011). Our treatment of the gang bears comparison with the literature on life-courseSoc. Sci. 2018 criminology, 7, x FOR PEER where REVIEW biographical trajectories are mapped. While most gang2 of members 17 at the recreationalViolence stageReduction tend Unit drift 2011). in an Our out treatment of offending of the as gang adolescents bears comparison before ‘ageingwith the out’literature altogether on with maturitylife (Matza-course 1964 criminology). For a where minority, biographical this is trajectories not the case, are mapped. and instead While delinquency most gang members gradually at the becomes criminalityrecreational (Farrington stage tend et al. drift 1998 in ,an 2001 out ).of Moffittoffending(1993 as adolescents) dual taxonomy before ‘ageing model out’ likewisealtogether suggestwith that while offendingmaturity spikes(See Matza during 1964). adolescence, For a minority, for this the is majoritynot the case, this and is onlyinstead temporary delinquency and gradually will decline as individualsbecomes move criminality towards (Farrington adulthood. et al Before. 1998, providing2001). Moffit empiricalt’s (1993) dual support taxonomy for model the article’s likewise thesis we suggest that while offending spikes during adolescence, for the majority this is only temporary and turn to anwill analysis decline ofas theindividuals literature move to legitimatetowards adulthood. our perspective. Before providing The evolution empirical processsupport reliesfor the upon the persistencearticle’s of cultural thesis we myths turn to about an analysis the developmental of the literature to pathway legitimate of our the perspective. male and The the evolut naturalnession of a misogynisticprocess gendered relies upon hierarchy. the persistence The ‘evolvingof cultural gang’myths about (Densley the developmental 2013) is intertwined pathway withof the themale growth of masculinityand the and naturalness received of social a misogynistic hierarchy. gendered Glasgow hierarchy. lads areThe rebels,‘evolving but gang’ only (See to Densley a point. 2013) It is is mistaken intertwined with the growth of masculinity and received social hierarchy. Glasgow lads are rebels, to assert they advance enlightened societal structures of power. but only to a point. It is mistaken to assert they advance enlightened societal structures of power. Figure 1. The gang as an evolving phenomenon. Figure 1. The gang as an evolving phenomenon. 2. Background 2. BackgroundCharacterizing street violence through the trope of “post code wars” simplifies the nuanced nature of violence against the person. We know from the ethnographies of Elijah Anderson (1999) in Characterizingthe US and Holligan street (2014) violence in Scotland through that a the‘code trope of the street’ of “post connected code with wars” honor, simplifies natural justice the,nuanced nature ofand violence reputation against are precious the person. forms Weof capital know that from, if thethreatened, ethnographies can result ofin Elijahrecourse Anderson to serious( 1999) in the US andviolence Holligan to determine(2014) in natural Scotland justice that (Anderson a ‘code of1999). the street’Gangs and connected gang culture with honor,in and around natural justice, and reputationGlasgow are city precious have continued forms oftheir capital disturbing that, ifpresence threatened, in terms can of result stabbings in recourse and other to forms serious of violence to determineantisocial natural behavior justice, with (motorAnderson-bike and 1999 car). theft Gangs being and common. gang Locali culturezed gangs in and are around far from being Glasgow city eradicated; in many of the poorer communities domiciled in Glasgow’s extensive conurbations gangs have continuedremain a theirvery prevalent disturbing and presence unchanging in termsfeature ofof stabbingstheir working and-class other mental forms as well of antisocial as physicalbehavior, with motor-bikecartographies. and carThe theftintense being political common. gaze which Localized youths gangsgrouping are together far from in such being communities eradicated; had in many of the poorerto bear communities only a few years domiciled ago has in steadily Glasgow’s been relieved extensive mainly conurbations due to the seeming gangs reductions remain a in very knife prevalent and unchangingcarrying and feature inter/intra of their gang working-class related violence mental1 (Deuchar as well2013). as Yet, physical while interpersonal cartographies. violence The intense political gaze which youths grouping together in such communities had to bear only a few years ago has steadily1 Knife been culture relieved has often mainly been an due assumed to the trait seeming of gang activity reductions in Glasgow, in knife and thus carrying consequently and inter/intrahas been gang related violenceused as1 a( wayDeuchar to measure 2013 gang). proliferation. Yet, while Yet, interpersonal the perception that violence declines in appears knife violence remains automatically down overall, means a decline in gang formation is naive. 1 Knife culture has often been an assumed trait of gang activity in Glasgow, and thus consequently has been used as a way to measure gang proliferation. Yet, the perception that declines in knife violence automatically means a decline in gang formation is naive. Soc. Sci. 2018, 7, 125 3 of 17 a recent spike in knife crimes has rekindled a fearful outlook, local populations in Glasgow fear gang violence may re-emerge (Collins 2017). In view of the presence of male youth gangs in Glasgow for more than a century, gangs appear entrenched. The persistence of intergenerational disadvantage reflecting a post-industrial collapse of employment is associated with the continuation of the historical trajectory of the youth gang.
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