Why Female Youths Join Gangs :: Youth Gangs Essays

Why egg-producing(prenominal) person Youths Join GangsFemale youths join street gangs on the basis of gender conflict, lack of family support andviolence in their lives. Through adolescence new-fangled distaffs have a much harder time than youngmales dealing with family, sexuality and the harsh reality of living in the urban ghetto. Youngfemales who must endure these facets of life have little luck to succeed. Consequently,these young women turn to a replacement family, a place where they determine they atomic number 18 needed andloved and can escape reality, even if momentarily. This caseful of place is in the common streetgang. Presently, inner city minorities are hopelessly discriminated and isolated from economicopportunity. Young females see society as having nothing to offer young minority women.Neglected communities with high horror and a lack of resources force young females to turn toothers in the corresponding situation for support. Thus, they develop an exaggerate d sense of belongingand gain zeal lacking in their lives (Chesney-Lind 53).According to Thornberry there are three types of models that reputation for gangmembership selection model, social facilitation model and enhancement model. Femalemembership seems to fall into the selection model. The selection model states that gangs only encrypt or associate with already delinquent persons (Dukes, Martinez, Stein 143). In 1994females accounted for 24% of all juvenile arrests (Chesney-Lind 11). Also, female gangmembers show higher levels of fault than non gang members (Curry 12). However, theydo not necessarily influence members once in the gang. Such as many researchers have foundonce in a gang, female members are not expected to involve themselves in delinquency.Recent estimates of female gang involvement have shown a grand increase infemale membership. These increases have become great comely to turn researchers attention tofemale gang members. Studies have shown that ten to 30 eigh t percent of gang members arefemale (qtd. in miller 431). Miller has recognized two different types of female gangs. First, the self-directed female gang. The independent female gang is completely break in of the male gang.The females key their own set of rules and have decision making powers. Millers studies haveshown that less than ten percent of female gangs are independent (qtd. in Chesney-Lind 46).Second, the auxiliary gang (qtd. in Curry 105). The auxiliary female gang is the most commonand one in which the females are separate from the males in the gang, but are still apart of thewhole gang. The males draw all the decisions and essentially control the females. These type offemale gang groups are, an typeface of the gender relations and boundaries of society (qtd.