Good Girls Gone Bad
XXXXXXx
University
English Composition II
12 March, .
12 March 2012
Good Girls Gone Bad
“Don’t go to Wal-Mart tonight. There will be a gang initiation.” This is a text message that my wife received in March 2009. She believed it due to a recent gang fight that happened inside Wal-Mart that year. As a former deputy sheriff, I know that there are numerous gangs, consisting of numerous races and genders. In the past, many believed that the primary roles of females in gangs were to provide sexual favors, but there are various occurrences that would prove different. About a year and a half ago, I remember watching the news broadcast of a young female saying, “That was the first time I seen somebody shot. That was my cousin. We gone get back though!” In Olanta, South Carolina, a young man was shot and killed at a night club, allegedly gang related. The young female proclaimed her affiliation with a gang on televi-sion. I was working as a Reserved Deputy for the Florence County Sheriff’s Department and was there when the young female along with two other females and a number of males were arrested. Through the sting operation conducted on December 31, 2007 and January 01, 2008, these known gang members were arrested and faced a number of charges, including murder. Whether they represent the Bloods, the Crips, MS-13(Mara Salvatrucha), Latin Kings and Queens, Gang-ster Disciples, Hell’s Angels, or Folk Nation, females have come to the forefront of what once was considered to be a way of life for men or boys in the roles of leaders, shot callers and OGs (original gangsters).
The Term Paper on Female Young Offenders Females Males Percent
Dressed in a baggy T-shirt, cotton pants and runners with long wavy hair falling around her shoulders, she looks like an ordinary teenager. Yet because of her crime she spent her sweet sixteen birthday locked up in one of British Columbia's closed custody units for youth. Janice which is not her real name because the Young Offenders Act prohibits publication of a youths identity is incarcerated ...
We, as a society, need to not only focus our rectification efforts on the males, but on females as well.
The idea of these things happening on our streets, schools, and in our neighborhoods is not acceptable by either gender. “In nearly two-thirds of gangs, membership is perceived as a life-time commitment, “blood-in, blood-out” (Knox 18).
To show ones loyalty, prospects may be asked to steal something, assault or even murder someone. The prospects are then jumped into the gang. Females are given the option of being jumped-in (being beaten by multiple mem-bers for a set amount of time) or being sexed-in (having sex with multiple gang members).
It is argued that “the culture of poverty” was the cause of gangs and the violence that follows them (Hazelhurst 37).
Young women join gangs for the same reason as the males; to feel like a part of a family, to get money the fast way, or for protection and power. “The gang is family. A fair assumption is that gangs would not start, flourish, or grow if they did not fulfill an important need for their members” (Lal 11).
The thought of young men engaging in these kinds of activi-ties is bad enough, but young women doing them are worse. Most females, who are sexed-in, get no respect and are sometimes not even considered members. “The groups observed…were mixed and young woman took an active role” (Hazelhurst 49).
“They participated in all the so-cial activities of the group including drinking and drug taking, as well as sexual experimenta-tion” (Hazelhurst).
Society believes that this is no way for a young woman to have to live.
Research done in the past, by men, did not think that female gangs and female gang members carried any weight. Females were not even considered as a threat. “Gangs composed entirely of girls are exceedingly rare. Not more than five or six discovered…One was a group of colored girls in Chicago.” (Thrasher161).
The Term Paper on Female Gangbangers Male Gang
... that are affiliated with already existing male gangs.These girls are regulated to associate gang members. Female Gangs Wherever teenage boys get together, girls ... experienced themselves from their mothers boyfriends. The age group is similar to male gangs starting at the age of 12 or 13.Most ... So she is caught in between the cracks to young for shelter, to old for protection. Aryan Brotherhood There ...
The group in Thrasher’s study was into stealing, but was still viewed a certain way by society and did not have the gang mentality. “Women have come to play an increasingly important part in the criminal gang. While wives of successful gangsters are well protected, sweethearts and paramours often take part in criminal enterprises, sometimes acting as lures, sometimes actually holding a gun and participating as any other gang-ster in a holdup” (Thrasher 168).
Females have increasingly changed the face of what we call gangs. More recent studies have shown the following:
The equality issue has to do with two competing concepts in criminology regarding gender and crime. The chivalry hypothesis and the convergence hypothesis. The former implies that female gang members will be regulated to subservient positions, reflective of sexist orientation of pre-dominantly male members, such that female gang members will constitute almost an auxiliary group and will take second seat male members, with no genuine hope of full advancement within the gang organization. The latter (the convergence hypothesis) implies that just as wider society has now given much more power and responsibility to females in legitimate opportunity struc-ture that gangs will follow suit and will reflect these normative influences by granting female members more complete rights within the gang organization (Knox 24-25).
There are some male gangs or members who do not approve of females commencing in the same activities as males. The females are the backbone. They should take care of home and support their man, no matter what (Knox 157).
There are those who feel like females have to “put in work” and establish their place be-side if not above their male counterparts. Sylvia Nunn, nicknamed Rambo, was an original member of the Piru Bloods since the age of 12. She is considered an OG (original gangster), and admits to shooting and killing several Crip gang members since the age of 16. She was a shot caller or a leader because of her aggressive nature. She is now a recovering crack addict and self- proclaimed Christian. Donna Graham, nicknamed Cheetah, was an OG from the Crips. She decided to change her ways when she was stabbed during a fight and almost died. She now works for Operation Ceasefire in Compton, trying to stop gang violence (History).
The Term Paper on Youth Gangs Gang Member
Youth Gangs Across The Globe From L. A. to El Salvador Most gangs are created to form a sense of power and control. All types of problems are presented to the youths of today growing up in major cities. Before being so eager to jump to conclusions, we must learn to try to understand these problems, or we will never find a solution to them. Gang members are out there trying to find a family that ...
These ladies learned the error of their ways and have changed, but they are only two. May 10, 1992, in Chi-cago, a member of the Maniac Latin Disciples (a gang consisting of several races despite the name), was shot and killed by rival gang members, the Latin Kings. Three female members of the Maniac Latin Disciples or Lady Ds decided to retaliate. Jacqueline Montanes, age 15, was a leader of the Lady Ds. She, along with 21 year-old Marilyn Molero and 16 year-old Madeline Mendoza lured 2 Latin King Gang members into Humboldt Park. Montanes follows one of the young men into the restroom and shot him in the back of the head. She then passed the 25 cali-ber pistol to Molero. Mendoza was keeping the other young man occupied while walking. Molero walked up behind them and shot him in the head. They were caught, because they were bragging about their crime. “Killer Maniac. KK,” is what Montanes was saying while being ar-rested (KK means king killer).
They were all found guilty of murder (History).
Past research would have us believe that females were not involved in these types of activities.
At the age of 14, Brenda Paz joined MS-13 and began dating 25 year old, high-ranking gang member Levis Flores (also known as Junior).
When Junior was imprisoned (on charges that she gave police information on), she began dating Dennis Rivera and moved to Virginia. She was now a member of the Powerful Normandy clique (gang).
In 2002, she and Rivera were arrested for stealing a car. This is when Paz decided to give the police information, in hopes that they would be able to destroy the gang all together. She told police about a murder that Rivera had committed and gave inside information on the gang. In February of 2003, Rivera, in jail on murder charges, became suspicious of being ratted out by his girlfriend. Flores got word of Rivera and his suspicions of his girlfriend being the reason for his arrest. Flores thought that it sounded like his ex-girlfriend and sent word to Rivera to handle the snitch. Because Flores was a leader, Rivera had to go through with the order given to him. Rivera was revered as a shot caller (a lieutenant under the gang leaders) and ordered a hit on Paz from prison. She was placed in witness protection and was moved around to four different cities. Paz was a pregnant 17 year old who could not cut her ties with her gang friends. She returned to Virginia with her fellow gang members. The members wanted to find proof that she was the rat before they killed her, because she was considered a high-ranking member due to her ties with leaders and her extensive knowl-edge of the gang. Her fellow gang members found diaries with entries about her discussions with police along with business cards from police. She paid for a hotel room in Fairfax Virginia on July 11, 2003 and waited outside while fellow gang members decided her fate. That night she had sex with Oscar Antonio Grande. The next day she, Grande, Juarez Cisneros, and Oscar Gar-cia-Orellano went on what she thought was a fishing trip. Grande put a rope around her neck with the other two stabbed her to death. Rivera was acquitted of the charges of her murder, but the other 3 were convicted of murder (History).
The Essay on Female Juvenile Crime Young Women
Traditionally, there has been little research on or interest in the impact of female crime in modern society. In addition, juvenile crime rates are on the rise, which combine for a void of research or information on female juvenile offenders. In general, crime rates for women offenders have risen since the 1990's. Increasing numbers of young women are also offending at higher rates. In a 1996 U. ...
This young woman was so confused and so used to the gang lifestyle, that she was murdered for wanting to change it.
There has been a great deal of dispute over the actual number of female gangs and gang members, and their significance. “Gangs will become more violent and more mobile; gang members will learn the benefits of being more structured; gang members will outnumber law en-forcement resources; the number of gang members on probation and parole will increase; fe-males will play a larger role within the gangs and more female gangs will form; gang members will become more confrontational; and, lastly, more sophisticated weapons will be used” (Hazel-hurst 148).
Our society has ignored the problem until it has now gotten out of hand. We think it does not affect our state, but it does. This problem is nationwide. “Research on the subcultural contexts of the lives of young women has benefited from more generalized studies of how the experiences of family, school, and work are negotiated by young women and how they cope with issues of femininity and sexuality, from feminist studies which are more frequently focused on the involvement of young women in crime” (Hazelhurst 43).
The Term Paper on Female Model Sexual Male Statue
Ad analysis: Emanuel Ungaro in W magazine. Due to the nature of its articles, the display of designer clothing and women accessories, this magazine can be considered a woman s magazine that targets a specific type of women. Targeted are single and professional women interested in the world of fashion, celebrities and new trends. The chosen ad inverses the standard roles in the industry of ...
Hazelhurst acknowledges that fe-male gangs are scarce and gangs are more male based, but there are many females within the same gangs as the males. The following are a number of different studies and results:
The early work examining female culture cosigned young women to a ‘bedroom culture’ (McRobbie and Garber 1976).
When young women enter the territory of the street or subculture, they are, it is argued, perceived to be acting on male terms as girlfriends, appendages, whores, and sluts (Lees 1986).
The ‘culture of femininity’ concept undoubtedly provided a partial, but limited, explanation of the low rate of recorded female juvenile criminality. Like young men, young women gain access to at least the periphery of subcultural groups through the acquisition of artefacts associated with those groups. If we start from the supposition that young women are merely the passive observers and hangers-on of their male peers’ youth subcultures and focus only on the negative aspects of these relationships, we are unlikely to recognize the active role young women play within their involvement in youth subcultures (Hazelhurst 43).
The number of female gang members has increased. Females are more forward about their in-volvement in gangs. Knox compares two earlier studies: “Appearing, simultaneously, was Har-ris (1988) who espoused a view of Los Angeles female gang members that was not dissimilar from Vigil’s marginality thesis. At least Harris is quite compatible by seeing these gang mem-bers “caught in a socially non-existent place in terms of the dominant culture” (Knox 45).
That is not always a true fact though. These females can be as ruthless as the males in the past have been. Research would have us believe that females are sex objects or appendages of male gang members, but the role of the female gang member is evolving.
When the idea of writing about this topic came to me, my focus was leaning towards writing about the number innocent lives that have been lost due to gang violence. Then I re-membered my 13 year-old niece wearing and carrying a bandanna. I asked her if she was in a gang and she told me that she had been approached by a gang member. They wanted her to join the gang. That is when the realization of the problem came to light. They are in our schools, streets, neighborhoods, homes, and even our military. We, as a people, as a community, as a state, as a country need to open our eyes. Our youth need to be educated on the truth and de-struction of gang life. We need to educate young men and women on the dangers and illusions of being in a gang.
The Research paper on Young Women Media Research Images
In this chapter I aim to gain a through understanding of sociological methods and to look at various methods and their merits and problems, i. e. quantitative etc. I will also attempt to show the methods that will be used in study, and asses the reasons for my choice. It will also be beneficial to look at possible problems and measures to minimise these problems At a basic level research falls ...
References
Hazlehurst, Kayleen & Hazlehurst, Cameron (1998).
Gangs and Youth Subcultures:
International Exploration, 144-155.
Knox, George W. (1994).
An Encyclopedia Reference. National Gangs Resource Hand-book, 101-161.
Knox, George W. (1991).
An Introduction to Gangs, 1-354.
Knox, George W. (1994).
An Introduction to Gangs: New Revised Edition, 1-64
Lal, Shirley R., Lal, Dhyan, & Achilles, Charles M. (1993).
Handbook on Gangs in
Schools: Strategies to Reduce Gang-Related Activities, 1-67.
Thrasher, Frederic M. (1927).
The Gang: A Study of 1,313 Gangs in Chicago, 1-370.
http://www.history.com/search?search-field=Gangland
