Peer Group : The World 's Most Dangerous Gang

Anderson posits that this is a major reason why they join gangs; they want to earn their “manhood” or at least learn what it means to be a man. This leads to them getting a twisted idea of what it is to be a true man (Anderson 14-16). Another issue that Anderson discusses is the growing intensity of girls becoming more violent in reaction to different types of threats to respect such as rumors and gossip. While Anderson does say girls are less prone to killing others based on these issues, there is still a rise in fighting amongst those in the areas these gangs run rampant (Anderson 16-18). Finally, Anderson ends his article with a final component in which gang members try to earn a reputation for being “bad” as they call it. This comes down to the willingness to perform risky behaviors, and how little they fear death as a result of their activities (Anderson 18-19). Anderson terms this kind of culture to be an oppositional culture (Anderson 20).

Life in the Inner-City In the novel “Code of the Street: Decency, Violence, and the Moral Life of the Inner City” written by Elijah Anderson, Elijah discusses how socioeconomic problems affect the choices that youths in the inner-city make. Elijah asserts in order not to be harmed, individuals need to understand the code in these areas. An important key point to remember from this novel is that violence happens because of the social disorganization and socioeconomic issues that surround these cities. Issues like poverty impact how people live their lives.

In James Howell’s “Gangs in America’s Communities” book he mentions that a gang should be looked at more of as a social network rather than an “organization” (Howell, 2012, p.60). This can be especially true for the youth who get involved in gangs. For the youth it is normal for them to want to belong somewhere so their peers have major influences in what they do and even how they think. The emergence or involvement of a gang among youth is identifying with each other and eventually giving themselves a name. Howell then describes the next step as grasping the gang culture by wearing distinctive clothing, colors, having rituals, gatherings, and the exclusion of other youth. Most youth join gangs between the ages of 11 and 15, the peak of gang involvement usually occurs between the age of 14 to 16. Some of the risk factors that get them involved in a

a. Deviance/pg. 190: the violation of norms (or rules or expectations). In the eyes of most American citizens, the heinous acts of MS-13 would be ruled as deviant because it goes against countless social and moral norms that our nation’s citizens cling to. Foremost, I believe most would agree that the addition and recruitment of young children at such an early age would be viewed upon with disdain. Many feel as if children should be given the best chance to succeed for their futures by attending school and avoiding social gang interaction. The deviant acts of the gang would seemingly defy our normal standards for the enhancement of our youth’s lives. Another area of MS-13 gang interaction that would be seen as deviant action would be the crime

From my perspective, the most surprising gang myth was that gangs, drugs, and violence were linked. I was under the impression that gangs made their income from the sale and distribution of drugs to fund their activities. It was unique in that Coughlin and Venkatesh (2003) actually stated that drugs were secondary to that of identity, protection, and recreation (28). Though from just these two chapters, I can see there is a pattern to why youth join gangs and the gang’s desire for identity as a primary goal. All of the offered criteria of identity, protection, and recreation signal to me that of any troubled teen/youth trying to establish their way through not only a changing environment of high school, but also a changing body of hormones. I was curious in the details regarding to the fact that few gangs control distribution, in that if not them then who actually

Many years of research have gone into studying why youth turns to gang involvement. A sector of this population has only recently been a focus of any study at all and that is the female. From the authors De La Rue, Espelage research they estimate that female gang membership is anywhere from 10 to 35% of the total gang population (De La Rue, Espelage 2014 pg. 1). There are many pieces that drive females to join the gang lifestyle. There are three major causes that drive females to gang involvement; family influences, relationship drives, and prior victimization.

Abstract: This review studies in depth research done on street gangs. Social issues have social scientists turning away from including this in their research around this time. Sociological views have been changed dramatically in the past 40 years due to gender and racial studies. Also, women have started to join gangs since America has been changed with woman equality laws passing.

The Labeling theory is the theory of how the self-identity and behavior of individuals may be determined or influenced by the terms used to describe or classify them. It is associated with the concepts of self-fulfilling prophecy and stereotyping. Labeling theory holds that deviance is not inherent to an act, but instead focuses on the tendency of majorities to negatively label minorities or those seen as deviant from standard cultural norms. The theory was prominent during the 1960’s and 1970’s, and some modified versions of the theory have developed and are still currently popular. A stigma is defined as a powerfully negative label that changes a person’s self-concept and social identity. Labeling theory is closely related to social-construction and symbolic-interaction analysis. Labeling theory was developed by sociologists during the 1960’s. Howard Saul Becker’s book Outsiders was extremely influential in the development of this theory and its rise to popularity. The Labeling theory suggests that people obtain labels from how others view their tendencies or behaviors. Each individual is aware of how they are judged by others because he or she has attempted many roles and functions in social interactions and has been able to gauge the reactions of those present. The documentary centers on the Mara Salvatrucha, better known for their street name MS13, has a reputation as a brutal gang of criminals and murderers across El

Gender stereotypes leads kids to gang affiliations. Gangs are growing around the world and are consider to be a group of criminals. According to the National Institute of Justice (2011), “The federal definition of gang is: an association of three or more individuals identifying themselves with a group identity with slogans, signs, symbols, style of color of clothing, and that have a purpose to engage in criminal activity” (para.3). There are 33,000 violent street gangs, motorcycle gangs, and prison gangs with 1.4 million members that are criminally active in the United States (Federal Bureau of Investigations, 2017). Gangs are related to bullying from stereotypes, assaults, thefts, and harassment. Unfortunately, a child in gangs is exposed

In some instances social learning theories can be used to explain why people become involved in gangs. In particular, differential association theory can explain specifically why the majority of the girls interviewed joined a gang. Many girls noted that they hung out with friends who were involved in gangs and eventually decided to join themselves simply because there wasn’t a reason not to join. There are also aspects of differential association theory present that emerged in the interviews with girls such as imitation and positive and negative reinforcement. Many girls talked about modeling what their ‘OG’ does, reenacting scenes from movies, receiving punishments for breaking the rules of the gang, and the protection the gang would provide in feuds. Strain theory could also be used to explain some of the deviant behaviors amongst gang members, especially those in St. Louis that noted selling drugs was the only way to make money and subsequently afford to survive.

The presence of gangs is an ongoing issue amongst a growing population of individuals who are often recruited, appearing to have a desire to belong, generate money, and obtain a sense of security. The gang life is often a dangerous slippery slope that leads to a lifetime of criminal activity or simply increases the already existing criminal behavior in the gang member. For some, there remains a hope for conversion.

Power seekers are also drawn to gang life, which tend to commit crimes that victimize others. One ex-gang member, Lupita explains that she “liked belonging to a gang because people recognized her power and they respected her” (Bazan, Harris, and Lorentzen 380). Gang members use deceptive tactics to prey on the youth by promising protection, acceptance, power, and material wealth. Joining a gang seems to be the best option for disadvantaged youth because it gives them what they are longing for. However, this comes at a price.

Gangs are becoming prevalent in today’s society and within our schools. More and more young people are turning to gangs in an attempt to escape their everyday lives and the future, which they perceive as dismal and bleak. They are initially attracted to the prestige and cash flow, which is glamorized by the street gang. Many gangs are actively involved in criminal misconduct, such as drug and gun trafficking, burglaries and homicides. However, street gangs are not just a criminal justice issue, but a social problem, which is triggered by poverty, peer pressure, boredom, despair and lacking a sense of belonging.

For much of history, gang members who are female have generally been left out of the equation. When both the layman and the researcher looked at gang life, gang members, and how they function, rarely have women and their role in gang culture been considered. However, women have long played important roles in gang life, culture, and membership, and the importance of such cannot be ignored. When women in gangs are studied, patterns emerge, the paths that often lead to gang life are able to be greater understood, and this understanding may lead to better practices in gang prevention and intervention.

There is a common agreement within the world that deals with men and women being very different. Along with the many physical characteristics that are distinct, it is also known that men and women think differently as well and may have different reasons for their actions. Mary Harris is a researcher and the author of “Cholas, Mexican-American Girls, and Gangs”, within her research she has conducted various interviews with females in gangs. From her research she has came to the conclusion that for girls, “Gang member’s behavior is determined by social structures and group culture by defining the perspective and attitude of the girl gang” (Harris 301). In other words, Harris is explaining that peer groups, such as gangs, to females tend to have a powerful influence on them by having certain rules, values, and disciplinary actions. As these females further become members they tend to create cooperativeness which then leads them into a feeling of doing anything for the gang and its members. “For these girls, violence is conforming behavior shaped by the normative standards of the subculture” (Harris 301). Throughout Harris’ interviews she was able to identify that youth deviance in females is created through the constant conforming behavior that is upheld by the members. The conforming of norms within the gang such as being more violent is very common. The reasons for youth deviance for females in a gang is because of wanting more territory, be in control, and to gain power and