Gangs
The word gang refers to any informally organized group of people (world book V.8). A gang usually applies to groups of men or boys but lately women have been included. Their activities include fighting, stealing and other criminal activities.
There are over 25,000 gangs in the United States, in which, 10,000 are female gangs. Female gangs are more common now than they were in the past. Most female gangs are females, who are part of male gangs. They commit the same crimes as males and in some cases are more violent. Gina Sikes writes about certain female’s gangs and their activity.
The purpose of her writing this book is to see just what female gang members do and how they act. In her study of female gangs, Sikes socializes with the many different types. She interviewed females who had joined gangs to get their perspective as to why being a gang member was so important. She also learned how they were initiated, the things they did and what types of families they came from. In obtaining most of her information, Sikes would follow and watch many of their daily activities, to include parties, initiations, and some criminal activities. All her data came from her being out in the environment.
To learn the different aspects between female and male gangs, she monitored the males in the same manner as the females. She talked with leaders to find out how they became subordinate to the others and why and for what reasons they are still a part of gangs.
Initiation became very intriguing to Sikes. Although there were many different ways Sikes focus on only three, to include, how female candidates were beaten by other gang members, how they had to commit a specific crime or how they were to have sexual intercourse with several male members.
First, when a female candidate was initiated by a beaten from other gang members, which was referred to as a beat down, she would stand in the middle of a circle surrounded by other gang members while they...