Female Gang Delinquency: A Search for "Acceptably Deviant Behavior"
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Issue Date
1991-01-01Author
Swart, William J.
Publisher
Department of Sociology, University of Kansas
Type
Article
Rights
Copyright (c) Social Thought and Research. For rights questions please contact Editor, Department of Sociology, Social Thought and Research, Fraser Hall, 1415 Jayhawk Blvd, Lawrence, KS 66045.
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
This paper explores tile forms of female gang delinquency through an analysis of ambiguous deviance norms operating within the gang structure. Caught within competing behavioral norms, female gang members are forced to "fine tune" their deviant behavior in order to make it "acceptable" to their unique position as females within a delinquent gang. The resulting behavior is a "typical" Jonn of female delinquency which is deviant enough for gang membership but not so deviant as to be seen as a contradiction to jenJale character expectations. The explanatory framework and coinciding specific forms of "acceptable deviance" are examined in light of the sexual promiscuity, drug use, aggressive or violent behavior, and motherhood of female gang members.
Citation
Mid-American Review of Sociology, Volume 15, Number 1 (WINTER, 1991), pp. 43-52 http://dx.doi.org/10.17161/STR.1808.5061
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