Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Preface
- Chapter One Life in the Gang: Family, Friends, and Violence
- Chapter Two “Are You Claiming?” Methods of Study
- Chapter Three “I'm Down with the Bloods, What's up Cuz?” Membership Issues
- Chapter Four “We Ain't No Worldwide Thing or Nothing”: Gang Structure and Relationships
- Chapter Five “Where You Hanging? Let's Go Banging”: What Gang Members Do
- Chapter Six “I Love to Bang”: Serious Crime by Gang Members
- Chapter Seven “Doing Time” in School and Elsewhere: Gang Members and Social Institutions
- Chapter Eight “My Mom Doesn't Know”: Gang Members and Their Families
- Chapter Nine “There's Only Two Ways to Leave the Gang, Die or Move”: Responding to Gangs
- Notes
- References
- Index of Gang Members, Relatives, and Ex-Members
- Subject Index
Chapter Three - “I'm Down with the Bloods, What's up Cuz?” Membership Issues
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Preface
- Chapter One Life in the Gang: Family, Friends, and Violence
- Chapter Two “Are You Claiming?” Methods of Study
- Chapter Three “I'm Down with the Bloods, What's up Cuz?” Membership Issues
- Chapter Four “We Ain't No Worldwide Thing or Nothing”: Gang Structure and Relationships
- Chapter Five “Where You Hanging? Let's Go Banging”: What Gang Members Do
- Chapter Six “I Love to Bang”: Serious Crime by Gang Members
- Chapter Seven “Doing Time” in School and Elsewhere: Gang Members and Social Institutions
- Chapter Eight “My Mom Doesn't Know”: Gang Members and Their Families
- Chapter Nine “There's Only Two Ways to Leave the Gang, Die or Move”: Responding to Gangs
- Notes
- References
- Index of Gang Members, Relatives, and Ex-Members
- Subject Index
Summary
I don't know. Shit man, there wasn't no joinin' in it and it was a little neighborhood thang you know, just somethin you know, we just grew up like that. We grew up fightin, we just grew up fightin and everybody hangin around so they decided to call they self somethin since we hung around like that, went out doin things and stuff. (Male #002, “Eric,” sixteen-year-old Thundercat)
Girls and money, you get to flash money. You in a gang and girls like a magnet come to you. You get respect from people. Yeah you get respect, girls, money drive around with your friends in fancy cars, saying stuff that nobody else know about. (Male #015, “Karry,” fifteen-year-old Crenshaw Gangster Blood)
Why do men and women join gangs? Why do gangs grow and spread into new neighborhoods and cities? This chapter addresses issues related to gang membership using the concept of threat outlined in the introductory chapter. Here we consider a number of individual decisions and acts involved in becoming a gang member. The duality of individual decisions and group activities raised in the preceding chapters will be quite evident as membership issues are examined within the group process and context of the gang. Here we present how gang members define a gang, the reasons they joined their gang, how they joined it, what they like about belonging to it, and the symbols of membership. In addition, we explore the issues of race and gender in gangs.
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- Life in the GangFamily, Friends, and Violence, pp. 56 - 84Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1996