| Description |
1 online resource (xiv, 289 pages). |
| Physical Medium |
polychrome |
| Description |
text file |
| Series |
Alternative criminology series
|
|
Alternative criminology series.
|
| Summary |
Many people believe that gangs are made up of violent thugs who are in and out of jail, and who are hyper-masculine and heterosexual. Vanessa Panfil introduces us to a different world. Meet gay gang members - sometimes referred to in popular culture as "homo thugs"--Whose gay identity complicates criminology's portrayal and representation of gangs, gang members, and gang life. In vivid detail, Panfil provides an in-depth understanding of how gay gang members construct and negotiate both masculine and gay identities through crime and gang membership. She draws from interviews with over 50 gay gang- and crime-involved young men in Columbus, Ohio, the majority of whom are men of color in their late teens and early twenties, as well as on-the-ground ethnographic fieldwork with men who are in gay, hybrid, and straight gangs. Panfil provides an eye-opening portrait of how even members of straight gangs are connected to a same-sex oriented underground world. Most of these young men still present a traditionally masculine persona and voice deeply-held affection for their fellow gang members. They also fight with their enemies, many of whom are in rival gay gangs. Most come from impoverished, 'rough' neighborhoods, and seek to defy negative stereotypes of gay and Black men as deadbeats, though sometimes through illegal activity. Some are still closeted to their fellow gang members and families, yet others fight to defend members of the gay community, even those who they deem to be "fags," despite distaste for these flamboyant members of the community. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Contents |
"Why do I have to hide it?" : forming a gay identity -- Who's the fag? : negotiating gayness and visibility -- Gay gangsters and their gangs -- Gay gangs becoming "known" : respect, violence, and chosen family -- "In the game" : the experiences of gay men in straight gangs -- Hybrid gangs and those that could have been -- Strategies for resistance -- "Not a fag" : resisting anti-gay harassment by fighting back -- "Tired of being stereotyped" : urban gay men in underground economies. |
| Local Note |
eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America |
| Subject |
Gang members -- United States.
|
|
Gang members. |
|
United States. |
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Gay men -- United States.
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Gay men. |
| Genre/Form |
Electronic books.
|
| Subject |
Gay men. |
| Other Form: |
Print version: 9781479805204 1479805203 (DLC) 2017003869 (OCoLC)982938017 |
| ISBN |
9781479805457 (electronic book) |
|
1479805459 (electronic book) |
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9781479805204 (cloth ; alkaline paper) |
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1479805203 (cloth ; alkaline paper) |
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9781479870028 (paperback ; alkaline paper) |
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1479870021 (paperback ; alkaline paper) |
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