“Smartness,” “Toughness,” and “Autonomy”: Drug Use in the Context of Gang Female Delinquency

Abstract

This paper, based on data from interviews with a selective sample of self-identified gang females, compares the practices and characteristics of three gangs, highlighting the interrelationship of drugs, delinquency, and social context. Using themes developed from the classical gang delinquency study of Walter Miller in 1958 (Journal of Social Issues, XIV, no. 3), this paper argues that just as he was able to discern major “focal concerns” among lower-class gang males, the same might be said of gang females. However, during the era in which Miller was writing, gang females were still considered mere “appendages” of male gangs and left unanalyzed. This paper refocuses attention on the importance of gang female agency, showing how the degree of autonomy obtained by gang females is shaped by the entrepreneurial success of their delinquent activities, especially in the field of drug sales.