This article is based on analysis of 76 in-depth qualitative interviews conducted with homeless women in Los Angeles. What is revealed are three patterns of street enculturation—“low-,” “medium-,” and “high street”— which are linked to attitudes women professed to hold about violence. In essence, the degree to which a woman had adopted a “street orientation” is seen to influence how she spoke of violence during earlier portions of the interview. However, several “medium-street” and “high-street” women subsequently acknowledged (directly or indirectly) that they were “fronting” for the interviewer to preserve a tough façade. When they opened up about their real feelings, the extent to which they had internalized the trauma of violence was revealed. Implications of these findings are explored.
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