Gangs: Gender, Masculinity, Vulnerability

Research into gang masculinities has looked at the violent and criminal behaviour of all-male street-based groups across the world. Studies focus on the ways in which marginalised men find alternative ways of expressing masculinity in the urban street context. Hegemonic masculinity and the associated notion of protest masculinity have been explored in the gang context as presentations which reject mainstream pathways of achievement. Despite the dominant focus on violent, criminal, and destructive forms of protest masculinity, there has been a recent upsurge in research looking at the intense vulnerabilities that men involved in gangs face. An intersectional perspective is essential, as different axes of oppression through race and class particularly impact on gang-involved men. This chapter focuses on emerging research into gay gangs, an emphasis on Black men in gangs, and the need to explore vulnerabilities, to explore the ways in which a gendered lens can support a deeper understanding of the complexities of masculinity in the gang context.