Gang-banging as edgework

Dialectical Anthropology - Tập 39 - Trang 151-163 - 2015
Robert Garot1
1Department of Sociology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, USA

Tóm tắt

The practices of gang members, often depicted as responses to degrading local and structural conditions, have not been sufficiently appreciated as expressions of agency. The concept of edgework, which explains the modern compulsion to manage dangerous circumstances through finely honed skills, provides a means to recognize both the alienating circumstances out of which gang-banging arises, as well as the agency involved in the thrills members pursue. This article examines the alienation experienced by gang members in school and on the streets, which gives rise to the compulsion, for some, to skillfully manage the risks involved in molding a hard, masculine identity.

Tài liệu tham khảo

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