Gay gangs

Though some men in gay gangs did sell drugs, they were far less likely to sell drugs within the gang context.

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. For men in all three types of gangs, many of their activities were legal, such as recreational activities that all young people engage in with their peer groups, but they also took part in illegal ones.

You can select specific subjects that match your interests! But, not all of them belong to the same types of gangs. On average, men joined gay gangs nearly four years later in life than men who joined straight gangs, and they were out when they joined.

Vanessa R. Feature image: Rainbow flagU. Panfil Gay men sometimes join or form gangs, which may be surprising. Gang activities also differed. In The Gang’s All Queer, Vanessa Panfil introduces us to a different world.

Gay men sometimes join or form gangs, which may be surprising. One gang may fight with any rival group, another may sell drugs, and yet another might focus mostly on its social activities.

The Gang 39 s : The short film unfolds

Men in gangs with a very high proportion of heterosexual members felt uncomfortable disclosing their sexual identity to their traditional gangs, and were more vigilant to present a stereotypically masculine persona. Men in gay gangs were more likely to feel that they were core members of their gangs than those in straight gangs, and to describe their gangs as their families.

Straight gangs were organized by neighborhoods, with men joining pre-existing groups, while the gay gangs were structured around their shared sexual identity, and many helped form their gangs. This was, of course, true for the gay gangs as well.

A gang spent two years interviewing gay gang members. Similarly, although some men in straight gangs crafted and sold sex, typically it was by themselves and not with their gangs. In contrast, men in hybrid gangs were much more willing to come out to their gangs, share personal details about their lives with them, and were more able to act in ways not typically associated with an aggressive masculinity.

The film tells the story of how three bullied DC teens started the only documented all-gay or transgender gang in America —also called Check It—with Warren being one of the original ten members. Gay gangs were made up exclusively or nearly exclusively of GLB people, while the straight gangs were made up of a majority of heterosexual people.

While some were in the closet and others were openly gay, all were forced to reckon with an environment of hypermasculinity. A few primarily-straight gangs had a critical mass of gay, lesbian, or bisexual members—anywhere from about a quarter gay almost one half—which I call hybrid gangs.