The Gang's All Queer: The Lives of Gay Gang Members (Alternative Criminology)

 Most of these young men still present a traditionally masculine persona and voice deeply-held affection for their fellow gang members.  They also fight with their enemies, many of whom are in rival gay gangs. Most come from impoverished, ‘rough’ neighborhoods, and seek to defy negative stereotypes of gay and Black men as deadbeats, though sometimes through illegal activity. The first inside look at gay gang members.Many people believe that gangs are made up of violent thugs who are in and out of jail, and who are hyper-masculine and heterosexual. And some perform in drag shows or sell sex to survive. Panfil provides an eye-opening portrait of how even members of straight gangs are connected to a same-sex oriented underground world. Timely, powerful, and engaging, this book will challenge us to think differently about gangs, gay men, and urban life.. Some are still closeted to their fellow gang members and families, yet others fight to defend members of the gay community, even those who they deem to be “fags,” despite distaste for these flamboyant members of the community. In The Gang’s All Queer, Vanessa Panfil introduces us to a different world.  The Gang’s All Queer poignantly illu

“This book makes a substantial contribution to queer criminology. The book artfully shifts from the conception of gays as victims of hate crime to gays as agents and offenders, all while challenging troubling racist stereotypes of queer and Black masculinities. Complicates assumptions that male gang members and active offenders are exclusively heterosexual and  paves the way for a more in-depth understanding of a marginalized community."-Publishers Weekly. The conversations that this book can facilitate will greatly impact how we think about crime and criminology, while developing queer, black, and racialized-inclusive criminological research.”-Wesley Crichlow,author of Buller Men and Bwatty Boys“The Gang’s All Queer offers a treasure trove of insights

Vanessa R. . She is the co-editor of the Handbook of LGBT Communities, Crime, and Justice. Panfil is Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Old Dominion University