Customer Reviews

One of the Guys: Girls, Gangs, and Gender

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Miller's book is an excellent study of an issue that has not received much attention in criminology - girls' involvement in gangs. Based on her interviews of gang girls in St. Louis and Columbus, she challenges the common belief that girls do not join gangs or participate in gang-related crime. She explores the differences between male and female gang involvement, offering an explanation for these differences based on predominant gender norms which even "deviant" youth do not escape.

Miller, generally considered the best young female criminologist in North America, has won several awards for this book. While there is some information from her dissertation in this, it is far from a published dissertation. Rather it is a breakthrough study in gender studies, and is absolutely essential reading for those in the field working with both girls and boys on the streets.

This book is, in large part, a result of the author's dissertation. In an attempt to try to get something published and/or tenure, she compiled descriptive information about gangs in St. Louis and Columbus. While it may be interesting to a few in academia, this book offers no practical value to the gang problems we face everyday. Nor can it be applied to prevention/intervention programs in other locales.