A soclogist spent two years terviewg gay gang members. While some were the closet and others were openly gay, all were forced to reckon wh an environment of hypermasculy.
Contents:
- INSI A PRISON CELL FOR GAY FORMER GANG MEMBERS EL SALVADOR
- THE NIGHTMARE OF BEG GAY A LONDON STREET GANG
- GAYS THE GANG
- THE NEW ANTI-GAY BILL PROPOSED GHANA WILL DTROY LIV
- GAY STREET MALABONOT
INSI A PRISON CELL FOR GAY FORMER GANG MEMBERS EL SALVADOR
* gay street gangs *
There are many stereotyp of and assumptns about street gangs, jt as there are many stereotyp and assumptns about gay men. In movi and televisn, some of the most regnizable gay characters have been portrayed as effemate or weak; they’re “fashnistas” or “gay bt iends. This obv ntradictn was one of the ma reasons I was drawn to the subject of gay gang members.
THE NIGHTMARE OF BEG GAY A LONDON STREET GANG
A new documentary, 'Unfivable,' follows Geovany, a gay former gang hman, who grappl wh both his sexualy and his vlent past. * gay street gangs *
For my book “The Gang’s All Queer, ” I terviewed and spent time wh 48 gay or bisexual male gang members. All were between the ag of 18 and 28; the majory were men of lor; and all lived or near Columb, Oh, which has been referred to as a “Midwtern gay mec.
The experience, which took place over the urse of more than two years, allowed me to explore the tensns they felt between gang life and gay manhood.
GAYS THE GANG
Some of the gang members were gangs ma up of primarily gay, lbian or bisexual people. Others were the only gay man (or one of a few) an otherwise “straight” gang. Then there were what I ll “hybrid” gangs, which featured a mix of straight, gay, lbian and bisexual members, but wh straight people still the majory.
THE NEW ANTI-GAY BILL PROPOSED GHANA WILL DTROY LIV
Bee even the ia of a gay man beg a gang fli the face of nventnal thought, the gang members I spoke wh had to nstantly rist or subvert a range of stereotyp and expectatns. I was openly gay – part of the “fay, ” as some of them put – and bee I was a stunt nductg rearch for a book, they were nfint that I stood a better chance of accurately reprentg them than any “straight novelist” or journalist. The gay men straight gangs I spoke wh knew precisely what was expected of them: be willg to fight wh rival gangs, monstrate toughns, date or have sex wh women and be fancially pennt.
Beg openly gay uld threaten their stat as well as their safety.
GAY STREET MALABONOT
Would the stat of the gang be promised, wh other gangs seeg them as “soft” for havg openly gay guys ? So most stayed the closet, ntug to project heterosexualy, while discreetly meetg other gay men unrground gay scen or over the ter. He hadn’t known the others were gay, and they didn’t know about him, eher.
In “hybrid” gangs (those wh a sizable mory of gay, lbian or bisexual people) or all-gay gangs, the men I terviewed were held to many of the same standards.
Men gay gangs were expected to be able to build a public reputatn as a gay man – what they lled beg “known. ” Beg “known” means you’re able to achieve many mascule ials – makg money, beg taken serly, gag stat, lookg good – but as an openly gay man. This meant they need to clash wh rival gay crews, so they valued toughns and fightg prows.