Abstract
Three Caribbean scholars, two Womanist Theologians and a Sociologist, collaborate to examine girl gangs and female gangsters in Jamaica for similarities with female soldiers in war or armed conflict elsewhere. They review the rise of female membership in gangs and the literature on particular issues involved as girls are victims and perpetrators of violence. They challenge gender framing that poses girls’ relative propensity to violence vis-à-vis boys who are expected to be violent. Utilizing informants with experience working with girl gang members, they explore gender dynamics at work in gang activity and violence. They suggest theological and ethical insights and the potential of religion to contribute to expanding community self-advocacy.
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Notes
- 1.
Nathan Brown and Zara Smith are pseudonyms used to provide anonymity for informants who were interviewed for this chapter.
- 2.
In contrast, two of the contributors to this chapter (Lewis and Perkins) are from mainline Christian traditions and are influenced by feminist and Womanist theological perspectives.
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Lewis, M., McIntosh, D., Perkins, A.K. (2019). “Some Girls Are So Vicious that Even the Boys Fear Them”: Girls and Gangs in Jamaica. In: Willhauck, S. (eds) Female Child Soldiering, Gender Violence, and Feminist Theologies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21982-6_7
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