What do you think?
Rate this book
Alternative Criminology
The Gang's All Queer: The Lives of Gay Gang Members
Honorable Mention, 2018 Distinguished Book Award presented by the American Sociological Association's Sociology of Sexualities Section
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. In The Gang's All Queer, Vanessa Panfil introduces us to a different world. 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. In vivid detail, Panfil provides an in-depth understanding of how gay gang members construct and negotiate both masculine and gay identities through crime and gang membership.
The Gang's All Queer draws from interviews with over 50 gay gang- and crime-involved young men in Columbus, Ohio, the majority of whom are men of color in their late teens and early twenties, as well as on-the-ground ethnographic fieldwork with men who are in gay, hybrid, and straight gangs. Panfil provides an eye-opening portrait of how even members of straight gangs are connected to a same-sex oriented underground world.
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. 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. And some perform in drag shows or sell sex to survive.
The Gang's All Queer poignantly illustrates how these men both respond to and resist societal marginalization. Timely, powerful, and engaging, this book will challenge us to think differently about gangs, gay men, and urban life.
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. In The Gang's All Queer, Vanessa Panfil introduces us to a different world. 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. In vivid detail, Panfil provides an in-depth understanding of how gay gang members construct and negotiate both masculine and gay identities through crime and gang membership.
The Gang's All Queer draws from interviews with over 50 gay gang- and crime-involved young men in Columbus, Ohio, the majority of whom are men of color in their late teens and early twenties, as well as on-the-ground ethnographic fieldwork with men who are in gay, hybrid, and straight gangs. Panfil provides an eye-opening portrait of how even members of straight gangs are connected to a same-sex oriented underground world.
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. 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. And some perform in drag shows or sell sex to survive.
The Gang's All Queer poignantly illustrates how these men both respond to and resist societal marginalization. Timely, powerful, and engaging, this book will challenge us to think differently about gangs, gay men, and urban life.
312 pages, Paperback
First published August 15, 2017
18 people are currently reading
435 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 19, 2017
Vanessa R. Panfil, The Gang’s All Queer: Study of gay/bisexual male gang members in both gay and mixed male gangs. Most of the people she interviewed were nonwhite. Some identified as bisexual, “but sometimes downplayed their attraction to women so that their families would take their disclosures seriously.”
Many of them who are in mixed gangs were out, at least to some people; the ones in gay gangs were all out. She argues that they navigate honor-based masculinity norms by doing additional “identity work” that heterosexual gang members don’t necessarily have to do, spending a lot of time and energy on how they were perceived (though they also noted that this was a normal thing for anyone who lived in a high-violence environment to have to do). Her informants often explicitly defined themselves as not “faggots,” who they identified as gay men who are performatively, outrageously gay (even though she notes that a number of her respondents did take on aspects of this identity, which they identified as including tight jeans and painted nails—e.g., “I mean, I dye my hair, but I dye my hair and it still look masculine. Or, I paint my nails, but I paint it a clear coat”). [She also makes clear that her informants would commonly, when they first used that term, “stop talking and laugh, or apologize, or try to explain it away,” but they used it so often that she became desensitized. At the same time, they found it highly offensive when used against them by outsiders.]
Panfil says that, even without her prompting, they repeatedly wanted to discuss “real men” and other aspects of “realness,” including men who were gay but unwilling to acknowledge it and “real gangs” (many participants preferred to use “posse” or “clique” for their group, even a group that would engage in violence together). They overwhelmingly preferred male partners who were conventionally masculine, though they were critical of those who refused to acknowledge their own sexuality, who also caused real practical problems (e.g., jealous girlfriends, family and friends who couldn’t be introduced, etc.). “Trades”—men who identified as straight but had sex with men—were nonetheless at the same time “eroticized by most participants for their rugged masculinity and their ‘hoodness.’”
Men who identified as members of straight gangs often made clear that they just didn’t know whether/how many other gay men there were in the gangs; many of them had had sex with other closeted gang members. Her informants weren’t particularly critical of closeted gang members—but they condemned closeted men who performed homophobia to cover up their own desires and acts.
A number of gang members also used their willingness to inflict violence to perform masculinity, though gay gangs were more likely than mixed gangs to be less violent/confine illegal activity mostly to fraud and drug sales. They could be provoked to violence either to demand respect generally, including from other gay gangs, or, sometimes, in response to specifically homophobic treatment. Over two-thirds of the men she studied had been in a physical fight due to anti-gay harassment. Fights could also break out just over respect, though as always most of the time the aggression stayed limited to posturing: most disputes die and no one shoots.
Straight gangs were more socially segregated than gay gangs, whose members often mingled with non-members or even members of other gay gants. A number of members of the gay gangs came in through sexual/romantic relationships with other members (but no one had to have sex with everyone already in the gang to join, sorry fandom); gay gangs tended to form later in men’s lives (average joining age 18) than mixed gangs (average joining age 14), which were more likely to be neighborhood-based. Gay gangs also had fewer initiation rituals, which Panfil speculates was related to their already-shared experiences: “they had grown up together and come out together. If members of these tightknit groups deemed a new person to be worthy of their time, this constituted sufficient acceptance.”
Nearly sixty percent of her informants had sold sex (roughly the same percentage that had sold drugs), and others came close in terms of dating in exchange for money or gifts, but this wasn’t a part of their gang membership as such, though they did learn “tricks of the trade” from older gang members. They preferred to sell sex via the internet as safer, more lucrative, and more respectable than street prostitution. Panfil indicates that many of her informants behaved in gender-fluid ways in their daily lives, especially intimate lives, but their public gender presentation was more masculine—which they saw as protective as well as appropriate, given their at least partial acceptance of existing prejudices. The saddest quote for me: “before I knew what it was, I knew how to hide it.” Gay gangs allowed members to be “relatively unconcerned about impression management related to their sexual identities,” and their members were therefore more willing to talk about their emotional connections to fellow gang members.
Panfil also points out that gay members of straight gangs generally behaved in ways consistent with other accounts of (presumptively straight) gang members, with the exception of homophobic gay-bashing that has been reported among closeted gang members elsewhere. Most of the members’ time is spent hanging out, but gang members are still more likely to be involved in crime and violence than non-gang members. Violence was a central part of gang identity, and 8 of 12 men she studied who’d carried a gun or used one in a crime were in straight gangs. Of the 19 who were or had been in straight gangs, 15 didn’t come out to the gangs, mostly not out of fear of violence but more out of fear of shunning, though there’s one striking story of a young man who had to fight his way out of his gang in prison when his gay relationship was discovered. Panfil notes that gangs often serve the roles of family—and, given biological families’ often negative reactions to coming out, it was reasonable to be concerned about other gang members’ reactions.
Panfil also discusses hybrid gangs—usually friend-based groups where a substantial minority were openly (within the group) gay; such gangs were still crime-involved, but they didn’t sell drugs together (as many straight gangs did) or sell sex together (as members of gay gangs occasionally did). Hybrid gangs often had women, sometimes women who identified as lesbian or bisexual; from her informants’ perspective, the women didn’t face many barriers to doing so, at least within the gang.
About half of her informants had work in the legal economy, but about half also had criminal records that made such work difficult to get or keep. Because they associate masculinity with being able to provide for oneself and one’s family, this created a situation in which selling drugs or other criminal activity could seem like the responsible thing to do. Meanwhile, selling sex was lucrative—$200 or $250 for an hour of work, an order of magnitude more than they could earn in the formal economy, and on a better schedule, though it was still perceived as distasteful. I was struck by the fact that “[t]he threat and impact of a criminal record was so overwhelming that [] participants refused to call the cops on romantic partners, even those who had done them serious harm.”
Here’s a provocative bit from the conclusion: “In a different generation, or perhaps among people from different facial/ethnic or class backgrounds, a group whose members fight back against anti-gay harassment, use underground economies to meet their needs, and share a common meaning system might call themselves a radical political group, not a gang.” As this indicates, Panfil seems most interested in the hybrid and gay gangs, because of their greater openness, even as she emphasizes the different trajectories that bring young men into gangs and the real risks that openness may pose to them.
Many of them who are in mixed gangs were out, at least to some people; the ones in gay gangs were all out. She argues that they navigate honor-based masculinity norms by doing additional “identity work” that heterosexual gang members don’t necessarily have to do, spending a lot of time and energy on how they were perceived (though they also noted that this was a normal thing for anyone who lived in a high-violence environment to have to do). Her informants often explicitly defined themselves as not “faggots,” who they identified as gay men who are performatively, outrageously gay (even though she notes that a number of her respondents did take on aspects of this identity, which they identified as including tight jeans and painted nails—e.g., “I mean, I dye my hair, but I dye my hair and it still look masculine. Or, I paint my nails, but I paint it a clear coat”). [She also makes clear that her informants would commonly, when they first used that term, “stop talking and laugh, or apologize, or try to explain it away,” but they used it so often that she became desensitized. At the same time, they found it highly offensive when used against them by outsiders.]
Panfil says that, even without her prompting, they repeatedly wanted to discuss “real men” and other aspects of “realness,” including men who were gay but unwilling to acknowledge it and “real gangs” (many participants preferred to use “posse” or “clique” for their group, even a group that would engage in violence together). They overwhelmingly preferred male partners who were conventionally masculine, though they were critical of those who refused to acknowledge their own sexuality, who also caused real practical problems (e.g., jealous girlfriends, family and friends who couldn’t be introduced, etc.). “Trades”—men who identified as straight but had sex with men—were nonetheless at the same time “eroticized by most participants for their rugged masculinity and their ‘hoodness.’”
Men who identified as members of straight gangs often made clear that they just didn’t know whether/how many other gay men there were in the gangs; many of them had had sex with other closeted gang members. Her informants weren’t particularly critical of closeted gang members—but they condemned closeted men who performed homophobia to cover up their own desires and acts.
A number of gang members also used their willingness to inflict violence to perform masculinity, though gay gangs were more likely than mixed gangs to be less violent/confine illegal activity mostly to fraud and drug sales. They could be provoked to violence either to demand respect generally, including from other gay gangs, or, sometimes, in response to specifically homophobic treatment. Over two-thirds of the men she studied had been in a physical fight due to anti-gay harassment. Fights could also break out just over respect, though as always most of the time the aggression stayed limited to posturing: most disputes die and no one shoots.
Straight gangs were more socially segregated than gay gangs, whose members often mingled with non-members or even members of other gay gants. A number of members of the gay gangs came in through sexual/romantic relationships with other members (but no one had to have sex with everyone already in the gang to join, sorry fandom); gay gangs tended to form later in men’s lives (average joining age 18) than mixed gangs (average joining age 14), which were more likely to be neighborhood-based. Gay gangs also had fewer initiation rituals, which Panfil speculates was related to their already-shared experiences: “they had grown up together and come out together. If members of these tightknit groups deemed a new person to be worthy of their time, this constituted sufficient acceptance.”
Nearly sixty percent of her informants had sold sex (roughly the same percentage that had sold drugs), and others came close in terms of dating in exchange for money or gifts, but this wasn’t a part of their gang membership as such, though they did learn “tricks of the trade” from older gang members. They preferred to sell sex via the internet as safer, more lucrative, and more respectable than street prostitution. Panfil indicates that many of her informants behaved in gender-fluid ways in their daily lives, especially intimate lives, but their public gender presentation was more masculine—which they saw as protective as well as appropriate, given their at least partial acceptance of existing prejudices. The saddest quote for me: “before I knew what it was, I knew how to hide it.” Gay gangs allowed members to be “relatively unconcerned about impression management related to their sexual identities,” and their members were therefore more willing to talk about their emotional connections to fellow gang members.
Panfil also points out that gay members of straight gangs generally behaved in ways consistent with other accounts of (presumptively straight) gang members, with the exception of homophobic gay-bashing that has been reported among closeted gang members elsewhere. Most of the members’ time is spent hanging out, but gang members are still more likely to be involved in crime and violence than non-gang members. Violence was a central part of gang identity, and 8 of 12 men she studied who’d carried a gun or used one in a crime were in straight gangs. Of the 19 who were or had been in straight gangs, 15 didn’t come out to the gangs, mostly not out of fear of violence but more out of fear of shunning, though there’s one striking story of a young man who had to fight his way out of his gang in prison when his gay relationship was discovered. Panfil notes that gangs often serve the roles of family—and, given biological families’ often negative reactions to coming out, it was reasonable to be concerned about other gang members’ reactions.
Panfil also discusses hybrid gangs—usually friend-based groups where a substantial minority were openly (within the group) gay; such gangs were still crime-involved, but they didn’t sell drugs together (as many straight gangs did) or sell sex together (as members of gay gangs occasionally did). Hybrid gangs often had women, sometimes women who identified as lesbian or bisexual; from her informants’ perspective, the women didn’t face many barriers to doing so, at least within the gang.
About half of her informants had work in the legal economy, but about half also had criminal records that made such work difficult to get or keep. Because they associate masculinity with being able to provide for oneself and one’s family, this created a situation in which selling drugs or other criminal activity could seem like the responsible thing to do. Meanwhile, selling sex was lucrative—$200 or $250 for an hour of work, an order of magnitude more than they could earn in the formal economy, and on a better schedule, though it was still perceived as distasteful. I was struck by the fact that “[t]he threat and impact of a criminal record was so overwhelming that [] participants refused to call the cops on romantic partners, even those who had done them serious harm.”
Here’s a provocative bit from the conclusion: “In a different generation, or perhaps among people from different facial/ethnic or class backgrounds, a group whose members fight back against anti-gay harassment, use underground economies to meet their needs, and share a common meaning system might call themselves a radical political group, not a gang.” As this indicates, Panfil seems most interested in the hybrid and gay gangs, because of their greater openness, even as she emphasizes the different trajectories that bring young men into gangs and the real risks that openness may pose to them.
July 23, 2022
all reviews in one place:
night mode reading ;
skaitom nakties rezimu
About the Book: Author challenges the “otherness” of sexual minorities, the surprise and disbelief expressed that implies homosexual men to not be masculine enough for certain kind of life style, activities. Such as gangs. She interviews around fifty people in gangs, and digs into such topics as gang structures, negotiation of masculinity and queerness, toughness and effeminacy in this heavily male dominated, and violent world of gangs.
My Opinion: Study delves into masculinity that is related to violence, and violence that is related to gang activity. Author is respectful, kind, insightful, full of information, but never dull, so it’s easy to read. She tells what problems arose for both the men she interviewed, and herself, and how it all ended. The differences of bonds people have in the gangs, how some operated like families, while others were more like a corporation of sorts. We learn of the differences, if any, between straight, hybrid, and gay gangs, what are the basis of operation, how they came to be, and what’s the views on minorities in each (and how it differs from gay men to gay women). Really, the farther it went, the more interesting it got.
night mode reading ;
skaitom nakties rezimu
About the Book: Author challenges the “otherness” of sexual minorities, the surprise and disbelief expressed that implies homosexual men to not be masculine enough for certain kind of life style, activities. Such as gangs. She interviews around fifty people in gangs, and digs into such topics as gang structures, negotiation of masculinity and queerness, toughness and effeminacy in this heavily male dominated, and violent world of gangs.
My Opinion: Study delves into masculinity that is related to violence, and violence that is related to gang activity. Author is respectful, kind, insightful, full of information, but never dull, so it’s easy to read. She tells what problems arose for both the men she interviewed, and herself, and how it all ended. The differences of bonds people have in the gangs, how some operated like families, while others were more like a corporation of sorts. We learn of the differences, if any, between straight, hybrid, and gay gangs, what are the basis of operation, how they came to be, and what’s the views on minorities in each (and how it differs from gay men to gay women). Really, the farther it went, the more interesting it got.
March 24, 2019
Stellar book about gay and bisexual gang members and the nuances of their lives, identity-building, and social organizations. Complex and valuable work but super accessibly written. There were places I wished Panfil had gone more into other extant gang literatures so that I had more of an understanding of how her work was situated, but that wasn't the project of the book and someone with more of a background criminology wouldn't have minded. My only real quibble is that I wish there had been richer anecdotal evidence in the chapter on underground economies; it grouped the discussion of drug sales, "crafting," and sex work together and Panfil didn't go as in depth on any of them as she on with subtopics in other chapters. Regardless, I learned a lot and will definitely keep an eye out for her future books and research.
August 19, 2017
Good book and analysis of being gay in a gang. We have heard of the term down low men. Well, this book is about being on the down low in a place that you must be super macho. One would never think you would find gay men in such a macho setting. I never really know bought much about this, but after reading this book, I feel bad for the men. What a burden to carry, to not be able to be oneself. Good and interesting book. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced reading copy of this book in return for my honest review
November 26, 2017
This is a fantastic read.
I resemble the author in some ways- queer cis white woman- and despite being *very* familiar with the queer community, I knew very little about gay gang members, and nothing at all all about gay gangs. This book was a fantastic introduction to the topic, in-depth and still leaving me wanting more. It was well-written and struck a balance between being academic and informative and being personable and easy to read. Delightful from title to methods notes (which I generally never read, except that I was *so curious* about this study).
Highly recommended.
I resemble the author in some ways- queer cis white woman- and despite being *very* familiar with the queer community, I knew very little about gay gang members, and nothing at all all about gay gangs. This book was a fantastic introduction to the topic, in-depth and still leaving me wanting more. It was well-written and struck a balance between being academic and informative and being personable and easy to read. Delightful from title to methods notes (which I generally never read, except that I was *so curious* about this study).
Highly recommended.
May 9, 2022
This book was extremely informative and interesting. The topic of LGBT people in gangs is not something one might think about, but this book gives you what you need when thinking about it. It is interesting to see how the participants in this study live their lives amongst being in gangs, whether the gangs are primarily straight or gay. I am glad to have learned something about the lifestyles of LGBT people in gangs, which I feel I would not be able to say were it not for this book.
January 19, 2023
Very interesting and beginner friendly. I really appreciated both the depth of Panfil's research and her respect towards her participants. There's a lot of excellent first-person accounts in here. Panfil strikes a great balance between summarizing her findings and letting her participants speak for themselves.
August 5, 2019
This was an academic study of gays in street gangs. It was an excellent beginning on the topic. I think it would be fascinating if one or more of the gang members in the study published a memoir. That would be eye-opening indeed.
October 14, 2021
The premise of this book is very interesting, but as I read on, it became very repetitive and dry. Maybe that's just because it's an academic text, but I think diving into the stories of the members would have made for a much more engaging read.
Read
December 19, 2019QBC 5/19
December 14, 2022
A great inside look at the lives of queer gang members in Columbus, Ohio--a one-of-a-kind book based on personal interviews and being invited into these spaces.
April 14, 2017
4.8/5
First of all: not what I was expecting. I should have known that it would be more of an academical book, but I had hoped that it would be more story like than clinical. That was the only setback, honestly. Hence the 4.8 I'm giving it.
I began reading it and just couldn't stop. I read and read... and then, suddenly, it was over. And that is saying something, because normally I just can't stand academical texts. And that's the thing, it didn't really feel like one. Sure, it had stats, and basic research information, but it was first and foremost the tale of gay gang members.
It was funny at times the way the story was being told. Clinical? Yes. So how can it be funny? Well, Panfil was very nice in retelling, perhaps word for word, what some people say, and how naive they seem. Does it have some details that would cause someone to pause and think? Absolutely. Some things are really surprising, and they make you stop and just wonder what is going on, and why this isn't a topic being discussed.
This is a great book to read if you are interested in criminology, or simply crime, seeing as it gives you an insight in the gang member's lives, and kind of shifts into the outside point of view of them. It also mentions racism being mixed into the way people judge them, which isn't surprising, since race and sexuality are simply topics that are more scrutinized and "stepped on" than any others.
First of all: not what I was expecting. I should have known that it would be more of an academical book, but I had hoped that it would be more story like than clinical. That was the only setback, honestly. Hence the 4.8 I'm giving it.
I began reading it and just couldn't stop. I read and read... and then, suddenly, it was over. And that is saying something, because normally I just can't stand academical texts. And that's the thing, it didn't really feel like one. Sure, it had stats, and basic research information, but it was first and foremost the tale of gay gang members.
It was funny at times the way the story was being told. Clinical? Yes. So how can it be funny? Well, Panfil was very nice in retelling, perhaps word for word, what some people say, and how naive they seem. Does it have some details that would cause someone to pause and think? Absolutely. Some things are really surprising, and they make you stop and just wonder what is going on, and why this isn't a topic being discussed.
This is a great book to read if you are interested in criminology, or simply crime, seeing as it gives you an insight in the gang member's lives, and kind of shifts into the outside point of view of them. It also mentions racism being mixed into the way people judge them, which isn't surprising, since race and sexuality are simply topics that are more scrutinized and "stepped on" than any others.
April 17, 2017
The Gang's All Queer is a part of the Alternative Criminology Series, as edited by Jeff Ferrell. Other critical topics include drugs, tattoos, the penal system and terrorism. You may access this series from the NYU Press website, as listed below.
The wild thing about this topic is that it has scantly been covered, up to now. One would have to really cull and skulk appropriate databases to find anything. We had certainly never contemplated such a thing, before now.
This is a scholarly book. As such, the reading can get dry in some places. However, it is not difficult to read.
The Gang is a heavy read. It is also poignant and telling. Very insightful.
The wild thing about this topic is that it has scantly been covered, up to now. One would have to really cull and skulk appropriate databases to find anything. We had certainly never contemplated such a thing, before now.
This is a scholarly book. As such, the reading can get dry in some places. However, it is not difficult to read.
The Gang is a heavy read. It is also poignant and telling. Very insightful.
April 24, 2017
With LGBTQIA+ academics it is hard to keep the intimacy between the reader and the subject. This book felt detached and clinical which is somewhat the point of it being an academic piece. Personally I believe that I am more suited for a personal approach to the subject.
Thanks to NetGalley and NYU Press for the ARC.
Thanks to NetGalley and NYU Press for the ARC.
Read
August 3, 2018364.1066 P1916 2017
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews