Self Definition by Rejection: The Case of Gang Girls

Abstract

I use material obtained from a two-year participant observational study of girl gang members to examine now their structural position as poor, Puerto Rican, and female affects their self presentation in social talk. Much of their sense of individuality results from their rejection of aspects of identity associated with that social position. Their self definition is realized not through the construction of a fully integrated “deviant” personality but through piecemeal rejection of various components of stereotypes about poor, Puerto Rican women. I suggest that closer examination of gossip and “put downs” can illuminate how one's one identity is constructed through the vilification of others' actions and character.