Why girls fight: Female violence in inner cities

Drawing heavily on Edward Sapir\u27s synthesis of culture and personality, this study explores both the social and cultural organization of female youth violence in two Philadelphia inner city neighborhoods on a collective level as well as the individual-level responses to those structuring conditions. The dissertation considers girls\u27 everyday street fights, which constitute the majority of encounters in which girls in inner cities physically aggress. The study especially seeks to consider the instrumental and symbolic value that physical aggression has for girls in inner cities. It addresses both the emotional logic that underlies and organizes girls\u27 thinking about violence and how it dovetails with issues surrounding race, poverty and social inequality. It considers the role that family and peers play in socializing a girl to use violence, the special relationship that exists between mothers and daughters with regard to violence, and how key institutions in the community—school, the criminal justice system, law enforcement— construct and respond to violent girls. It argues that establishing a reputation through street violence provides a girl with a measure of physical security, an avenue for attaining a sense of mastery, status, and self-esteem in a social setting where legal opportunities for achievement and other psychic rewards are not otherwise easily available