In a growing body of research, the methods of and motivations for gang desistance are being investigated, spurred in part by concerns about the long‐term negative effects of gang membership. Despite recent calls for scholarship that is more inclusive of LGBTQ populations and attentive to issues of sexual identity, however, most gang research remains overwhelmingly heteronormative. In this study, I use in‐depth interviews with 48 self‐identified gay male gang members to explore how and why they have desisted from or persisted in their gangs, as well as explore how desistance or persistence has affected their self‐perceptions, lives, and activities. Because not all have left their gangs, I examine the markers in young men's narratives that signal shifts away from—but sometimes also toward—their gangs, as well as their zigzagging paths out of gang involvement. As gang structure and composition hold importance for their members’ experiences, I use a comparative approach by contrasting men in predominantly straight gangs with those in gay gangs. Set within a heterosexist cultural context, the structure of the gang combines with individual shifts in identity to encourage pathways out of straight gangs and pathways into continued involvement with gay gangs.

中文翻译：

---

“我是一个同性恋暴徒，现在我只是一个同性恋”：同性恋帮派成员的沮丧和执着

在越来越多的研究中，对团伙抵制的方法和动机进行了研究，部分原因是对团伙成员资格的长期负面影响的担忧。尽管最近要求奖学金的范围更广，其中包括LGBTQ人群，并且关注性认同问题，但是，大多数帮派研究仍然绝大多数是异性的。在这项研究中，我与48位自我认同的男同性恋帮派成员进行了深入访谈，以探讨他们为何以及为何被迫离开或坚持到自己的帮派中，并探索抵制或坚持不懈如何影响他们的自我认知，生活和活动。因为并非所有人都离开了帮派，所以我研究了年轻人叙事中的标志，这些标志表明信号从他们的帮派转移了，有时也转向了，以及他们从团伙参与中走出的曲折道路。由于帮派的结构和组成对于其成员的经历很重要，因此我采用比较方法，将直系帮派中的男人与同性恋帮派中的男人进行对比。在异性恋文化背景下，该团伙的结构与身份的个体转变相结合，以鼓励走出直系帮派的途径和继续参与同性恋帮派的途径。