FEMALE VALIDATION OF THE GANGSTER LIFE IS A BIG PART OF THE PROBLEM

A story in last Friday's Province touched on an issue often
overlooked as we try to come to terms with present-day gang warfare.
The piece quoted a Whalley drug dealer who knew the four targeted
victims in the recent drug-related slaying that also took two innocent lives.

The source revealed: "They were big spenders -- cars, stereos -- and
they always had women because of all the drugs."

It's this last perk -- women -- that we haven't given enough thought
to. A quick viewing of every gangster epic from Goodfellas to The
Sopranos reveals one enduring regularity, gangsters are always
surrounded by beautiful, eager-to-please women.

Every gangster rap music video reinforces the same theme: Gun-waving
drug-dealers have three or four buxom babes pawing over them all the
time. And there's certainly nothing new to the "ladies love outlaws"
narrative. The 1962 hit song "He's a Rebel" by The Crystals
celebrated a young girl's love for her non-conforming rebel who
"doesn't do what everybody else does."

Countless movies such as Rebel Without a Cause and The Wild One
played on this refrain of love-struck teen girls swooning over their
bad boys, renegades and mavericks.

This cannot be dismissed as mere fabricated fiction by the
entertainment industry.

Case studies of current and former gang members typically cite the
perceived easy access to young women as part of the allure of gang life.

This prospect can be undeniably tempting to the 15- year-old wannabe
with his raging hormones.

Years ago, my first-year classes would visit a prison as part of
their criminal justice studies. I gave it up after too many girls
would show up to the tour dressed like pole-dancers, asking how to
get on an inmate's visitors list.

It sounds like a bad Jerry Springer episode, but the truth is
high-profile, incarcerated criminals are typically inundated with
love letters, fan mail and marriage proposals from women they've never met.

Seeking excitement and engaging in risky behavior, especially for
some personality types, is certainly not abnormal.

But we must recognize that so long as girls are attracted to thugs
and gangsters, young boys will be drawn to this subculture.

The highly acclaimed documentary Tough Guise explores the cultural
roots of violence and offers up some wisdom on this phenomenon:
"While girls and women are not in any way responsible for men's
violence, they do have an important role to play as well, because the
'tough guise' is attractive to men, in part because they see many
girls and women validating it."

A clear sign that women totally reject gangster posturing would do
more to de-romanticize thug life than any forthcoming public-service
campaign could ever hope to accomplish.