"8 Ball Chicks" is a book written by Gini Sikes that follows the lives of eight young women who are part of a female motorcycle gang in Los Angeles. The book is a firsthand account of the women's experiences as they navigate the male-dominated world of motorcycle culture while also dealing with issues such as abuse, addiction, and trauma.
The book begins with an introduction to each of the eight women, including their backgrounds and how they ended up joining the gang. The women come from diverse backgrounds, including a former model, a college student, and a single mother. Despite their differences, they are all drawn to the sense of community and empowerment that being part of the gang provides.
As the book progresses, we see the women face a number of challenges, both within the gang and in their personal lives. One woman, named Angel, struggles with addiction and the pressure to conform to traditional gender roles. Another, named Tracy, is in an abusive relationship and must find the strength to leave her partner.
Despite these challenges, the women support each other and are able to find strength in their sisterhood. They also challenge the traditional gender roles of motorcycle culture, proving that women can be just as tough and capable as men.
Overall, "8 Ball Chicks" is a powerful and poignant depiction of the struggles and triumphs of young women trying to forge their own paths in a challenging world. It is a must-read for anyone interested in female empowerment and motorcycle culture.
8 Ball Chicks by Sikes, Gini
Keenly focused on issues of youth, violence and the criminal justice system, Sikes has covered stories from homeless teenagers in the U. Although gangs offer some benefits to its members, becoming a gang member is usually a choice that is made because of limited alternative and lack of perceived social acceptance. So for me, the L. Or like Sikes says it is—and the question of authenticity does persist: How did her presence as a white, upscale journalist who says she did not pay for stories affect the apparent cooperation, not to mention the trust, she elicited from minority teenagers bursting with rage? Not realizing that joining a gang may end up two ways either in jail or six feet under. They have sold drugs, joined a gang, have seen their best friend shot, or even killed their neighbor. This is still a subject that lacks the attention it should have.
8 Ball Chicks: A Year in the Violent World of Girl Gangsters by Gini Sikes
She recently worked on Jesus Politics, a 90-minute feature documentary that explores the sometimes rocky relationship between faith and politics during the 2008 presidential primaries. I was enthralled and repulsed by the experinces of these young women. This book was gripping and disturbing at the same time. It's very sad how most of the time neither male gang members nor police officers see any value in the girls, most of whom are depicted as being intensely intellignet and insightful. Sikes reports on these girl gangsters with compassion and honesty, compellingly raising the issue of our troubled urban youth without posturing or preaching. The only reason I gave four stars is the book lacks a refinement in the writing, it has a sensationalist feel of a journalist which the author is and fails to look at the content from a academic and neutral standpoint.
8 Ball Chicks by Gini Sikes: 9780385474320
Sikes, former Mademoiselle senior writer and producer of the youth-oriented PBS series In the Mix, knows that world, having spent a year "kicking it" with girl gangs in three U. The crime most discussed, as per the title of the documentary, is homicide The number of gang related homicides has risen even though the criminal behavior of gangs has ultimately decreased in the neighborhood. I found it interesting that society belives girls should be doing something better than being in a gang but that in these gangs these girls feel welcomed and feel like they belong. As a voice for these young women who are often completely disenfranchised it is often heartbreakingly effective. So depressing and difficult to read. I will never forget this book. For her daughter's 16th birthday, the mother gave her a gun.
8 Ball Chicks by Gini Sikes
They simply do not die at the same rate as the boys. No wonder they seek the company and security of gang life. I really enjoyed the book and enjoyed getting an education as to what is happening with much of our youth. It would also consider the dangerous tendencies of juvenile delinquents in fueling the growth of the American street gang member population. In San Antonio particularly, girls seemed to accept boys' predatory sexual behavior as a fact of life. Others, dragged down by too many children, too much poverty and the easy access to drugs never will. Should he return to neurosurgery he could and did , or should he write he also did? Many end up becoming pregnant and leave the gangs that way and many 'weaker' I loved this book! The author's interviews and observations are highly colored by her "oh my god" middle-class, white shock, but she owns up to it.
8 BALL CHICKS
I liked that the author actually got to know these girls and become a part of their lives. This section contains 2,384 words approx. I am totally aware that I grew up white and rural and privledged, but being aware of it in a vague way is different than reading these stories. I haven't gathered my thoughts about the book enough to write anything resembling an actual critique of it. Sikes describes how people who live in these neighborhoods, like people everywhere, love their children, have barbecues in the local park, wash their cars on Saturday afternoons, mirroring conventional middle-class life more than some of us would think. Veteran journalist Gini Sikes spends a year in the ghettos following the lives of several key gang members in South Central Los Angeles, San Antonio, and Milwaukee.
The Book "8 Ball Chicks"
Furthermore, female gang participation has been increasing in recent times with the rate of female gang membership at ten percent Cyr and Decker, 2003. These statistics prove that the media is incorrect about constantly exploiting these teenage boys and girls as these horrible gang members whereas adult men and women are more involved in gangs and gang related activities. The small print was an initial turn-off, but I quickly got over that. It's making me think a little bit differently about feminism this week. They are respected, dangerous, and feared by all who are not involved in gang activity. Yes ofcourse i like this book ; i didn't like to read but this is an interesting book and it could help me by making the right choices and think This book is about different girls in gangs ; the author "Gini Sikes" is interviewing different girls about there expiriences in gangs life and how do they feel being in one and what did they do most of them did really bad things to other people and there enemie. The biggest reminder at the end is that when we judge people by what they look like we lose the opportunity to help and to get to know people underneath the layers of clothes, attitude and circumstances.
