[GUIDE] SKINBYRD Roleplay - Females Around White Gangs

[meremaid]

 

SKINBYRD ROLEPLAY

 

(TLDR version at the bottom for those of you who hate reading)

 

INTRODUCTION

A skinbyrd is the female equivalent of a skinhead. While skinheads are often associated with gangs, the females are not actual gang members, however, they are considered associates.

These women are connected to white gangs either through dating a member or by having a family member who is mixed up in a white gang. They can have racist beliefs like their male counterparts, or they can just be indifferent to these beliefs. They can also range from being just average-looking females who hold regular jobs, to being full-on drug addicts who struggle to get by. There isn’t any specific “type” of female that can be a skinbyrd, the main two things that make a female a skinbyrd are their indifference or acceptance of racist beliefs and their association with skinheads.

 

 

CHARACTER TYPES

As stated in the intro, there really isn’t a specific type of female that you have to portray to be considered a skinbyrd, however this section serves to give some ideas of types of characters that would fit well within the white gang scene. (You absolutely do not have to stick to these three, get creative!) 

• Drug addicts - hard drugs are prevalent among white gangs so portraying a female with a drug addiction is a quick and easy way to make an introduction with skinheads

• Punk/Alternative Chicks - punk rock can be a large part of the skinhead gang culture and there’s punk rock bands that cater exclusively to a skinhead audience so portraying a female that’s interested in these bands can be another way to get your foot in the door

• Civilians - holding a regular job such as a bank teller, cashier, nurse, etc can be hugely beneficial to skinhead gangs. Often times skinhead gangs are involved in white collar crimes and having an “in” to be able to conduct these crimes is a plus for them. This type of character can be mostly legal however maybe she is easily manipulated into committing fraud-type crimes by a skinhead boyfriend or family member

 

 

GETTING INVOLVED

Because females cannot be gang members, their connection to the gang relies on them being involved with a male member. This could be a relative or family member, someone they’re dating or friends with, or maybe even one of their friend’s boyfriends. There is always a male connection. Make an introduction and then start building the relationship from there.

 

ROLES WITHIN A WHITE GANG

Most commonly, a skinbyrd will be the girlfriend or relative of a skinhead and as seen in a multitude of articles about white gangs, these women often take direction and are influenced into doing crime by the men they associate with. 

 

These women often play a secondary, supporting role to the men in their lives. They do not take a leading role in attacking enemies, making massive drug or weapons deals solo, or play the mastermind role in white collar crime operations. Does that mean, they can't partake in these types of things? No, but it should be as a supporting character to a male who is leading the crime.

 

If a skinbyrd is open to/influenced into doing crime, she can be tasked with a multitiude of things such as: organizing prison visits on behalf of the gang, smuggling drugs, or trafficking them and collecting money/payments for drugs/illegal goods, arranging three-way calls, etc. There are a few documented instances where women are involved in assaults, and witness intimidation situations too - however, they are doing so on behalf of a male gang member.

 

Skinbyrds can also be more legal-sided characters who have criminal ties due to who they associate with or date. Additionally, as discussed in the book Inside Organized Racism and several of the source articles below, sometimes these women’s role is to simply raise the family that they have with the men in their lives. Not every skinbyrd has to be involved in the crimes of their partner or family members.

 

 

MISCONCEPTIONS 

First and foremost - there is no such thing as a skinbyrd gang. While skinbyrds might be friends with each other, these groups are not the same as female street gangs. There is no leader. There is no official gang and these groups should not operate as such. Skinbyrds should not be pressured to partake or be involved in crimes by other skinbyrds, these types of things should be left up to the male who they’re involved with. Additionally, if one skinbyrd wants to play it more legally sided, the others should not “cast her out” for it. In fact, playing a lower-key character who works a civilian job can be very beneficial to the gang overall. These females also do not often commit violent crimes or partake in gunplay. If they do, it is as an accomplice to a male gang member leading the charge.

 

TLDR

- Skinbyrds are the female equivalent of a skinhead, but are NOT a gang member

- Skinbyrds are usually linked to a white gang via a partner or family member

- They often play a secondary / supporting role to the male members

- Skinbyrds are not a gang of girls

- They’re not all unemployed drug addicts

- They don’t often commit violent crimes on their own

- They can hold regular civilian jobs & lives

- They are not typically pressured into crimes by other skinbyrds

- There is no leader of all the skinbyrds

- They don’t have to be hardcore racist

- They can look like a totally normal female

- They can have racist tattoos, but area codes, bolts and gang specific ink would likely
result in negative reactions/consequences from gang members

 

 

SOURCES AND FURTHER READING

There isn’t much information about skinbyrds specifically, likely because they tend to keep a low profile and don’t get involved in violent crimes as frequently as their male counterparts. However, skinbyrds are mentioned in various articles regarding PENI and other white supremacist groups, and we can draw conclusions about their lives from those articles.

 

 

Spoiler

https://www.adl.org/resources/profile/public-enemy-number-1-peni

 

https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Aryan-sisters-live-and-die-in-the-trenches-2081872.php

 

https://www.marieclaire.com/politics/a24163/white-supremacist-women/

 

https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2015/racist-skinhead-glossary

 

https://www.splcenter.org/20120625/racist-skinheads-understanding-threat

 

https://www.adl.org/resources/hate-symbol/women-aryan-unity

 

https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2013/secrets-sisterhood

https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2015/01/30/shot-caller-california-white-supremacist-gang-pleads-guilty

 

https://orangecountyda.org/press/orange-county-state-and-federal-law-enforcement-take-down-white-supremacist-prison-and-street-gangs/

 

https://www.anylaw.com/case/people-v-mccann/california-court-of-appeal/01-25-2006/XaPTR2YBTlTomsSBBXgv

 

Books: Inside Organized Racism, Sisters in Hate

 

This guide on white gangs in LA County is beneficial to understanding some of the roleplay around these groups from the male perspective https://forum.gta.world/en/topic/86278-white-gangs-in-la-county/

 

This other forum guide is great but keep in mind it is written more about Hispanic gangs and there are slight differences in culture & beliefs

https://forum.gta.world/en/topic/99933-homegirls-x-homeboys-developing-female-characters-for-gang-rp/

 

Edited October 7, 2023 by meremaid

[Antibiotic]

THE REAL FEMALE PUNK RAWKER FUCK YEAH SHE'S A PUNK RAWKER YES SHE IS

[Bubonic]

good stuff!

[dirtnap]

this should be a mandatory read for those looking to get involved in the scene.

[Engelbert]

This actually made me realize, that I been doing it wrong. 🙂

[La Mala]

On 9/4/2023 at 8:29 PM, meremaid said:

This other forum guide is great but keep in mind it is written more about Hispanic gangs and there are slight differences in culture & beliefs

https://forum.gta.world/en/topic/99933-homegirls-x-homeboys-developing-female-characters-for-gang-rp/

Thanks for showing some love! Really nice to see more guides like this on the female side of gang rp.

I'm curious about the community/family connection. So many Hispanic girls would literally become gang members without realizing it, they didn't really decide on it, their membership was so fluid compared to the guys. Did you get the impression it was similar for white girls or was joining more of an active decision?

The way the white gang members think about female ink is also interesting to me, especially a restriction on something like the area code. Did you get a feeling on the mentality behind that? It feels like white gangs can have stricter gender roles than I realized.

And I definitely feel you on the lack of good info. I mostly focused so much on Hispanic gangs because I struggled to find academic sources on women in other types of gangs. The LA Almanac tells me the last time the LAPD released stats on this, they only categorized 2% of LA gangs as white. So it makes sense it would be so difficult for researchers to embed themselves or get long-term interviews.

Good find with that Kathleen Blee book! She's with the University of Pittsburgh. I hadn't seen her when I was putting my guide together, but it looks like she noticed some of the same trends we see with Hispanic gangs.

[meremaid]

17 hours ago, La Mala said:

Thanks for showing some love! Really nice to see more guides like this on the female side of gang rp.

I'm curious about the community/family connection. So many Hispanic girls would literally become gang members without realizing it, they didn't really decide on it, their membership was so fluid compared to the guys. Did you get the impression it was similar for white girls or was joining more of an active decision?

The way the white gang members think about female ink is also interesting to me, especially a restriction on something like the area code. Did you get a feeling on the mentality behind that? It feels like white gangs can have stricter gender roles than I realized.

And I definitely feel you on the lack of good info. I mostly focused so much on Hispanic gangs because I struggled to find academic sources on women in other types of gangs. The LA Almanac tells me the last time the LAPD released stats on this, they only categorized 2% of LA gangs as white. So it makes sense it would be so difficult for researchers to embed themselves or get long-term interviews.

Good find with that Kathleen Blee book! She's with the University of Pittsburgh. I hadn't seen her when I was putting my guide together, but it looks like she noticed some of the same trends we see with Hispanic gangs.

From what I gathered, it seems like initially these females would begin dating a skinhead for one reason or another and then due to being closely tied with a male member they would be manipulated or convinced to start doing crime. I’m sure in some cases it was an active decision but majority of the ones who have left the skinhead culture are quoted as saying they didn’t realize what they were getting into, so yes I’d say their involvement is similar to how Hispanic females end up involved in gangs.

 

A lot of the mentioned tattoos are “earned” in white gangs - usually by committing violent crimes or murder, and they’re reserved for the gang’s members. Since females can’t become members, they wouldn’t have these tattoos that carry heavy significance among the gang. Someone who isn’t a member but sports specific tattoos, even another male, could face a not so friendly confrontation by gang members. Female members can have general racially charged tattoos however - swastikas, “white power”, “1488”, and “2316” are common, to name a few.

 

There isn’t a ton of information about the gender roles of females associated with  skinhead groups specifically, but in one of the above mentioned books (forgot which one), it talks about how many of the women involved in white supremacist groups end up having children extremely young because there is an emphasis on “furthering the white race”. So I would say there definitely is some misogynistic views held towards women involved in these groups. Another article quotes a woman claiming she felt like the mentality was “stay in the kitchen or stay in bed”. Additionally, women aren’t permitted to become members which eludes to them not being viewed as equals to the male gang members.

[La Mala]

Thanks for the info! I also saw in the white gangs guide that there is less of a focus on turf/territory compared to other types of gangs. Taking that and what you've said together, to me it sounds like the male connection might be even more important for white gangs than Hispanic or Black gangs. Like a Hispanic girl might see herself as a Surena because she was raised in that type of neighbourhood, but it doesn't sound like a white girl will have a similar mentality without a strong male connection.

 

On 10/19/2023 at 9:28 AM, meremaid said:

There isn’t a ton of information about the gender roles of females associated with  skinhead groups specifically, but in one of the above mentioned books (forgot which one), it talks about how many of the women involved in white supremacist groups end up having children extremely young because there is an emphasis on “furthering the white race”.

This is interesting to me because the Hispanic girls involved with gangs are also having children extremely young, but many of them would say it's about creating a romantic and eternal bond with their boyfriend, and the boyfriends are thinking about creating a legacy before they die young. I wonder if the white girls are thinking the same, or if they actually believe it is about "furthering the white race". I wouldn't be surprised if it was the male gang members pushing that "white race" angle, but I'm just speculating. Lots of angles for RP though.

[letdachoppasing]

I can finally roleplay as @sixtyeightwife

[sixtyeight]

3 hours ago, letdachoppasing said:

I can finally roleplay as @sixtyeightwife

Make Jewish skinbyrd