Paper short abstract:

We understand gangs as an elementary and spontaneous mode of youth informal sociability. Observing youth street groups as forms of youth culture to resist the hegemonic discourses and practices and as institutions of social resilience to confront and combat the stigmatization

Paper long abstract:

Gangs are described as an episodic phenomenon comparable across diverse geographic spaces, with the stereotype of American gangs often operating as an archetype. This means that a gang is an informal group of peers with local roots, in conflict with other peer groups and sometimes with adult institutions. In short, we understand gangs as an elementary and spontaneous mode of informal sociability. When delinquency was not considered a fundamental attribute of youth street sociability, other concepts were used such as peer groups, street groups, subcultures, countercultures, lifestyles... reserving the term gang for groups of street youth. with members of migrant background or minorities marginalized by contextual situations, and not for other youth groups. Based on a comparative analysis of the various regions involved in the TRANSGANG project, we will observe youth street groups as forms of youth culture to resist the hegemonic discourses and practices and, at the same time, as institutions of social resilience to confront and combat the stigmatization