Early research on female gang involvement was influenced by an inaccurate view of these females as socially isolated and unable to form strong peer relationships. This research has been criticized for its reliance on and reinforcement of gender stereotypes. In contrast, qualitative research conducted from 1970 to 1989 has come from direct contact with the females themselves, rather than from contact with male members. This research indicates that the gang represents for its members an idealized collective solution to the bleak future that awaits; recent data suggests that 94 percent of female gang members will go on to have children, and 84 percent will raise them without spouses. One-third of them will be arrested, and the vast majority will be dependent on welfare. The attraction of the gang is no mystery in the context of the isolation and poverty in their future. 69 references