Dealing with a gendered economy: Female drug dealers and street capital

Abstract

Early studies of female drug dealers suggest that women are marginalized, passive victims. In contrast, more recent studies describe women as skilful and competent dealers. In a Bourdieu-inspired theoretical framework of ‘street capital’, we suggest that the truth is somewhere in between. Female dealers can be successful, but they face more obstacles than men do. The illegal hard-drug economy is gendered and favours men. In this paper we discuss how female drug dealers develop particular strategies to prove they still belong in ‘the game’. Four such strategies are emphasized: desexualization, violent posture, emotional detachment and service-mindedness. These are common strategies for all drug dealers, but the gendered economy forces female dealers to be particularly careful about their business and self-presentation.