Youth Subcultures Flashcards
How would sociologists define youth?
They see it as a social construct, this can be illustrated by the fact that different societies treat the period of adolescents differently
What was the view regarding teenagers in the 1950s UK?
Teenagers as a distinct category didn’t exist- people left school at 14 and went straight into work, dressing in a similar way to their parents
When did the teenage identity as we know it today arise?
In the 1950s as rising wages meant more disposable income meaning teens could express themselves through music, fashion, cosmetics etc
What does Postman say regarding the media and fashion industry?
It is guilty of sexualising female children by encouraging them to emulate adults in dress, cosmetics, body image etc
What is a subculture?
A social group that exists within a broader mainstream culture and which subscribes to a set of values, norms and traditions which substantially differ from that followed by the masses
What makes a subculture deviant?
If they are perceived as a threat to social unity
What does the concept of youth culture suggest?
There exists a particular set of norms and values which is shared by young people and which is distinct, sometimes opposed to that of adults
What are the features that distinguish youth culture from adult culture?
Being in education instead of work, lack of responsibility, importance of pop culture, importance of peer group
What is meant by a spectacular youth subculture?
Used to describe a highly visible and flamboyant youth subculture that appeared between the 1950s-70s in the UK causing young people to be seen as lacking respect for authority
What are examples of spectacular youth subcultures?
Teddy boys (1950s),
Mods and Rockers (1960s), Skinheads (1970s)
What do Functionalists say children are socialised into?
The value consensus and social integration in families and schools
What does Parsons say about the social category of youth in pre-industrial societies?
There is no need for it as children became adults after learning what was expected of them during traditional ceremonies known as rites of passage- no longer exist in modern society other than in some religions (e.g Jewish Bar Mitzvah)
What does Parsons say about the period of youth?
It can be a very stressful and isolating period as the young go from dependent to independent. As the child- adult transition is so full of tension, it has the potential to undermine youth’s commitment to consensus and therefore social order
What does Parsons say the social category of youth functions to do?
Help young people successfully leave the security of the family and develop independency- get part time work, socialise with peers, go into higher education etc
What does Eisenstadt say the role of youth culture is?
To socially integrate young people into society- provides people with a set of norms and values they can share with peers (gain a sense of belonging)
What does youth culture allow youth to do according to Eisenstadt?
Temporarily rebel and to push the boundaries of acceptable behaviour before they settle into adult conformity- helping young express their frustrations without threatening social order
How is the functionalist view on youth evaluated?
The view is over-generalising about youth culture and fails to explain the emergence of specific spectacular youth subcultures
What do functionalists discussing youth culture fail to consider?
The impact of social class, gender and ethnicity on youth subcultures. Also failing to consider some YSCs may be harmful or dysfunctional to society or people in the subculture
How are Parsons and Eisenstadt critisised?
They are ethnocentric- their analysis reflects their own cultural background- White MC America (males)
Who carried out most of the Marxist analysis of youth culture?
Neo Marxists working at the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS) in the 1970s
What did most of the CCCS’s analysis conclude?
The style of particular spectacular YSCs symbolised both a reaction to the economic situation youth found themselves in and functioned as a form of ideological opposition to the hegemonic power of the RC
Why are Marxists criticised within their theory of youth subcultures?
They’re criticised for decoding subcultural behaviour and dress codes in terms of only opposition and resistance- missed instances when the subcultural behaviour/dress codes are conservative and inline with mainstream views
How is the Marxist reason people join YSC evaluated?
People could get involved in subcultures simply for fun and excitement or because they want to emulate a media role model or because they were influenced by their peers- disagrees with Marxists who say people join subcultures to reflect their economic situation
Which class was neglected in the study of YSC by the CCCS?
Middle class YSC such as Hippies in the 1960s- the CCCS focused on WC YSC that fit in with their findings rather than challenge their opinion that YSCs are groups which ideologically resist capitalism
How would feminists evaluate the CCCS’s findings?
They would say the CCCS is gender blind and that they neglect females in their analyses
Why could the CCCS findings be found to more unrepresentative?
Spectacular YSCs were highly visible but only a tiny fraction of young people were committed to them
What do Feminists say about girls in studies of YSC?
Girls have often been ignored or marginalised by YSC theories- studies about deviant subcultures often focus only on males and if females are involved it would be regarding being a girlfriend of a YSC member
What did McRobbie and Garbner argue?
They argued that many studies of YSCs reinforce stereotypes of females as ‘passive girlfriends’
What did McRobbie and Garbner say about Bedroom subcultures?
Found that girls established more close-knit friendships. They also spent lots of time together in private spaces (bedrooms). This culture involves experimenting with fashion, cosmetics and hair, gossiping about boys etc
What does Postmodernist Thornton say about clubbing SCs?
Some clubbers have subcultural capital and are able to define what is ‘in’ and ‘out’ using social media
What does Maffesoli call YSCs?
Neo tribes
What does Maffesoli mean by the term ‘Neo tribes’?
Organised groupings of young- no fixed membership- members are loosely attached and not fully committed, concern with single issues, e.g. political issues, can also belong to more than one tribe
What did Bennett find in his study of nightlife in Newcastle?
He found people in neo-tribes moved in and out of their tribes freely and rarely identified with one rather than another
What does Bennett say is the difference between neo-tribes and YSCs?
YSC suggests shared values and commitment which is rarely the experience of modern youth
Neo-tribes denote fluidity of moving in and out of tribes, flexible identities, mixing and matching styles etc
What does Polhemus say exists due to the global media?
A ‘supermarket of style’ from which people can pick and choose their identity- commitment to one style is less common
What does Postmodernism not convincingly explain?
Why distinctive YSCs such as goths and emos continue to attract young people to their distinct cultures, styles, attitudes, dress etc. Also failing to explain the behaviour and attitudes of ordinary youth
What do Hollands and Chatterton say to evaluate the Postmodernist view of YSCs?
Youth of today are more likely to be engaged in activities which are shaped by commercial and corporate pressures rather than freely floating between neo-tribes, mixing and matching influences as they see fit
What are Postmodernists criticised for mistaking as Cultural hybridity?
They mistake cultural appropriation as cultural hybridity
What is cultural appropriation?
Refers to members of more powerful cultures stealing elements of less powerful cultures
What is an example of cultural appropriation in white neo-tribes?
Travellers wearing dreadlocks- dreadlocks are viewed by the Rastafarian religion as a symbol of Black African Pride and a form of resistance to white racism with regard to standards of beauty
What did Neo-Marxist Jefferson study?
The Teddy Boy subculture that was popular among WC youth in the 1950s
Why did Jefferson say Teddy Boys engaged in casual violence?
It was a form of ideological resistance to the social and economic decay of their neighbourhoods. It was also a form of ideological protest as they had been excluded from the relative affluence that existed in this period
What did Jefferson say about the Teddy Boys’ dress code?
It was elaborate- Edwardian style brightly coloured jackets showed WC contempt for the class system and poked fun at their supposed MC ‘social superiors’
What did Neo-Marxist John Clarke study?
1970s skinheads
What did John Clarke say about Skinheads?
Their culture and style was a reaction to the decline of WC communities, they were also attempting to recreate WC masculinity and community by symbolically appropriating the dress of manual factory workers (rolled up jeans, braces, Dr. Marten steel toe capped boots
Who also studied Skinheads?
Phil Cohen 1970s
What did Cohen find about Skinheads?
Their aggressive and violently racist behaviour towards immigrants was a reaction to how they saw immigration breaking up their exclusively white WC neighbourhoods- through their dress and behaviour, they were demonstrating their symbolic resistance to social change
What did Neo-Marxist Hebdige study?
Punk rockers in the late 1970s
What did Hebdige say about Punk Rockers?
The symbolism and style of punk was not new but rather involved what he called bricolage (a concept that describes the way in which cultures re-use ordinary objects or commodities to create new meanings) e.g. safety pins in their noses and bin liners as clothing- set out to deliberately shock the establishment
What were the reasons that Thornton said girls were not in spectacular YSCs today?
They have less disposable income than males, they devote more time and energy to doing well at school, they are also more likely to be subjected to social controls by their parents which meant they were less likely to be out at night- boys have more subcultural capital than girls
What does Reddington say about females in the Punk rock culture?
They played a significant role- made an anyone can do it ethos. Females were said to be the shock troops of the punks especially in the way they subverted traditional ideas around femininity
What did Hollands say happened in the 1990s regarding women?
There was a dramatic change in women’s behaviour, leading the media to speculate about ‘girl power’ and the emergence of ladettes
What happened in the 1990s regarding all-female subcultures?
The 1990s saw their arrival e.g. riot grrls and sk8er girls in the USA and Canada- Roberts says these reflect strong and powerful female identities which resist patriarchy
What does Cashmore say regarding YSC and ethnic identities?
Many afro-carribean youth that were born in the UK adopted a Rastafarian identity with very visible style (dreadlocks, red, gold, green clothes etc)- saw white society as Babylon which would be destroyed by their God Jah
What did Hebdige and Gilroy say about Black youth?
They often adopted the Rasta spiritual lifestyle as a form of resistance to white culture and what they perceived as police racism, symbolised by the frequent police use of stop and search of black youth
How many times more likely are black youth to be stop and searched then white youth?
They are eight times more likely
What did Nayak say regarding cultural hybridity?
White youth in the 1990s were influenced by black hip-hop and rap culture also adopting black mannerisms and fashion choices- white wannabes e.g Eminem
What did Johal say regarding cultural hybridity?
Johal refers to MC professional young Asians as Brasians as their lifestyle often involves switching between Asian culture (respect parents, arranged marriage), and British culture (talk about girls, football, jobs etc)
What are Modern Primitives?
A hybrid neo-tribe- express their identity through body art e.g. tattoos and body piercings.
Why are Modern Primitives a hybrid culture?
They mix the primitive (body markings, tattoos and piercings taken from non-industrial societies such as the Indians of the Amazonian rainforests) with modern aesthetics
What do Vale and Juno say about the body modification that’s undertaken by Modern Primitives?
It’s a social reaction to the sense of powerlessness people feel in a fast changing world- claim Modern Primitives restore a sense of power and control of their lives by constructing via body art a unique form of identity
What is delinquency?
Juvenile delinquency is a term usually use to describe those petty crimes committed by young people e.g tagging, joy riding and anti-social, non-criminal behaviour
