youth subcultures - general, ideology views, impact of institutions (ethnicity, social class, gender)

Question 1

Introduction
- general (2)
- socs (2)
- terms (16)

Answer 1

General (2):
- ‘Youth’, biological and social changes, rebellion/deviance, argued ‘youth’ socially constructed and relative to each culture, changes as societies develop
- concept of ‘child’ developed post-industrial society, rituals/rites of passage, shared youth norms/values(peer group importance, education over work, living with parents), most obvious youth subcultures emerged 1950s-1970s

Socs (2):
1. Postman (1982, ‘disappearance of childhood’ due to media)
2. Mead (1928, Samoan culture; argued importance of ‘youth’ not universal)

Terms (16):
- ‘Youth’, biological, rebellion/deviance, socially constructed youth, relative/context-based youth, ‘tweenagers’ (7-12), ‘disappearance of childhood’ (Postman), rituals/rites, industrialisation/industrial societies/modernity, ‘interim’ phase, ‘youth culture’, youth subculture, ‘spectacular’ youth subcultures, teddy boys/mods/punks/skinheads/goths/e-girls/tumblr girls

Question 2

Views of youth - Functionalism:
- terms (7)
- general (3)
- evaluation (2)
- socs (3)

Answer 2

Terms (7):
- Anomie, consensus, integration, industrialisation, post/pre-capitalism, ‘rite of passage’, ‘social order’,

General (3):
1. Society based on consensus, integration into community to mitigate anomie; youth is a fragile stage
2. Post-industrialisation, youth integration from family to workplace necessary; hence marker of ‘youth’ emerged
3. Argued youth as a time of rebellion/challenge improves society through testing boundaries and strength of social consensus/structure

Evaluation (2):
- Generalises youth, dismisses inequality/discrimination
- Ignores global cultures, speaks from the functionalist perspective of white, middle-class males

Socs (3):
1. Parsons (1962, youth emerged post-industrialisation and capitalist society; youth culture necessary as a ‘break off’ to become independent, a ‘rite of passage’)
2. Eisenstadt (1956, youth as a period of isolation/purposeless; higher risk of anomie)
3. Abrams (1959, media created youth culture, and increased spending power of youth developed it)

Question 3

Views of youth - Marxism/neo-Marxism:
- terms (6)
- general (3)
- evaluation (3)
- socs (2)

Answer 3

Terms (6):
- consensus/conflict, ‘spectacular’ youth subcultures, CCCS, ‘neo-marxists’, ‘hegemony’ (Gramsci), ‘ordinary youth’ (CCCS)

General (3):
- Explores conflict over consensus and ‘spectacular’ youth subcultures; focus on social class and economy
- CCCS (Birmingham University) produced much for Marxist view
- Argue youth cultures/subcultures emerged as response to economy/social class inequality; challenge functionalists’ view of youth subculture

Evaluation (3):
- Ignore factors of disability, ethnicity, patriarchy, religionism
- Interpret subcultures solely through view of social class; dismisses much data
- CCCS seen as outdated, and social world is drastically different than 1950s-1970s

Socs (2):
- Mac and Ghaill, Bourdieou

Question 4

Views of youth - Feminism:
- terms (14)
- general (2)
- evaluation (1)
- socs (4)

Answer 4

Terms (14):
- Patriarchy, misogyny, hierarchy, youth subcultures, marginalisation, discrimination, gender inequality, socialisation, key institutions, agents of socialisation, youth norms/values, sexism, stereotypes, underrepresentation

General (2):
- Girls underrepresented and under researched in sociology; youth subcultures less explored, and less opportunity for them to develop overtly/as much in a patriarchal, misogynistic social world
- Girls youth groups often closer-knit, and they negotiate different spaces

Socs (1):
1. McRobbie and Garber (1976, girls ‘conspicuously absent’ from research, research reinforcing stereotypes of ‘passive girlfriends’ emphasising only attractiveness)

Evaluation (4):
- Argued less significant an issue in this era of modernity (Postmodernists)
- Too niche and specific, ignoring social class issues (Marxism)
- Oversensitive and dramatising small-scale issues (The New Right)
- Not focused on the overarching needs of integration and consensus (Functionalism)

Question 5

Views of youth - Postmodernism :
- terms (11)
- general (1)
- evaluation (7)
- socs (4)

Answer 5

Terms (11):
- Fragmenting, diversifying, evolution, modernity, club cultures (MIPs), fluid, changing, taste cultures/subcultural capital (Thornton), ‘new media’/’media-driven reality’ (Redhead), ‘neo-tribes’ (Maffesoli), ‘supermarket of style’ (Polhemus), ‘post-rave technotribes’ (St John)

General (1):
- Youth culture evolving, fragmenting and diversifying in this era of modernity

Socs (7):
1. MIPs (Manchester Institute of Popular Culture): research of ‘club cultures’ in 1980s-90s found no clear gender, class, ethnic distinctions, but media integral to cultures
2. Thornton (1995, when defining club cultures, originate from ‘taste cultures’, media influence, deviating to authenticity and gaining ‘subcultural capital’)
3. Redhead (1990, authentic subcultures forming outside of media influence ceased post-1980 - media influences heavily through ‘new media’, in a ‘media-driven reality’)
4. Maffesoli (1996, ‘neo-tribes’ general types, youth ‘flitting’ from one tribe to another)
5. Bennett (1999, found neotribalism and multidimensional fluidity for youth subcultures in Newcastle clubbing scene)
6. Polhemus (1994, ‘fluidity’ and ‘supermarket of style’ based on autonomy and choice, inspired by increased diversity and label options)
7. St John (2003, ‘post-rave technotribes’ incorporating hedonism yet left-wing resistance to conservatism)

Evaluation (4):
- Generalises and dismisses remaining labels and traditionalism that still exists
- Arguably ‘choice’ is just media driven and not real autonomous choice (e.g. fashion and identity trends); e.g. Hollands and Chatterton (2002, ‘neo-tribes’ corporately owned, just covertly)
- Postmodernism assumes all young people consciously choose ‘tribes’; some may choose none, just exist
- Not all subcultures are pleasure/individualistic, some youth tribes are based on rebellion or protest

Question 6

Youth subcultures and: social class
- terms (10)
- general (2)
- socs (5)

Answer 6

Terms (10):
- Symbols, rituals, ‘bricolage’/’incorporation’ (Hebdige), ‘magical’ symbolic solutions (Brake), socialisation, capitalism, industrialisation, disposable income, inequality/discrimination/marginalisation, agents of socialisation

General (2):
- CCCS and neo-marxists explored this specifically (e.g. Resistance through Rituals (1976), Hebdige’s ‘The Meaning of Style’ 1979)
- CCCS suggest social class and related inequalities/discrimination/deprivation lead to emergence of subcultures; as a form of ‘resistance’ against the capitalist system, using symbols and rituals

Socs (5):
1. Hall and Jefferson (1976, skinheads: working-class resistance against upper classes and immigration, 1950s teddy boys: working-class rebellion against middle-class, based on academic underachievement and social exclusion, mods: working-class italian suited youth, rebelling against upper classes)
2. Hebdige (1979, ‘bricolage’ punk culture; using ordinary things in new ways, as a form of resistance, incorporating politics and social views)
3. Brake (1980, youth subcultures a ‘magical’ symbolic solution; soon conforming in adulthood to norms of society)
4. Hebdige (1979, ‘incorporation’: subcultures once gaining popularity, overtaken by media, dismantled in meaning)
5. Thornton (1995, challenged youth club culture: only those with disposable income could partake, most ceased in adulthood once income necessary for living)

Question 7

Youth subcultures and: gender
- terms (9)
- general (1)
- socs (9)

Answer 7

Terms (9):
- New romantics/ravers/goths/sk8er girls/riot grrrls, ‘teenage market’ (Thornton), ‘teenyboppers’ (Garber), ‘ragga’ music (McRobbie), ‘bedroom culture’ (Newcastle), socialisation, agents of socialisation, key institutions, patriarchy/misogyny/discrimination/sexim

General (1):
- Generally underrepresented and under researched; most teen girl cultures evolved in private/invisible/secret settings, eventually joining male-dominated spaces to create a more egalitarian culture (e.g. punk, goth, emo, ravers)

Socs (9):
1. Thornton (1995, ‘teenage market’ male-dominated due to patriarchy and adult responsibilities placed on girls from a younger age, less subcultural capital)
2. Thornton (1995, girls’ subcultures seen as lesser than, mainstream and so worse, ‘uncool’, shamed, ‘feminised’)
3. McRobbie (1991, girls growing in their culture consumption; post-1970s, sexuality, identity and expression developed)
4. Garber (1976, critical of CCCS ignoring girls; subcultures exist, but rooted in invisibility/safety/privacy as a form of resistance; ‘teenyboppers’, ‘mod girls’, androgynous cultures (punk, goth, emo)
5. McRobbie (1994, black ‘ragga’ music used in girls’ subculture, in a meta sense to challenge patriarchy and sexism)
6. Reddington (2003, punk culture egalitarian, promoted development of female youth subculture, e.g. vivienne westwood, ‘punkettes’)
7. Bennett (1999, neo-tribes less gendered - contemporary youth cultures providing girls space to develop identities)
8. Newcastle (1995, ‘bedroom culture’ teen girls developing identity in privacy and safety of their bedrooms; this is changing as society evolves)
9. Hollands (1995, previously male-dominated sphere of youth groups in public domain changing; women moving into public sphere, in similar ‘packs’/groups, additionally all-female exclusive groups for protection)

Question 8

Youth subcultures and: ethnicity/hybridity
- terms (10)
- general (3)
- socs (8)

Answer 8

Terms (10):
Cultural hybridity, code-switching, diversity/multicultural, ‘modern primitives’, cultural exchange, cultural appropriation, ‘primitive tribes’, assimilation, bhangra fusion music, ‘bhangramuffins’

General (3):
- Post-1950s, youth cultures diversifying, but also racist/misogynist/ableist youth cultures emerging in response (neo-nazis, online trolls, male gamers)
- Issues of stealing cultures (Elvis, chinese tattoos, celebrities emulating south asian cultures)
- CCCS and research also issues of being ‘white focused’

Socs (8):
1. Hebdige (1979, UK subcultures as a ‘succession of differential responses to the black immigrant presence in Britain’)
2. Nayak (2003, ‘white wannabes’, ‘wiggers’, ‘wangstas’)
3. Hebdige (1976, Rastafarianism as resistance to colonialism and white cultural impact)
4. **Johal (1998, ‘hyper-ethnic’ style of british asian culture as a form of resistance; ‘empowerment through difference’, ‘code-switching’)
5. Mercer (1987, black hairstyling as a form of resistance against colonialism and white cultural expectations)
6. Vale and Juno (1989, body modifications of ‘modern primitives’ a form of resistance, reaction to powerlessness in developed capitalist society)
7. Hutnyk (2000, western white people stealing cultural symbols and history, reusing and erasing its ethnic origins and importance; cultural ‘exchanges’ unequal** and rooted in colonialism and imperialism)
8. Cashmore (1997, gangsta rap’s constant evolution from black culture to international popularity)