youth culture

• parsons - rite of passage


  youth culture is describe as being a bridge between childhood and adulthood

  it is a rite of passage for people before they take their full place in society.

  youth is an important transitional stage during a potentially stressful time where an individual must learn to leave the security of the family and become an independent person in terms of occupational status and marriage.

  • youths start to become independent from their parents
• Ascribed status


  Status given to someone by birth and family
• Achieved status


  Status created by someone for themselves
• Youth culture- eisenstadt


  1. Bonds young people

  2. Creates a sense of community

  3. Transition from ascribed to achieved status
• During the isolated phase between childhood and adulthood


  There could be a risk of feelings of stress and anomie
• Youth culture

  • Provides a shared set of norms and values with peers
  • Provides a sense of belonging
• Youth culture- eisenstadt


  • Provides a safe outlet for the tensions that the transition from childhood to adulthood might bring
• marxist perspective 


  marxists argue that youth cultures are simply a form of resistance to capitalism.

  • young people express their rejection of capitalism through adopting a subcultural style that has a specific meaning.
• what is globalisation?


  where different parts of the world are brought closer together by the exchange of goods, services and communication - made possible by technology
• how does globalisation impact youth culture?

  young people are more aware of other cultures and can adopt other cultural patterns to create their own cultural values. e.g. tattoos are in fashion

  people now have access to cheap consumer items which are made in less economically developed countries, meaning trends can be replaced quickly
• how can social class be linked to youth culture?

  neo marxists such as the centre for contemporary cultural studies (CCCS) linked class rebellion to the development of youth subcultures e.g. skinheads

  • Clarke et al (1976) found that the skinhead style was an exaggerated form of working class dress
• what are magical solutions?

  • brake (1985) claimed that working-class youth found youth cultures to be a magical soution to power differentials in society