Youth Subcultures Sociologists

• mcrobbie 


  girls, rarely included in studies are only presented as attractive passive girlfriends who aren't interesting or deviant
• maffesoli 1996


  Postmodernism

  uses the term Neo tribe to replace subcultures. This describes how individuals are no longer committed to specific youth subcultures.

  youths now go back and forth between multiple tribes and can be a member of more than one tribe at a time
• redhead 1990


  Postmodernism

  sub cultures now develop within the media as young people are immersed in a media driven reality
• thornton 1995


  speaks of club culture as 'taste culture ' based on music dress and lifestyle tastes.

  Discusses 'sub cultural capital' which is being 'in the know 'of what is cool or not in regards to sub cultures
• Cloward and Ohlin


  said working-class youths may experience status frustration (Albert Cohen) due to "blocked opportunities" as they are less likely to attend higher education and gain higher paid jobs
• macanghaill 1994


  look at three responses to school

  1: ordinary lads-not academic and were indifferent about school

  2: academic achievers- pro school and worked hard

  3: macho lads- formed anti school subcultures who valued acting tough
• reddington 2003


  girls were active in spectacular use of cultures especially the punk subculture eg Vivienne Westwood
• holland 1995


  girls are now less restricted and controlled. They go out at dark and spend time with friends

  studied Newcastle nightlife and found equal amount of men and women

  "bedroom culture" may be a thing of the past
• mcrobbie 


  girls involve themselves in bedroom culture listening to music and reading magazines

  Girls are now more active in subcultures due to consumer culture
• becker

  labelling theory - interactionism

  young working class boys are labelled as deviant by the police, public and media.

  if a young person is labelled to be deviant they may continue or begin to be deviant

  they accept their label and change their behaviour to live up to it "self fulfilling prophecy"

  media uses youths as scapegoats- society sees them as trouble bc the media labels them as such
• thornton 1995


  studies about subcultures look mostly at males because girls had less disposable income, married early and earnt less than them. the teenage market was dominated by males
• cohen 1972


  studied fights between mods and rockers

  The media had blown these fights out of proportion and made youths seem like problems turning them into folk devils and causing moral panics

  a moral panic is a media reaction to particular social groups or activities that threaten societies norms and values
• jock young 1971


  deviancy amplification

  3 stages

  1: translation of fantasy - people eg police are susceptible to accepting media stereotypes

  2: negotiation of reality- negotiate evidence they find to fit preconceived stereotypes

  3: amplification- labelling of youth subcultures as deviant leads to a self fulfilling prophecy that amplifies deviance
• jackson 2006


  studied laddishness in schools, which occurred in boys and girls- seen as cool to be clever but not cool to work hard

  ladette culture- girls acting like lads- smoking, swearing and being loud. occurred in white, working class, underachieving girls
• Mac an Ghaill (1994)


  the working class response to school was 'macho lads' and traditional hegemonic masculinity was shown in boys in anti school subcultures

  anti school subcultures are not as apparent in female subcultures
• nayak 2003


  'white wannabes'- the influence of black music and style on white working class youths eg eminem
• mercer 1987


  traditional styling of hair in black culture eg afro & dreadlocks can be seen as emphasising with black identity and could be a form of resistance
• harding 2014


  young males with no access to paid employment (traditional source of hegemonic masculinity) will look for other ways to achieve masculinity like crime or gangs
• nightingale 1993


  young black males in philadelphia were excluded racially and economically from achieving society's goals. turned to illegitimate means like violence and crime to achieve their goals
• bourgois 1995


  young black people who were excluded racially and economically from society turned to drug dealing as their way of surviving and achieving success
• nightingale 


  both studies show the paradox of inclusion

  the desire to be included drives the desire for success
• postman


  the disappearance of childhood due to the media exposing children to the adult world too young and sexualising them. youth now begins earlier
• CCCS


  suggests that social class and feelings of deprivation and frustration are what lead young people to form subcultures
• talcott parsons


  youth is a rite of passage between childhood and adulthood

  youth develops adult skills and independence

  youth is a stressful time for people due to getting a job and becoming more independent
• eisenstadt


  youth culture brings people together into society and provides shared norms, values and belonging. norms and values are enforced to add to social order

  youth is stressful and a way to let off steam- a period of rebellion and testing boundaries

  in youth people develop their own ideas, opinions and identities
• neo marxists


  new and up to date/contemporary

  hegemony- ideological dominance the ruling class has over subordinate classes

  neo marxists look at culture and media control
• lea and young


  2 explanations of crime and deviance that apply to youths

  relative deprivation- how deprived you are compared to someone else - increased due to social media, where we see what others have. affects mostly youths as they're more influenced by the media and feel deprived compared to adults

  marginalisation- people feel excluded, powerless and are pushed to the edge of society. more common w young people due to a lack of power and respect so they form subcultures
• brake


  argued that youth subcultures were magic symbolic solutions rather than concrete practical solutions to the problems faced by working class youths. they would later end up abandoning their subculture and conforming to mainstream culture
• cohen


  status is harder to achieve for working class youths so they experience status frustration
• hebdige


  punks were practical and working class youths

  rastafarian and reggae culture were formed as a resistance to western culture, racism and slavery

  cultural hybridity is on the rise

  british youth subcultures were responses to immigrant presence in britain
• clarke


  skinheads were an exaggerated version of working class and masculinity - proud of the past and patriotic

  were macho, aggressive and racist. associated with football racism and nazism
• sewell


  for black males, the culture of the streets is anti education, valuing style and instant gratification instead
• lincoln


  updated bedroom culture to 21st century

  said girls rooms are split into zones- the work zone is hidden by leisure items like clothes and makeup

  the transition from childhood to youth
• smart


  parents exercise greater control over their daughters

  girls are restricted to the domestic private sphere

  girls are invisible in subcultures as access to deviant girl groups is difficult
• polhemus


  talks about supermarket of style

  youths can create identities by pick and mixing

  young people don't have to restrict their choices as there is no commitment to modern subcultures
• bennett


  studied night clubs in Newcastle and found neo tribes based on fashion, music and lifestyle

  says subcultures rigidly link groups based on music and style

  says neo tribes however recognise the shifting native and fluidity of groups
• blackman


  completed a study on a group of new wave girls

  didn't conform to traditional femininity- enjoyed punk music, baggy clothes, doc martens

  resisted masculine parental and educational control

  usually working/lower middle class

  pro education but anti school
• mirza


  african caribbean girls tend to be pro education
• MIPC


  studied club culture and found no clear gender class or ethnic divisions

  youth in clubs were diverse
• cloward and ohlin


  youths experience blocked opportunities- particularly working class boys who can't gain the values and shared goals of society through legitimate means. this is obvious when comparing those in state funded education and private schools. youths learn to overcome blocked opportunities which is good according to functionalists