Age identities

Question 1

Some statistics on Age Identities.

Answer 1

• The UK has an ageing population:
• In 2007, for the first time ever, there were more pensioners than people under 16.
• The fastest growing age group in the UK is those over 80. This is because of:
1. Declining birth rates (declining fertility, fewer people having fewer children older)
2. Increased mortality
3. Babyboomers: those born after WWII reaching pensionable age now

Question 2

Is there more to Ageing that a biological effect?

Answer 2

Whilst biologically, we do get older and this leads to physiological changes, there is also a social dimension to ageing. At each life stage (infancy, childhood, teenager, adult, middle age, old age) there are associated norms, values and expectations of behaviour.

Question 3

Is Age a social constraint?

Answer 3

Age is a social construction as we attach different cultural interpretations regarding the identity and status of people at different ages. This not only changes over time but also between different societies. On example, is the concept of childhood – In western societies this is a long period of socialisation where the emphasis is learning, having fun and becoming independent. However, in some African countries, childhood is short and governed by responsibilities, such as being a child soldier.

Question 4

How does Social Constructionism of Age occur?

Answer 4

Social constructionism of age occurs over time (historically) and also culturally (between different cultural expectations). The construction of age can be structural (such as Marxists would argue that the elderly lose status as they become less productive for capitalism) and also through the agents of socialisation, such as the media which represents certain images of youth and old age.

Question 5

Age and Ethnicity and Class.

Discuss

Answer 5

It is important to note that the experience of age differs according to ethnicity and class. An elderly African-Caribbean woman may experience being elderly in a quite different way to that of a white middle class elderly man.

Question 6

What did Marsh and Keating discuss in 2006 about Age?

What was the name of the paper/book?

Answer 6

Marsh & Keating (2006) – Age: 1. ENABLES us and 2. CONSTRAINS us.

“Our age may influence where we shop, what we buy and even how we pay for our goods. Our age may affect the types of books we read, the music we listen to, the television programmes we watch, the leisure activities we engage in. Our everyday lives are shaped by the way our age is understood and expressed in the society we live in”

Question 7

Social attitudes towards people of different ages can change over time. How did Aries (1973) demonstrate this?

Answer 7

Social attitudes towards people of different ages can change over time. Aries (1973) demonstrated this through depictions of childhood. Aries argues that childhood identities have changed over time – e.g. medieval paintings depict children as little adults. This demonstrates that children DID NOT have a separate status to adults.

Question 8

Where is Aries get his historical information and how was this criticised?

Answer 8

He got his evidence from studying paintings. However this has been highly criticised as they may not be a truthful representation but artistic impression. Yet evidence from elsewhere supports the view that there were no legal distinctions made. Childhood did not exist in middle ages (10th -13th Century approx), Children were treated the same as adults, even in law. There were no distinctions in clothing or activities between the young and adults. Aries argues that childhood started from 13th century onwards as slowly a separation began to develop between adults and their children.

Question 9

What are the latest developments in UK law regarding Age and Childhood?

Answer 9

Recent UK law changes mean that anyone under 18 years old is seen as a child going up from 16 years. Education law has now been extended to 18 years old (laws to govern children’s behaviour). Children’s rights are now governed by ‘The Children’s Act’.

Question 10

What did Postman argue for in 1982 about Age and Childhood?

Answer 10

Postmodernist, Postman (1982) argues that childhood is disappearing: adults are becoming ‘infantilised’ and children are becoming ‘adultised’ through exposure to sex and violence in the media.

Question 11

What led to the changes in the social construction of childhood?

Answer 11

1. Rise in legislation to protect children’s rights and to control children’s behaviour.
2. Decrease in infant mortality (less children dying before 1) – This led to parents having less children and investing more in them.
3. Rise of ‘child-centredness’ – Children now form the key focus of a family and time and money is invested heavily in them.
4. Change in social attitudes towards children from medieval times.

Question 12

What are the life expectancy figures quoted in the text book?

Answer 12

1841 – Life expectancy: M 40, F42
1900 – Life expectancy: M52, F57
2016 – Life expectancy: M79, F83

Question 13

In the UK, people are living longer than ever before.

Why?

How does this affect people’s Status?

Answer 13

Whilst in the UK, people are living longer than ever before as we are healthier and more affluent, we still see older people as less capable and therefore different. Retirement brings along a decline in status and identity which they use to get through their work and the associated income. However this is not the same in all cultures, especially in parts of China where the older you get the more wisdom you are perceived to have and therefore your status keeps on increasing.

Question 14

What is the result of the rise in life expectancy in the UK?

Answer 14

With the rise in life expectancy, retired people may be in the ‘older’ age group for longer than in any other age group. British Attitudes Survey notes that when people get to the age of 65 they do not feel old and that old age is now starting later in life.

Question 15

What did Spijker and MacInnes in 20012 note about Age and life Expectancy?

Answer 15

Spijker and MacInnes (2013) note that with growing life expectancy there are now more people over the age of 65 than under the age of 15, which means that older people are effectively ‘younger’, fitter, healthier than in previous generations.

Question 16

What does society need to do to address the change in Life Expectancy?

Answer 16

With these significant changes, society now needs to re-think the representation of old age as the changes that have been taking place now mean that stereotypes of old age (passivity, inactivity, dependency, illness) are no longer relevant in contemporary society.

Question 17

How do Marxists see old age?

Answer 17

Marxists (structural) see old age as a key source of social inequality. This is because as older people lose their employment and therefore their status they become less profitable and they also do not consume the material products of society which capitalism needs to make profit. Therefore they are a marginalised group and maintained on the lowest means possible (pension).

Question 18

We now have a diverse old age.

What terms are used to describe the old and how is their use guided?

Answer 18

We now have a diversity of old age: ‘The Young Old’. ‘The Middle Old’ and the ‘Old Old’. These are not guided by biological age, but actually health and identity and a sense of self. This can be affected greatly by an individual’s social class, gender and ethnicity where experiences, wealth, life chances etc can all affect their perception of old age.

Question 19

What did Laslett in 1989 develop about the concept of Old Age?

Answer 19

Laslett (1989) developed the concept ‘Third Age’ which describes the increase in life expectancy, growing economic security, and the relatively young age of retired people (compared to the past) has created a new generation of retired people who can find prolonged fulfilment in a ‘third age’.

Question 20

What did Marhankova in 2011 propose about people in the Third Age and their Identities?

Answer 20

Marhankova (2011) notes that freedom from the demands of the labour market, longer lives and better health and the extended amount of fee time they have enable today’s elderly to enjoy a ‘third age’ in which they can develop a diversity of new lifestyles, take up new opportunities and forge new identities for themselves based on self-development and individualism. These new identities are now free from the traditional structures of the workplace. (Postmodernist view).

Question 21

How did Marhankova in 2011 refer to the new identity of the Third Age?

Answer 21

Marhankova (2011) refers to this new identity for older people that is developed in the third age as ‘active ageing’ whereby they are re-defining what it is to be old and this is all based on active participation as a fundamental part of their identity (such as through physical activity, contributing to the community etc.)

Question 22

What is important to note about the Third Age?

Answer 22

However, it is important to note that the third age whereby the old carve out a new ‘active ageing’ identity is not experienced in the same way by all individuals. Social class restricts the ability to engage in new activities and actually many older people exist in poverty in their older years. This is particularly true for working class widowed women or those who do not have an occupational pension to support them. In 2012-13, 13% of pensioners lived below the government’s poverty line. This therefore restricts their ability to create a new active identity.

Question 23

Do old people suffer from prejudice?

Answer 23

Older people suffer from prejudice and discrimination with negative stereotyped assumptions that they are less intelligent, forgetful, grumpy, moaning, in poor health, incapable and dependent on others. Older people, particularly, are likely to encounter ageism.

Question 24

Does Ageism have an effect on Identity?

Answer 24

Ageism can have a detrimental effect on the identity of older people.

Question 25

What did Goffman argue for with regard to the stigmatism of Age?

Answer 25

nteractionist, Goffman would argue that age is a stigmatised identity. This is particularly true with the elderly. This happens through a number of mechanisms:

1. Derogatory names
2. Media images – dirty old man, boring old fart
3. Differential medical treatment – may find getting appropriate medical treatment difficult as it may just be seen as old age rather than diagnosing the symptoms.
4. Barriers in employment – age discrimination

Old age is an example of a stigmatised identity which prevents older people from establishing identities other than that of simply being the ‘old person’ found in negative stereotypes.

Question 26

What did Johnson and Bytheway in 1993 define Ageism as?

Answer 26

Johnson and Bytheway (1993) define ageism as the ‘offensive exercise of power through reference to age’. Ageism has three key elements:

1. Ageism is often institutionalised – it is embedded in the organizational and legal practices of the company
2. Ageism is often expressed through stereotypical prejudices that underpin everyday interaction. People, without question, judge an older persons competency as limited by their age.
3. Ageism can involve the well-meaning assumption that the very old are vulnerable and depend on younger and fitter adults for care and protection.

Question 27

What did Ginn and Garber in 1993 argue about Age and the Workplace?

Answer 27

Ginn & Garber (1993) argue that ageism is reinforced and perpetuated by institutional practices. For people who are made redundant at the age of 50, for these people it is very difficult for them to find a new job or to re-train.

Question 28

What did Bradley in 1996 argue about Age and the Workplace?

Answer 28

Bradley (1996) argues that old people may be seen as less suitable for employment because they are assumed to be ‘physically slow, lacking in dynamism and not very adaptable to change’.

Question 29

When did Employment Equality (Age) Regulations come into force in the UK?

Answer 29

Employment Equality (Age) Regulations came into force in 2006 to protect against age discrimination in employment and education.

Question 30

How does the Media represent Old Age?

Answer 30

Media representations reflect a stereotypical image of older people. Advertising still reinforces that youth is the centre point for image and appearance with many products trying to stop the onset of looking old (Anti-Ageing creams etc.) This is particularly important for women’s identity as they get older.

Question 31

What did Sontag in 1978 argue about the double standards of Aging?

Answer 31

Sontag (1978) argues that there is a double standard of ageing, especially on television, whereby women are required to be youthful through their media careers but men are not. The newcaster, Moira Stuart claimed to be a victim of this type of ageism at the BBC in 2007 when she was ‘retired’ by the BBC at the age of 58, whilst her male counterparts, such as David Dimbleby (79 years old in 2017) are allowed to carry on beyond their retirement. There is an under-representation of middle-aged women and elderly women as news presenters and hosts of light entertainment.

Question 32

How do Young people express their Identity?

Answer 32

Young people have often expressed their identity through youth subcultures.

Question 33

When was adolescence first recognised?

Answer 33

In the 1950’s adolescence/youth was recognised as a unique age group for the first time. Before that date it was seen as part of adulthood. The reason for this was because the majority of you prior to the Second World War left school and started work straight away. They were not recognised as a separate social category as they were generally indistinguishable from their parents’ tastes, values, behaviour etc. No specific teenage market existed in terms of fashion, cosmetics, films or music.

Question 34

When was the emergence of the Youth Culture?

Answer 34

Post War period saw the emergence of youth culture where styles and tastes emerged. This was a reflection of the increased spending power brought by full employment of the 1950’s. Capitalist entrepreneurs reacted to this by developing products solely for youth such as comics, magazines, pop music, radio stations, fashion and cosmetics.

Question 35

Have the Youth been demonised by the media?

Answer 35

The youth have been demonized by the media. Interactionsists argue that the media constructs/creates/manufactures youth subcultures this then creates a moral panic within society (Stan Cohen’s study). Thornton (1995) argues that the youth are more frequently condemned than praised by the media

Question 36

Define the term “Youth Subculture”

Answer 36

The term ‘youth subculture’ refers to groups of young people who share some cultural features which are in some ways different (often visibly) from that of the dominant, mainstream culture of society.

Question 37

List some Youth Subcultures of the last sixty years.

Answer 37

In the last 60 years we have had: Mods, Rockers, Teddy Boys, Punks, Skinheads, Goths, Ravers etc. These are all youth subcultures which represent their identity through styles and symbols which distinguish them from the mainstream culture and also from other youth subcultures.

Question 38

What did Hebdige in 1979 note on Youth Subcultures?

Answer 38

Hebdige (1979) notes that youth subcultures often involve bricolage, whereby otherwise ordinary, everyday readily available objects are combined to create new styles and identities – one example is the punks (see youth subcultures for more details). These symbols draw attention to those wearing them, and may turn youth subcultures into spectacles to be looked at, as well as sometimes expressing active hostility and contempt for the values, dress and fashion codes of the dominant culture.

However, it can be argued that very few young people get involved in subcultures and generally most youth still share the values of their parents and are generally conformist. They still place a high value on traditional goals such as getting married, having children and buying a house.

Question 39

What is Parsons’ view of Youth Culture?

Functionalism

Answer 39

Parsons - Youth subcultures are a way of dealing with the status frustration that arises during the extended period of transition between childhood and independent adulthood in contemporary western societies. Economic dependency on parents whereby they often live with parents until their mid20’s, the extended period of education (18 in UK) can lead to the youth finding it difficult to establish a clear independent adult status and lead them to status frustration. Youth subcultures enable the youth to assert their independence and create an identity which is separate from the identity that has been created in the family, at school or even at work.

Question 40

How do Functionalists view Youth Culture?

Answer 40

Functionalists see the transitional stage of youth quite normal in the process of gaining an independent adult identity. Youth culture is seen as a short-lived passing phase, expressed mainly through pleasure seeking in leisure activities in the company of their peers (peer group membership is key). Once the period of status frustration is over and a clear adult identity is established, the interest in youth culture dies.

Question 41

How can the Functionalists view Youth Culture be criticised?

Answer 41

The Functionalist view of youth culture can be criticised as it does not explain the wide variety of youth subcultures and youth styles, the class, gender and ethnic differences between them and their occasional dysfunctional aspects, such as their links to racism, sexism, crime, delinquency and anti-social behaviour.

Question 42

What is the Neo-Marxism view on Youth Culture?

Answer 42

Whilst Functionalists look at youth cultures as a whole and their function, Marxists explain the diversity of subcultures and their differences in style in terms of their social class positions.

Question 43

Whilst Functionalists look at youth cultures as a whole and their function, Marxists explain the diversity of subcultures and their differences in style in terms of their social class positions.

Answer 43

Hall and Jefferson (1976) saw particular youth styles, such as punks and skinheads as cultures of resistance to the dominant social class and dominant culture and ideology of society. Hebdige (1976) saw the Mod style as a reaction by lower middle class youth to the tedium of their life and work.

Question 44

How did Cohen see the Youth Culture?

Noe-Marxism

Answer 44

Cohen saw working class youth subcultures as a means of re-establishing a sense of community and social cohesion lost in their parents culture due to the break-up of traditional working class communities, through re-housing and high unemployment. Clarke (1976) and Hebdige (1979) demonstrates this in the skinhead style of Dr Martins, shaved heads and braces which were an attempt to re-create the lost traditional working class community. They used an exaggerated form of masculinity, toughness, independence and a resistance to authority as part of this identity.

Question 45

How did Hedgige see the Punk Subculture of Youth Culture.

Neo-Marxism

Answer 45

Hebdige saw the bricolage of the punk subculture (late 1970’s) as a form of resistance to dominant cultural values and norms. They achieved this by deliberately being ‘shocking’ in their appearance (hair, bin-liner clothes) and also behaviour (spitting, swearing etc.)

Question 46

How have Marxist views on Youth Culture been criticised?

Answer 46

Marxist views on youth subcultures have been criticised:

1. They only focus on ‘spectacular’ or high profile white working class youth subcultures. They didn’t look at middle class or subcultures based on minority ethnic groups or girl subcultures.
2. Postmodernists criticise Marxists for assuming that youth subcultures reflect the influences of social class and that they are a resistance against the dominant culture. Bennett (2001) argues that youth subcultures may not have the same meaning to those taking part as Marxists assume. It is possible that young people involved in youth subcultures don’t see themselves as resisting anything and may well be doing it just for the fun or the thrill of it!
3. Interactionist, Stanley Cohen (1972), argues that youth subcultures are not created based on gender, class, ethnicity etc. but they are largely manufactured by the media. The media create exciting headlines, link up unconnected events, styles of dress and label these groups as Mods, Rockers, Punks etc. The people involved then start to see themselves as part of a group with things in common and a youth subculture then forms. Thornton (1995 – Postmodernist) sees young people developing a sense of identity and of their position in society, and choosing their styles through what they see and hear in the media in a media-saturated society.

Question 47

How have Feminists viewed Youth Culture?

Answer 47

Feminists have emphasised that many youth culture studies have ignored the role of girls and are seen as ‘malestream’. Females were either invisible or ignored in these studies and only considered as girlfriends who tagged along with the male members of the subcultures. Marxist Feminist, McRobbie (2000) say that many youth subcultures of the 1970’s/80’s, such as punks and skinheads were male-dominated patriarchal groups.

Question 48

Feminists suggest that girls were less involved in male-dominated subcultures for 3 reasons:

Answer 48

Feminists suggest that girls were less involved in male-dominated subcultures for 3 reasons:

1. Gender role socialisation – learning conformism
2. Stricter social control by parents of girls leisure time
3. Concerns about girl’s personal safety.

Question 49

What did McRobbie and Garber in 1976 write about their Feminist view on Girls Youth Culture?

Answer 49

McRobbie and Garber (1976) found that girls subculture took the form of a ‘bedroom culture’ focused on activities such as discussing music, make-up, beauty, fashion etc.

Question 50

Lincoln on Feminism in 2004 reviewed the “Bedroom Culture”. Expand.

Answer 50

Lincoln (2004) found that this ‘bedroom culture’ is still significant in the lives of contemporary teenage girls, though the private space of the bedroom has now taken on a greater significance for boys too with the growth of the internet, such as Facebook.

Question 51

Contemporary young women are seen to be much more involved in youth subcultures outside of the home…

Continue this sentence discussing equality through Feminism in Youth Culture

Answer 51

Contemporary young women are seen to be much more involved in youth subcultures outside of the home, which have become less patriarchal, with growing female equality and success in education and employment.

Question 52

What did Hollands in 1995 find out about girls’ roles in Youth Culture

Answer 52

Hollands (1995) found girls’ roles in youth culture were becoming more similar to those of men, with females going out more frequently, spending a higher percentage of their income on nights out than their male counterparts and more involved in dance and drug subcultures.

Question 53

What did Stan Cohen study of the Media in Youth Culture in the views of Interactionism?

Answer 53

The media manufactures youth cultures through their sensationalised news reporting. Stan Cohen’s study of Mod and Rockers exemplifies this point by arguing that the media created subcultures and this then led to a moral panic and then the stigmatisation and demonization of that group of people.

Question 54

The agents of socialisation have a large role in constructing our identity, such as the media

Answer 54

Yes they do.

The agents of socialisation have a large role in constructing our identity, such as the media

Question 55

Postmodernists reject the concept of subculture. How do they regard the theories of Youth Culture?

Answer 55

They reject the concept of subculture and they regard theories of youth culture (Marxism, Functionalism, Feminism) as meta-narratives which is trying to fit people into the social structural boxes of class, gender or ethnicity.

Question 56

n a postmodern society, structural factors like social class, gender and ethnicity have become less significant as a form of identity and the formation of groups.

Discuss further.

Answer 56

In a postmodern society, structural factors like social class, gender and ethnicity have become less significant as a form of identity and the formation of groups. Culture itself is now so fragmented that it is no longer possible to talk about things like a dominant culture, mainstream culture or subcultures because all culture now just so many different tastes within a wide range of freely chosen consumer choices.

Question 57

What does Polhemus 1997 argue for as a Postmodernist discussing Youth Culture and how Age Identities have changed?

Answer 57

Polhemus (1997) argues that we have a ‘supermarket of style’, where young people can put together bricolage (pick ‘n mix) identities.

Question 58

How do young people now respond to the uncertainties and insecurities of society?

Answer 58

Young people now respond to the uncertainties and insecurities of society in an individualistic way rather than a group or collective way. They will identify themselves with many cultural groups, but these groups will be fluid and changing, temporary and short-lived. Young people now pick and mix.

Question 59

In 1995 Thornton argues that Youth Subcultures affected how by the Media in the change of Age Identities?

Answer 59

Thornton (1995) argues that youth subcultures as replaced by media-generated taste-based club and music cultures. Young people, reared on global media adapt images and ideas form the global media culture as sources of multiple identities. Class, gender and ethnicity as sources of identity are less significant and more significant are the music cultures found on the internet.

Question 60

Bennett in 1999 argues that there is a better alternative than seeing Youth Cultures.

What is Bennett’s argument?

Answer 60

Bennett (1999) argues that instead of seeing youth cultures, it is better to see the cultural activities of the young as neo-tribalism. They are no longer forming fixed youth subcultures, but now make consumer choices to identify themselves for short periods of time with a range of groups (tribes) which they move between. These tribes have fluid boundaries and only appear when they come together for particular lifestyle rituals, such as clubbing and dancing.