Deviant Subcultures

Question 1

What are he two types of delinquency?

Answer 1

1) expressive: excitement is the main motivating factor

2) Instrumental - financial gain is the main motivating factor

Question 2

AO1 on Clarke’s research on Skinheads

Answer 2

• skin heads were a spectacular subculture who expressed their identity by dress : wore Doc Marten boots, short hair, denim jackets and were violent and territorial
• skinheads had hatred and were racists towards immigrants and ethnic minorities, particularly Asians, as they felt that their territory and jobs were being threatened
• skinheads took inspiration from the Rude Boys and Afro-Caribbean culture as they listened to ska and reggae music

Question 3

AO3 on Clarke’s research on the skinheads

Answer 3

• Pearce contradicts Clarke and says that the Skinheads weren’t delinquent but the media portrayed them as folk devils (-)
• not all skinheads were white working class males (there were skinheads fro other ethnicities that were also territorial) (-)
• Bricolage where skinheads took inspiration from Afro-Caribbean music is supported by post-mornings e.g Polemus’ Supermarket of Style

Question 4

AO1 on Punk Rockers

Answer 4

• rebellious and spectacular youth subculture
• they shave part of the hair and dyed the rest a bright colour
• punk lyrics talked about unemployment, sex, riots which appealed to the working class
• this subculture led to high unemployment rates
• punk rockers were mainly working class/ middle class youths who had no job, no future and bad education

Question 5

AO3 on punk rockers

Answer 5

— the term ‘punk’ has negative connotation and is an insult which contributes to negative labelling the punk rockers faced
- the punk era allowed people to explore their identity, be an individual and their free will - supported by post-modernists (+)
-

Question 6

AO1 on Cloward and Ohlin’s work

Answer 6

• working class face peer pressure to deviate and become part of a criminal subculture as they had less opportunity to succeed by legitimate means (e.g job)
  3 possible routes people go into as a result of having no opportunity to succeed:
• Criminal subculture (lots of crime occurs, monetary reward)
  -conflict subculture (lots of gang violence used to have prestige and control)
• retreatist subculture (double failures, cant even successful be part of a deviant subculture)

Question 7

AO3 on Cloward and Ohlins’s work

Answer 7

• its a sophisticated theory that supports Cohen’s theory on status frustration (+)
• not all deviant fail at being successful by legitimate means (e.g. people reject jobs to focus on family)