youth subcultures Flashcards
1
Q
Functionalism - Parsons (1942)…
A
- Youth only emerged as a social category due to changes in the family associated with capitalism.
- Youth is a transitional stage where youths must leave the security of their family and become independent in terms of status and marriage.
- Acts as a rite of passage that people must go to from childhood to adulthood so new values are learnt, such as responsibility, money management etc
2
Q
Functionalism - Eisenstadt (1956)…
A
- Youth culture brings young people into society as it provides an outlet for the tensions that come with the transition from childhood to adulthood.
- Is an accepted period of rebellion for functionalists as serves as a way to test boundaries, experiment and reinforce acceptable norms and values - contributes to social order.
3
Q
Functionalism - Abrams (1959)…
A
- Youth culture was created by the media as they emerged as a distinct group with spending power that was starting to be targeted by businesses and media.
4
Q
Criticisms of functionalism…
A
- Made generalisations about youth as a whole, they did not account for the individual differences between youths such as class, gender etc
- Ethnocentric findings as functionalist studies only come from white, middle class, American males - this means findings are unlikely to be the same in other cultures.
5
Q
Marxism - CCCS..
A
- Social class and economic situation explain the formation of youth subcultures however despite dressing/acting differently they still faced the same social conditions as their class as a whole.
- Subcultures were a form of resistance against the ruling class and a reaction to the economic situation they were in.
6
Q
Marxism - Skinheads - Clarke (1979)…
A
- Represented an exaggerated form of working class identity by wearing an extreme form of manual workers clothes (rolled up jeans, big boots) and had aggressive/racist manners
- They felt their working class identity was under threat due to economic conditions so were over exaggerating as a form of resistance.
7
Q
Marxism - Teddy boys - Jefferson (1976)…
A
- Emerged in a time of high employment but since they did bad in school they only had dead end futures to look forward to.
- As resistance they wore bright coloured jackets, suede shoes etc to symbolise that they were trying to be like their middle class superiors and wore ties like cowboys who were cool role models in the media.
8
Q
Marxism - Mods - Hebdige (1980)…
A
- Used their money to create a style as resistance against the middle class to show they could also be cool and smart with Italian suits and scooters.
9
Q
Marxism - Punks - Hebdige (1980)…
A
- Bricolage is punk cultures way of reusing ordinary objects and putting them back together in a new way.
- Emerged as resistance against dominance of mainstream media and fashion industries that were telling youths how to be.
10
Q
Marxism - Brake (1980)…
A
- Subcultures had ‘magical’ solutions rather than practical as they make lower classes feel like they have power but they ultimately end up conforming to society through social control.
11
Q
Criticisms of Marxism…
A
- Didn’t consider female subcultures in their analysis
- Ignored middle class subcultures as they were only seen as a working class thing e.g. hippies
- Most youths don’t join a subculture so they ignored these youths
- Todays youth is different to that of the 60s and 70s and if subcultures did exist they’d be much different due to things like modern technology
12
Q
Feminism - McRobbie and Garber (1976)…
A
- Girls were absent from most research on youth subcultures and when they did it reinforced stereotypical views of girls as girlfriends of the male members or commented on their attractiveness.
- Researchers were mainly male so don’t develop a rapport with female members like they would with males.
13
Q
Feminism - Bedroom culture - McRobbie and Garber (1976)…
A
- Girls were restricted by expectations of early marriage, had less freedom than males and experienced stricter social control
- Bedroom culture - girls had a culture surrounding their bedroom where they got together to do hair, makeup, gossip, read magazines as resistance to the expectations of parents and boys
14
Q
Feminism - Ragga girls - McRobbie (1994)…
A
- Intersection of gender and ethnicity as resistance against sexism in Ragga culture.
- Girls would dance in sexually explicit ways to ridicule male sexism and open up their own culture space. They challenged the lyrics of the songs they danced to to reclaim their sexuality and assert their own identities.
15
Q
Feminism - Punk girls - Reddington (2003)…
A
- There have been active female members of subcultures such as Vivienne Westwood
- Punk acted as resistance for women who were against getting married, however were judged severely compared to male punks.
