culture and idendity case studies

Jencks (1993) and Woodward (2000) and how they agree on defeining culture

They both emphasize that culture encompasses shared beliefs, values, practices, and social norms that shape individual and group identities.

Marshall (1998)

expanded on the concept of culture by highlighting its dynamic nature and the role of power in shaping cultural identities. It was “socially transmitted than biologically transmitted”

morgan (1996)

Socialisation is about social control and encouraging conformity:

+sending and renofocing socially acceptable behaviour and punishes deviance

+encourages children to become ‘civilised’ e.g. toilet training.

+introduces cultural expectations of what is expected of you if you are a boy or girl.

parsons

family is the personality factory, stabilising adults personality by preventing them from acting disruptive and encouring social control thus encouraging social conformity as the norm.

Zaretsky's view on the how the family operates in relation to capitalism

believes the family plays a key role in capitalism by socializing individuals to accept norms that benefit the ruling class, instilling values like obedience and conformity in children to ensure they willingly participate in and perpetuate exploitation.

Gramsci

Neo-marxist view on culture

Some people may develop dual-class consciousness (be aware of their exploitation but think that they’re fine so don’t try to stop the repressive system oppressing them).

Frankfurt school (Marcuse)

neo-marxist views on culture

+since the 1960’s culture has been dumbed down to distract the masses from their expolitaian.

+Adversating and media created a ‘one-dimensional’ man obbssed with material goods. political alternatives to the status quo is underminded; pop culture deliberating undermines though provoking art.

Mead and Blumer (interactionist views on culture)

culture is open to change- as traditional roles like ‘mother’ and ‘father’ change; the culture of a society will also change.

Goffman (interactionist views on culture)

norms develop and grow though everyday interactions between individuals consequently creating many different unwritten rules.

Fiske (1995)- mass culture

cultural aspects of mass culture (films, tv, etc) produced by a industrialzed system whose aim it is to maxima profits by appealing to as many consumers as possible.

Cohen (1995): working class delinquent subcultures

wc boys express their frutastion about their inability to socially progress as conventinal routes (like employment or school) aren’t avaliable SO they reject the principles of the mainstream cultural values and form their own subcultures.

Flew (2007)

Tech devolpment has led to Americanzation (when an individual/group adopt the norms/values of ‘mainstream’ American’ culture.

Ritzer (1993)

McDonlandisation- process when fast food principles dominate every aspect of society, destroying local cultures.

Boudieu

high cultures are allegedly supiour to pop culture cos they have the power to impose values on the rest of society.

Storey

now the elite are also consuming mass culture, e.g. Banksy being sold for millions.

Elizabeth Wilson- Adorned in Dreams: Fashion and Modernity

study of fashions cultural, sociological and political significance:

High/Low culture in this study:

• Wilson challenges the traditional divide between the high fashion (high-quality and elite) vs the low fashion (poor-quality and everyday clothes). agrees that the low fashion influences the mainstream fashion.

Giddens (2006)

popular culture defined as “enteriment created for large audiences such as popular shows, music and films’.

the hijab is perceived very differently in different circles e.g. repressive in feminist circles but potivlly in muslim communities

Lawler: sameness and difference

How cultural identity is shaped by both the desire for sameness and the expression of difference, emphasizing the interplay between individual identity and differences. Some are fixed; some are chosen.

Giddens and Sutton

Identity is a combo of individual factors and social influnces, but it’s still a social construct.

There are two idendities:

• Primary identity: formed by primary socialsation and is more fixed e.g. your social class or ethnicity.

• Secondary identity: developed through secondary socialization, includes influences from friend groups, media you consume, and your life experiences. It allows for change and adaptation over time as we adapt, change and achieve over time.

Stuart (1996)

A neo-marxist.

Tracked the evolution of idendity:

• 16th/17th century: identity was a concept based around the individual with it being like the soul- your permanent inner core. Strongly linked to religious beliefs of the time.

• Mead (1934): The sociological view emerged. Our identity (or inner core) is a mouldable and constantly changing thing that adapts though our social interactions. This theory emphasizes that identity is partly influenced by external social factors rather than being a fixed essence.

• Post modernism: Identity is temporary and adapts with our situation at the time. e.g. nike identities for girls in while in school.

Cooley (1902): Looking glass self

How people respond and interact to our behaviour is evidence of who we are with their beliefs acting as a mirror to us, reflecting ideas about our self-identity and perception though social feedback.

Becker: Labelling theory

Labels become our master status that then shape our interactions and identity because that part of our identity becomes dominant and overrides all other aspects of our self.

Goldberg (1979)

males have ‘domince tendency’ ; therefore, are more likely to hold dominant roles in society. Hence, a glass ceiling exists as women inherently are less dominant in work fields as men; the patrichary exists because of the biological fact that men are more dominant than women.

Tiger and Fox (1967)

Men and woman are predisposed to behave in certain ways:

• women are more maternal and have kids so its natural for them to be the default caregivers.

• Men are aggressive and dominate so it’s illogical for them to be the caregivers and homemaker, rather the breadwinner.

Parsons

Women should take the expressive role (personality stabilisation , emontual support and child rearing) whereas men should take the instrumental role (provide economic support and discipline for the family). Links strongly to the warm bath theory.

mead (1935)

Went to New Guinea- a geographically remote area- and found out about 3 tribes that all exhibited different types of masculinity and feminity, emphasising how binary the western system is:

• Arapesh: both sexes were gentle and submissicve (femeine traits).

• Mundugamoor: both sexes are masculine as they’re both aggressive and rough.

• Tchambuli: the western gender roles were reversed with men being the gossipers; women being the ones who made the sexual advances.

While she did actively seek out these conclusions- subconscious bias in research- dimisnsing the creditability of her work- these results are nonetheless still revealing and worth paying attention to.

Oakley (1982)

Familys encourage the construction of gender identity through 2 main ways:

• manipulation: how parents encourage or discourage behaviour based on what sex their child is; thus, how approbate it is for them.

• Canalisation: How parents channel their Childs interest into toys and activities that are seen as normal for their sex.

Banyard (2011)

Girls subjected to sexist bullying in schools

Epstein

WC boys labelled as ‘sissy’ or ‘femine’ if they are seen to be trying in school; are then subjected to homophobia.

Statham (1986)

studied parents who delibiatlry tried to raise their children in a gender neutral environment but realised that it was near impossible as by 5, most children had acquired a clear gender identity and what behaviour was apporaite for their gender identity.

Billington et al (1998)

media deceits masculinity and femsinty as very different things. Men are dominant whereas women are submissive.:

• Women are presented as objects (hence the sexy lamp test where if you can replace a female character with a lamp you’ve failed- Age of ultron fails).

• Women rarely in high-status occuptions.

• Women in a narrow range of roles.

Simone De Beavoir’s view on religion and its impact of gender

The radical feminist thinks that men use religion to control, oppress and (my POV- abuse women/girls- children of god with many underage brides for instance and warren Jeff’s 65 wives). Then to compotosne for their unhappy lives as 2nd class citizens on earth, heaven is promised as being amazing but they can’t prove that it exists.

Daly

Chritsinay is patrichal. the new testament says “women obey your husbands”.

Connell (2002)

Hegemonic femeineity/masculnity (domiant beliefs about gender roles):

• there are different roles in the family

• women are emontial whereas men are stoic and logical

• women judged by appearance, whereas men judged by skills and intelligence

• men can be sexually promicious, but women can’t (madonna-whore dichotomy)

Woodward

Motherhood is a source of female identity; while it may appear to be a constant, stable presence because of biology it’s still a social construct. Women with no children are still femeine so it’s a very flawed, illogical aguemenrt e.g. childfree (choice or not), women who aren’t naturally maternal are all still femeine. Feminity exists outside of womanhood.

Radical feminists (like Firestone) believe that the belief that women’s role as the childrearer/maker is a key orgingin point of female opprreson and gender inequality in general.

Adler (1975)

Increased criminal activity amongst women due to the women’s liberation of the 1970’s as they had more confidence.

Jackson (2006)

Laddish behaviour was found in schools; that girls were starting adapt the same behaviour as the anti-school subculture boys.

Wilkinson (gender quake)

relation of women’s ambitions as their piriotires have changed- now women more likely to be childfree and unmarried.

Walker (2010)

Despite increased independence, women face. a new type of sexism: having their identity relvvining around their attractiveness.

Hakim

women who embrace their roles as a trad wife idendifty with it.

Gilmore (1990)

In cinema men are decpited in one of 3 ways: the impregantor, provider or procetor

Nayak

In the 1950’s body captial happened. When men who worked hard physcial labour jobs all day because of their strong physique, got out of doing housework at home because of their job as breadwinner.

Connell- types of masculinity

1- Hegemonic: they accept their male idendity

2-Complicit: most men accept and participate in the system but still benefit from it

3-Subordinate: don’t practise the gender constrincants that align with hegemonic identity (LGBTQ+IA men)

4-Marginalised: they benefit because of the patrichary but are still marginasled because of something else e.g. race, disability or class

Mort (1998)

Meterosexual: heterosexual men who are emontially mature and care about their appearance more (in 2022 7% of plastic sugary was done on men).

Mac an Ghail

Hegemonic masculinity (the domiant, socially constructed masculinity most prized in society) is experiencing a ‘crisis of masculinty’ where men are unsure on what the role they’re meant to be playing is making them feel lost.

Rutherford

‘retributive masculinty’- a return to traditional male dominance and concerns. focus on aggression; poss why in 2024 when Lancaster uni did a study on domestic violence and football they found it went up 38% if England lost; 24% if England won or drew.

1.6 million women at risk of DV during 2022 Fifa World Cup (held in winter so men at home).

every four days a woman is murdered by her partner.

Scott (1991)- upper class identity

• Education: boarding schools and top private schools (Eton- 36% of British PMs attended there) followed by top unis (oxbridge) where a ‘old boys’ network forms.

• Kinship, marriage and family: Intermarriage common

• Social leisure activities: execsluive social events based on astrtoic traditions e.g. Henley regatta

• Parent’s socialise their children with distinctly upper class values e.g. accepting of privilege and heirarchy with leisure actives focusing on high culture.

Scott (1982)

high degree of social cohesion- main support for one system of kinship and education.

Macintosh and Mooney (2000)

Wealth and privilege isn’t visible e.g. private schools and social networks are invisible to the non-wealthy.

Roberts (2011)

There are two different types of upper class:
1- New upper class: those who made their wealth from mining and industry

2- old upper class: made up of the aristocracy who got their wealth from land ownership

Roberts (2011)- overarching shared values of the middle class

values that are shared are:

• emphases career succss

• value home ownership

• encourage academic success in educadtion

• belief in meritcracy and deferred gratification

Lawler (2005)

middle class secures and maintains it’s identity though a sense of superiority over the white working class

Savage (1995): the 4 disctinint middle class groups/idendities

1- the professionals/professional identity:

• subscribe to a intellectual identity gained from long and succcessful education (e.g. doctors or lawyers)

• Altruistic values- service to society

• High levels of cultural capital- place value on knowledge, qualifications and achievement

2- Managers:

• less qualified than professionals with reduced job jeopdaery due to globlization, recession and take-overs.

• less likely to have worked their way up in a company so define their identity based on standard of living and leisure pursuits.

3- Self employed owners of small business (peitie bourgeois)

4- White collar workers

Roberts- self employed workers

self employed workers will be

-individualstic

-believe in hard work and displince with success coming from effort, not luck

-people should be independent; NOT rely on the welfare state

-essentially: they believe in meritocracy and the new-right

McKensie (2006)

redundant steel workers maintained a strong sense of social solidtary; saw society as divided between the working class and ruling classes. e.g. some areas of north, s.wales, East end still have the traditional forms of wc culture

Steggs (2015)

reality TV and gameshows portray chavs as lazy, immoral and uncultured people, e.g. the Jeremy kyle show or little britain

Goldthorpe (1968)

the new working class identity means that people see work as a means to the end, rather than a source of community, status or identity.

White trad middle class:

• no sense of political loyalty

• believe in individualism rather than collectivism

• define their identities though life style and families.

Weltman (2008)

the “chav” stereotype devalues the working class’s tastes and culture.

Karl marx and Frederick Engels view on social class

saw social class in terms of differences in wealth, specially ownership go the means of production as a way to disntugsh it

Savage et al (2013): classes in the Great British Class Survey

7 classes:
1- Elite

2- Established middle class

3- Technical middle class

4- New affluent workers

5- Traditional working class

6- Emergency service worker

7-precarit

Boudreaux (1971)- habitus

agured that social class creates its own habits- cultural framework and set of ideas

Charles Murray view on underclass (new-right)

He characteristics the underclass as

• having high levels of lone parenthood and family instability

• crime, welfare dependency and drug abuse

• exclusion from school and educational failure in general

Charlesworth and Jordan

strucalists

• People are born into poverty due to structural factors beyond their control e.g. globalisation with there being detrimental impacts on their overall well being because of having to claim unemolpyment and benefits with a loss in self-respect, mental health challenges and physcial issues.

• Those in poverty devalue themselves and turn to substance abuse/anti-social behaviour to cope. hence, the poverty trap as those who benefit from benefits can only access lower paid jobs.

Murray

new right perspective

• membership of the underclass is voluntary and those in it are happy to be part of a culture that priotzes idleness and immorality; relies on benefits/crimes for income.

• children of those in the underclass are being socialised into this culture; they’ll eventually become anti-authority and workshy.

• Absent fathers is also a prominent issue with Katie Hopkins saying “I do not want to pay for other people’s children”- leads to crime.

Kohn

the working class stress over obideance, command over communication and demands that the child figures out what the parent wants with material rewards and punishment- very similar to workplace.

the middle class use symbolic rewards and punishments, communicate, parent’s figure out the Childs need’s with a stress on autonomy (their workplace)

• both stances reflective of their socio-economic class and the work they do.

Clarke and Saunders (1991)

post-modernists

• consumer society means that people are no longer defined by their class and earnings, but with how they spend it. people are aware of the messages their spending habits share about our tastes and lifestyles.

Paluski and Walters (1990)

class less important as a source of idendity as people have more choice over who they want to be e.g. white koreaboos

Lash and Urry

the importance of class subcultures has weakned as cultural choices, tastes and lifestyles have become more indivuslauric; less informed by commonalties and work.

Bradley

class is a weaker source of identity; while it’s still important there are more important sources e.g. race, sexuality or gender.

Guardian/ICM (2007)

A poll that says that 89% of partipcants still believed that class had a sifgningaet influence on their lives

British Social Attitudes (2015)

annual survey that found that 60% of people identity as working class- hasn’t changed since 1983

Bilington et al (1998)

Sexuality is natural, but it’s also shaped by culture as there is a complex interplay between biology and culture.

Sexuality as a source of power- those who have power can dictate the “truth” of sexuality that everyone must follow.

Rich (1984)

the emergence of gay and lesbian subcultures are remarkable considering the effort the west has put into promoting comp-het

these ideas are mainly transmitted though media as there are still blantaly homophobic societies e.g. hate crimes and the police’s treatment of Nilsen.

Stonewall (2017)

1/5 LGBT+IA people have experienced a hate crime in the last year

Michael Foucault (1976)

how sexuality is expressed depends on the current social discourse.

Sexuality is a series of categories invented by humans; all modern sexualities must go though a form of normalisation.

Kinsley report (1948+53)

homosexual encounters are more common in 1940s/early 50s than would be expected in a era where homosexuality was still defined as a mental illness.

• e.g. there were ‘friends of dorothy’ was a common euphemism of the time to safely disclose their sexuality to others in a potentially unsafe environment.

Weeks (1987)

Queer people expected to come out and disclose their identity, straight people aren’t. So chosen familys are very important as the impact of community can either be positive or negative.

Plummer (1996)

homosexuality is a process- called the “homosexual career” where accepting the label of gay means that the person will actively seek out idenditys and subcultures. Thus, queer identity is a mix of nature and nuture.

Reiss (1961)

Male prostitutes regard themselves as heterosexual.

Goffman (1968)

homosexuality carries less social stigma than it did historically- establishing a homosexuality identity that is less pyschologicaly painful that it was in the past.

Taylor

gay women have a lower social profile compared to men- radical feminism. Leds to lavender menaces and lacking lesbian rep in media.

McCormack and Anderson

boys express less anti-Gay attitudes and homophobic language. this shows a increase in expansion of hetero-masculine boundaries as boys are able to express physical tatictily and emontial matutruay with no label.

However, presumptions of heterosexuality remain with heteronormaity.

Best (2005)- biomedical model

disability is seen in relation to a person’s ability to fully partpicate in activities that non-disabled abled bodied folk take for granted. Thus, these diabilities are viewed as inferior as it assumes that disability is to be ‘abnormal’.

Shakespear

society contrusctts disability when the needs of the person with the impairment are not considered ‘normal’. Glasses are normal, a wheelchair is not.

Finklestein (1980)

Marxist perspective

• Society;s negative perception of disability could be the product of capitalism with the emphasis on work as a source of identity, status and power resulting in disabled people becoming economic burdens for society, being called ‘abnormal’.

• Physcial disabilities only as autistic people have traits compatible with the industrial revolution e.g. Nikola Tesla and electricity.

Goffman (1970)

there is a stigma associated with disability because it is perceived as a ‘spoiled’ identity.

Watson (1998)

perception of disabled people is based on the stereotypical ideas of dependency and helpless. This makes them have a negative viewpoint of themselves and their identity.

Scott (1998)

Study on blind people suggested that they develop a ‘blind idendity’ because they interlize the expert’s views that they should experience pyschlogical problems when adjusting to sight loss.

Cumberbatch and Negrile (1992)

media represntion rarely presents disabled people as a person who happens to to be disabled- focusing on the disability. Issac from Sex Education is the exact opposite of this.

Wood (2012)

The lacklustre represention of disabled people in media is a result of disabled people rarely being employed in media.

Davies (1992)

there are 12 common stereotypes of disabled people e.g. the geek.

Antle (2004)

children with disabilities don’t qualitatively differenante themselves from non-disabled childen. So society’s labels are to blame for negative self-perepction (social theory of disability)

Olney and Kim (2001)

in unstructured interviews disabled people told the researchers that they were positive about their disabilities, despite society’s messaging that they should be negatively perceived.

-learned helplessness is real

Gellner (1983)

A national identity means a shared culture and education. Therefore, social cohesion maintained.

Modood (2013)

Multicultural societies content national identitys so minorty groups feel excluded

Anderson (1983)

Nations are ‘imagined communities’ so symbols create belonging as no way to meet every person in the country.

Kumor (2003)

English identity is difficult to express due to the links with imperialism; less overt than a Scottish/Irish/Welsh identity

Billington

National idendity is mostly taken for granted.

Only consincly think about them while abroad or watching deceptions of our nationality by Hollywood or American telly/sporting events like the 6 nations.

This is how we learn that national idendity’s includes a range of disditnict and subtle differences that mark our cultural discitantion between ‘us’ and ‘them’.

Case study about national idendity’s.

Goldbalt et al

The british idendity relovles around five key themes

1- Geography: Britain is an island so clear boarders from Europe.

2- Religion: Protestantism is the domanit relgious idendity with religion playing a huge role in moments of national celebration e.g. god save the king before a rugby match.

3-War: reinforces ‘us’ and ‘them’ mentaility with clear enemies. Events like remerbance day symbolise sacrifice for a nation.

4-British empire: the success of the imperial power brings a sense of achievement and pride as we were so powerful.

5-Monachary and cultural symbols: e.g. the union jack and the crown is seen as an integral part of Britain as a whole.

Hall (1992)

Every nation has a collection of stories, images, symbols about its shared experiences allowing people to express their national idendity.

British examples: flags, festivals (bonfire night), national anthem, stories (WW2), national heroes (CH), sports teams, food/drink (tea and fish+chips), music and national dress.

A neo-marxist.