2B: Social Class & Youth Subcultures

The working class join youth subcultures to resist capitalism

what did Hebdige (Marxist) say about this concerning punks

political message, capitalism

Hebdige (Marxist) agrees that punks were making a symbolic statement against consumerism and capitalism.

He argues that punks set out to deliberately shock the establishment and society by adopting a style which re-used ordinary household objects like bin-liners and safety pins as well as deviant symbols such as the swastika and sexual bondage gear.

They wanted to symbolically resist the dominant cultural values of British society of the time and behind the punk movement was a claim to ‘speak for the neglected youth’ and a desire to ‘act out’ in a time of rising youth unemployment and industrial decline.

Therefore, Hebdige believes that these working-class youths formed a politically motivated subculture to change society.

the working class join youth subcultures to resist capitalism

Willis (Marxist) argument of teenn boys and resistance of ruling class oppression.

Willis (Marxist) also argues that the working class are likely to join rebellious youth subcultures to resist ruling class oppression.

The boys he studied seemed to be rebellious when they became aware of the futility of the system.

Their subculture was formed to resist oppression from teachers, and to fight against being dominated and controlled.

Willis suggested that the anti-school subculture he observed was based on political motives as these students were seen to be ‘semi class-conscious’

what would postmodernists say in argument to the idea that the working class joining youth subcultures to resist capitalism

Postmodernists would argue that youth subcultures today and over the past 20 years or so are much more based on individualism, choice, style and shared meaning rather than a rebellion against capitalism or ‘the system’

what would functionalists such as davis and more say in argument to the idea that the working class joining youth subcultures to resist capitalism

Some youth subcultures also actually support the concept of capitalism and a free market economy rather than rebel against it and functionalists such as Davis and Moore would argue that youth subcultures help young persons find an identity through role allocation (e.g. starting with a low paid job, testing boundaries in terms of styles, clothing and identity), thus supporting the capitalist system.

what would feminists say in argument to hebidge and the idea that the working class joining youth subcultures to resist capitalism

Feminists would also criticise Hebdige and his focus on social class frustration as they believe that rebellion against patriarchy is the main reason for female deviant youth subculture

what do interactionist argue concerning the fact that Working class youth subcultures are more likely to be labelled as deviant

Interactionist theorists are interested in challenging the assumption that certain classes are more likely to be deviant.

They suggest that how the police and agents of social control such as teachers behave leads to labels that are not necessarily a reflection of the truth or social reality

Cicourel carried out observations with police and criminal justice services in California. What did he find.

He found that the process of dealing with potential deviants involves 3 stages and relies on a series of interactions and labelling.

Stage 1 – the police stop, interrogate, and search an individual, based on their interpretations of what behaviour is ‘suspicious’ or ‘unusual’.

Stage 2 – the police arrest the individual, depending on their appearance, attitude and manner and the replies the suspect gives to the police.

Stage 3 – the probation officer has a picture of a ‘typical delinquent’ (from a ‘broken home’, school problems, ‘foul’ language, restricted code and ‘bad attitude’) and assesses the suspect to see if they fit the profile

If the individual was middle class, they would often be apologetic and polite and so no further action would be taken.

If arrested, middle class parents are far more likely to come to the police station to “prove” they were a ‘good’ family, which may mean escaping being charged or labelled.

Cicourel states that justice can be ‘negotiated’ depending on your social class and status.

what was Clare Alexander’s research on the Myth of the Asian Gang, 2002.

She showed how working class British Asian men were more likely to be labelled as a deviant gang despite being just a group of friends.

Her study focused on the 2001 Oldham riots, where young Asian men confronted the police and National Front demonstrators to protest about racism but were quickly labelled by much of the mainstream media as criminals intent on creating a “no-go” area for white people.

She also points out that the label 'gang' itself comes heavily pre-loaded with racial stereotypes and is the result of the “practical criminalization” of Asian (male) youth, a process previously restricted in its application to Afro-Caribbean communities.

what do Functionalists Cloward and Ohlin argue about working class and “blocked legitimate oppurtunities”

Functionalists Cloward and Ohlin point out that working class youths are blocked from legitimate opportunities that the middle classes enjoy (education, work, etc) and therefore participate in illegitimate opportunities (drug dealing, theft, etc) to gain status in life.

Therefore, it is not always just a label attached to the working-class youths as it may actually be a true reflection of crime and deviance in society.

what does cohen say about lower class apiring tot wprking class academically but failing

Cohen, tells us that 'lower-class' boys tried to emulate middle-class values and aspirations, but lacked the means to attain success.

Failing at school led to status frustration and so they inverted the values system and started to reward each other for poor behaviour and failure – they gave status to the worst behaved because they judged that to be ‘cool’.

what does archer argue about the idea of ‘the street’ for working class boys

Archer suggests that the idea of “the street” and hanging out is more exciting and accessible to working class boys than mainstream school, which also links to this idea of status frustration and looking for validation and status outside of the classroom.

King and Smith studied the high street retailer Jack Wills, which promotes an upperclass lifestyle, what does this highlight

An embrace of ‘Jack Wills culture’ by members of the upper class therefore represents a reaction to the anxiety about, or a desire to maintain their high status and prestige within this growing social class mix of students.

The ‘Jack Wills Crowd’ is an example of a desire to stand out from the ’rest’ (plebs) and to delineate themselves from the rest of the student cohort

Postmodern theorists such as Katz reject the notion that subcultural membership is class based, what do they believe instead

They argue that social class is no longer a key element of our identity since we now have choices based on consumerism, so postmodernists oppose the Marxist theory of subcultures, or at least suggesting that these are irrelevant for the UK of the 21st century.