1A the formation of youth culture/ subculture

what ages refer to the stage of transition

ages 15-25

what is youth

a stage of transition between childhood and adulthood, usually seen as happening between the ages of 15-25

berger

youthfulness is a personal quality

• an attitude to life not just a matter of age

• not all young people are youthful and many youthful people are not young

  • regardless of age youthful people are impulsive, spontaneous, energetic, playful, thrill seeking

pilcher

youth is centred on a withdrawal from family and parental control

• this leads to concerns of youth being vulnerable, needing protection from corrupting influences

• youth is a carefree time with little responsibilities but still need care to stop them from becoming deviant

Roberts

discovered 3 types of transitions

bemba and funali = abrupt transitions

in contemporary uk, compulsory state education is streched to the age of 18, meaning they live with parents longer, making the transition extend into their early or mid 20s =0.333 mins gradual transition meaning the transition takes place over time and slowly gain more rights and roles and status

lengthy transition = 13-25, more time being reliant upon parents

Roberts argues that ever since the early 20th century there was no clear defined ysc in the uk

hall and Jefferson

the teddy boys from a marxist perspective

• an attempt to recreate wc community

• mostly wc lads who felt a sense of threat from the growing immigration and formed groups with a sense of loyalty to protect territory

• with new disposable incomes of the post war period they brought Edwardian styled suits (originally worn by aristocrats and upper class) to challenge and resist dominant ideologies on social class

• worn drainpipe trousers

• suede shoes

• listened to American rock and roll

• elephant trunks as a large quiff

• did minor crimes like petty theft and graffiti/ fights but they had a reputation for far worse than they actually did and they were seen as criminal by the media but the media fabricated the truth as always

• were seen as criminal but did not have a hierarchy like most gangs

• what mattered most to them was 'attracting ‘birds’, music, fashion rather than breaking the law

• teddy girls wore pencil skirts, doc martins, Rolle dup jeans and played a secondary role within this ysc

davies

study on subcultures in the 2000s found they differed little from the values of their parents

• meaning that few young people had a distinctive rebellious subculture instead they were being conformist and conservative

timeline of emergences of ysc

early 20th century - no defined ysc in the uk

1950s = youth began to emerge as separate identities

1954 = term teenager first used as being ‘the feeling of being betwixt and between’

bemba girls and Fulani boys

• a Bemba girl living in Zambia becomes a woman on the first day of her period. she will then have the same rights and status as other Bemba adult women: allowed to marry, have kids, fulfil the role of wife and mother

• Fulani boys only become adults once completed a ritualistic whipping ceremony. after they gain full rights and dusts of other adult Fulani males meaning they can marry ad become a provider

why did ysc emerge in the 1950s?

1944 education act

• made it compulsory for every kid 11-15 to attend state secondary education. before this most people left school at 11 and their transition was abrupt however the education act 1944 made it a gradual transition.

• the education skills act 2008 made it compulsory for kids to stay In full time education till 18.

early 20th century - no defined ysc in the uk

1950s = youth began to emerge as separate identities

1954 = term teenager first used as being ‘the feeling of being betwixt and between’

culture ?

means a shared and learned way of life

youth subculture?

suggests that young people have a distinctive and different way of life from other ages

4 factors of ysc emerging since 1950s

• 1: Education

• : education act 1944 - mandatory education from 11-15/ The education and skills act 2008 - mandatory education till 18

• 2: The media and advertising

• during post war period radios became influential and made it easier for companies to target this new age group as a new consumer market / hula hoop was the first product targeted at the youth

• 3: the economy

• post ww2 the economy grew and it made jobs relevantly easy for young people 15-18 to work. this increased their spending power and led to new styles, hair and makeup

• 4: Immigration

• gov decided to recruit from across the commonwealth and large numbers of immigrants arrived nicknamed ‘the wind rush generation’ who were from the Caribbean and India to work low paid Jobs in hospitals and transport

• this gave a rise to racism and concerns about loosing British identity which then led to the progression of ysc like the teddy boys.