Theoretical views of the role and formation of youth culture

Talcott Parsons (1962)

(functionalist) Youth only emerged due to changes in the family due to the development of capitalism. In pre-capitalist societies, the transition from childhood to adulthood was marked by a rite of passage.

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Talcott Parsons (1942)

(functionalist) Youth is a time to become independent from family and develop skills such as responsibility and money management. In traditional societies there's a rite of passage, however these aren't used that much anymore (only 18th bday really).

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Eisenstadt (1956)

(functionalist) Youth culture provides a shared set of norms and values with peers and provides a safe outlet for fustration. Rebellion is normal and an essential part of reinforcing norms and values where they can distinguish themselves from parents

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Abrams (1959)

(functionalist) Youth culture was created by the media as they developed spending power and were targeted by businesses

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Roszak

(functionalist) A generation gap is developing between young people and the older generation. Youth have new ideas to the older generation on divisions based on class, gender and race

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McCron

(functionalist) Youth culture is a generation in itself and will radically change society, eliminating outdated divisions of social class

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Hall & Jefferson (1976)

(marxist) Working class people form the weakest point in the ruling class's control of society as they are not tied into the capitalist society through jobs and family commitments

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Gramsci

(neo-marxist) Hegemony - the ideological dominance or social authority that the ruling class has over the subordinate classes

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Brake (1984)

(marxist) Magic solution - each generation convinces themself they're not like their parents through forming subcultures but economic and social structures make them conform.

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CCCS

(neo-marxist) Subcultures are formed as a resistance against the ruling class and a reaction to the economic situation working-class youths find themself in

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Stan Cohen (1972)

(anti-marxist) Marxist writers were biased in their views and wanted to find resistance in subcultures so interpreted it that way

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McRobbie (1991)

(feminist) (anti-marxist) These studies ignore girls' subcultures which are very different fam

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Mcrobbie & Garber (1976)

(feminist) Girls are absent from research on youth subcultures (when they did appear it was stereotypical) - girls hang out in different places than boys and their friendship groups were close knit- so harder to study but still important

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McRobbie

(feminist) Bedroom culture - girls meet friends and chat in the home which is safe for them

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Lincoln (2004)

(feminist) Boyfriends are now allowed into the bedroom and access to the media mean there are more external influences on girls than the immediate friendship group

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Thornton (1995)

(feminist) Girls were as likely to go clubbing as boys but had less status than men because they were associated with a taste for mainstream pop music

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Reddington (2003)

(feminist) There is an active role of girls in the punk subculture e.g. Vivienne Westwood played a big role in punk fashion and sometimes punk bands were just made up of women e.g. The Slits

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Redhead (1990)

(postmodernist) Subcultures that develop outside media influence can't be sustained post-1980s. Subcultures now are formed within the media.

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Widdicombe & Wooffitt (1995)

(postmodernist) Youth subcultures have no fixed meanings as young people used them in many different ways. Meanings were forced onto them by the CCCS (for example)

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Roberts (1997)

(postmodernist) Young people pick up styles and fashion from the media and others around them with no underlying opposition or real meaning

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Maffesoli (1996)

(postmodernist) Neo-tribes - a loosely organised grouping with no fixed membership or deep commitment. Young people flit from tribe to tribe as they please. They aren't formed along social lines like gender and class.

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Bennett (1999)

(postmodernist) Nightclubs in Newcastle - neotribes based around fashion, music and lifestyle but no shared values. People mixed and matched infuences but did not define themselves as part of a particular group. Neo tribes are fluid and shifting

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Polhemus (1994)

(postmodernist) Supermarket of style - youths can create identities by pick n mixing from various cultures, fashion and music. Commitment to one style is rare and people are reluctant to give themselves labels and restrict their choices

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Theoretical views of the role and formation of youth culture

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