Media & Collective Identity History of Youth Culture & Stereotypes

Key Question How these representations can be seen as different to historical representations of the same groups Important to be able to compare with past examples Knowledge of difference

Ask yourself…. When do you think the teenager emerged as an important social group? What age does youth begin and end? Why do you think youths were seen as important? What elements of the stereotype still remain today? Do you think the stereotype has changed?

When did it all start? ‘In one pitched battle that obtained considerable publicity, a gang of about twenty youths were described, said to be known as the ‘Chelsea Boys’, who ‘armed with sticks and stones were fighting a contingent of similar young ruffians from Battersea’ at Cheyne Walk by the River Thames’ (The Daily Graphic, 18 August 1898)’ Taken from ‘Youth in Crisis? Gangs, Territoriality and Violence’ Edited by Barry Goldson (pg 26-27)

Birmingham – The Peaky Blinders http://www.spaghettigazetti.com/2010/12/gangs-of-victorian-birmingham-revealed.html

Dedicated followers of fashion and vilification One thing that quickly became apparent is that the ‘hooligans’ had adopted a uniform dress-style. The main features were bell-bottom narrow-go-wide trousers cut tight at the knee and flared at the bottom…..Gang members also had identical hair styles Newspaper reports frequently depicted the ‘London’ hooligans cluttering up the streets in noisy gatherings, swearing at passers-by, spitting on them, and sometimes assaulting and robbing them Taken from ‘Youth in Crisis? Gangs, Territoriality and Violence’ Edited by Barry Goldson (pg 26-27)

When does youth begin? It is hard to define with youth begins and ends We can get married at 16 with parental consent We can drive a car at 17 We can vote and drink alcohol at 18 Many people are dependent on parents well into their twenties

Living with Parents

Youth Culture

Youth Culture In other cultures, the transition from childhood to adulthood is marked with no period of ‘youth’ Individuals may undergo a ‘rite of passage’ http://www.cracked.com/article_16313_the-5-most- terrifying-rites-manhood-from-around-world.html Do you feel there are certain moments in life which signal the transition from childhood to adulthood?

Youth as Social Construct Experience and definition of youth is socially constructed Society constructs the way we understand and experience youth and it differs from culture to culture In the past, youth would be seen as something very different Children in the mid 1800s and early 1900s (Victorian era) would begin work at the age of 5 Today there is a high value on childhood and it is protected by law

Emergence of the teenager Prior to WWII young people had little freedom or influence There are a number of factors that affected the changing nature of youth culture. These are: Post-War Baby Boom Affluence & Women in Work Rise of Consumer Culture Contraceptive Pill Extension of education These changes meant that young people had a differentiated experience 1960s Britain is often seen as the most important moment in the emergence of UK youth culture

Punk Rockers

Goths

Hipsters http://visual.ly/evolution-hipster

Subcultures What similarities can we identify between punks, goths and hipsters? Why are music and fashion so important in the creation of a subculture? Why do you think it is important to you to identify with a group? http://www.ymresourcer.com/model/subcult1.htm

Subcultures & differences in western youth culture If teenagers are all offered he same cultural experience, why do some conform and others rebel? Subcultures allows us to see the different aspects of youth Increased subcultures can be seen as a result of: Our population size Rate of change in society Globalisation Marginalisation of youth Number of young people

'It seems that we can only be interesting if we are smoking, snorting or stabbing' http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/apr/15/stereotypes-young-people

Stereotypes What are some of the stereotypes associated with youth? Look at the following video on Mods & Rockers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r61ks18Bd7I Do you think there are any similarities with contemporary youths? Do you think the representation of youth today can be seen as a form of moral panic?

David Buckingham ‘Identity is fluid and changeable’ Generation X (1960-1980) Labeled as the MTV generation Saw introduction of cable, music television, home computers, internet World view is based on ‘change’ Generation Y (1980-2000) Increased narcissism Sense of entitlement Trophy Kids Entertainment industry was fragmented Generation Z (2000-Present) Highly “connected” Digital Natives

UK Tribes (Subcultures Today)

Summary Can we see any similarities between the representation of youth (or hooligans) in the Victorian era and the youth of today? How is the period of youth defined? What are the reasons for the proliferation of subcultures? What is the impact of stereotyping? What power do audiences have to resist stereotypes? Extension: David Buckingham – ‘identity is fluid and changeable’ (2008) http://www.slideshare.net/spingwoodmedia/david-buckingham