WJEC Sociology: SY1

 Discuss the view that youth subcultures are out-dated (30) This is an example of a control word This indicates the topic or theme (and will not be a surprise) This indicates the focus of the question

 When you discuss something, what do you do?  What are youth subcultures and what do they all have in common?  Which theory would suggest that youth subcultures are out-dated (and why)?

 Discuss the function of youth subcultures  Discuss the view that young people are bound to rebel  Assess the view that youth culture ignores the role of women  Discuss the role of labelling theory in establishing of a young persons’ identity

 Talcott Parsons (1956) suggested that youth subcultures are like rites of passage in modern society  Rites of passage aid the transition from childhood to adulthood  According to Parsons, belonging to a subculture is a temporary experience

 Eisenstadt (1956) said that subcultures are to do with ascribed and achieved status  In pre-industrial society, an individual’s status was always ascribed  Today, people tend to achieve their status  Adolescence is a time in a person’s life when their status might seem to be unclear  Eisenstadt believed that subcultures help young people to cope with adolescence by giving them a clear status

 Albert Cohen (1955) was a Subcultural theorist that was influenced by Functionalist ideas  He said that working class boys join subcultures in order to get over feelings of frustration because of their relatively low status  Albert Cohen believed that subcultures help working class boys to achieve a higher status – thus leading to a sense of superiority

 Jefferson (1976) researched the Teddy Boys of the 1950’s  Jefferson noted that Teddy Boys wore clothes that would give them higher status

 Phil Cohen (1972) studied skinheads  P Cohen thought that skinheads emerged as a reaction to the decline of working class communities  Skinheads recreated the working class culture by dressing in a particular manner and by acting in an aggressive way

 Hebdige (1979) examined the style of the Punk subculture  Hebdige noted that Punk subculture seemed to be about rejecting conventional norms and values  In this respect, Hebdige believes that those who belong to the Punk subculture were rejecting the identities that were available to them

 Postmodernists believe the idea of subculture is outdated  It could be argued that youth subcultures have become fragmented  Hetherington (1998) made this point when looking at the fashions and the music styles of the 1980’s

 Willis (1990) believes that there is too much diversity for any one subculture to be dominant  Willis noted that the old spectacular subcultures were quite passive (they accepted the norms and values of their group)  Young people today are noted for being active and adventurous with regards to their individual style  Willis called this ‘symbolic creativity’

 Bennett (1999) says that we should not discuss subcultures anymore  Instead, we should talk about neo-tribes (a term that he invented)  A neo-tribe is a group that is loosely based around fashions and lifestyles  Members of neo-tribes do not share the same values like those in traditional subcultures did

...what if a young person does not belong to a subculture or a neo-tribe (depending upon your theoretical perspective...)?