Discuss reasons why some young people join youth sub ...



Remember to PEEA !!!!! (Point, Evidence, Evaluation, Analysis)AO1 Knowledge and UnderstandingPoint = shows your knowledge of theories, concepts and key terms and definitionsEvidence = shows your understanding through examples and explanations for ideas.AO2 Evaluation and AnalysisEvaluation = providing judgements about the points you’ve made i.e strengths and weaknesses.Analysis = Stating the implications of a point you made i.e what it suggests about society or the topic.Discuss reasons why some young people join youth sub-cultures (15 marks)Since the emergence of youth culture from the 1950s onwards certain sub-cultures have also emerged with norms and values that differ from those of ordinary youth. Sometimes they are referred to as spectacular youth sub-cultures because they are distinctive and recognisable. Examples may include Skinheads and Hippies from the 60s and 70s, or Goths and Punks from the 80s. One reason why young people may join these sub-cultures was suggested by functionalist writers such as Einstadt. He suggested that these sub-cultures helped young people cope with the pressures and identity crisis they suffered during adolescence, such as getting qualifications and becoming independent from their parents. However this explanation does not account for the many youths who do not join these sub-cultures but still have to go through adolescence. This shows that perhaps there should be more research done on ordinary youths.Other functionalist writers have suggested that youth culture is a ‘rite of passage.’ This is like a bridge between childhood and adulthood which helps young people to bond with each other and also be integrated successfully into society. This can be seen when young people have part-time jobs but still live at home.However this does not account for youth sub-cultures that have been associated with deviance for example, skinheads were known for racist attacks and Hippies for taking drugs like LSD. This implies that youth cultures do not provide the harmonious integration suggested by Functionalists.Other reasons why young people join sub-cultures were investigated by Neo-Marxists such as the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies in Birmingham. In contrast to functionalists, they found that the membership of sub-cultures was more likely to be linked to social class and often represented resistance to increasing capitalism and the growth of middle class norms. For example, Skinheads were said by Clarke to be an exaggerated form of working-class masculine identity. However, not all youth sub-cultures are working class, for example the Mods of the 50s and the Hippies of the 60’s were mainly from middle class backgrounds. Research into Skinheads or Mods and Rockers also ignored the involvement of girls and different ethnicities in youth sub-cultures. This implies that research into youth sub-cultures has been ‘malestream’ and ethnocentric.Other researchers have suggested that the reasons for joining sub-cultures might be more down to different tastes in music and fashion, or just for fun, rather than due to issues of class, gender or ethnicity. Hodgkinson’s research suggested that music was a key factor in attraction to the Goth sub-culture. However this does not account for issues like peer pressure which may influence young people. It also suggests that membership of youth sub-cultures is not influenced by class which may not be true as we still have names like ‘boffs’ and ‘chavs’ which are associated with social class. ................
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