Subcultures: class
Jefferson
Emerged in a time of high employment and relative affluence, but the teddy boys were excluded from this
Their Edwardian-style symbolised that they were trying to be like their middle-class superiors
Hebdige
1950's & 1960's
few opportunities for the working class to progress
1950's- teddy boys emerged
1960's- Mods emerged
raised their status as they adopted smarter styles which contrasted with their workwear
early 1970's
Higher employement for working class youths
Skinheads emerged
Higher working class identity
Cohen
Argued that their representation for violence & racism related to their desire to defend their territory and felt under threat by the economic situation
LINK
resistance to societal change
Mods
Working class subculture who used their money to create a style that was a resistance against the middle class
Analysation on punks
Their DIY fashion was linked with anarchy and that it was s form of resistance against the mainstream youth culture
Clarke
Skinheads
feel like their working class community is under attack from capitalism through immigration and unemployment
decided to change their appearance to a more exaggerated working class masculnity
LINK
Neo/maxists
Analysed howsubcultures have different rituals
Hairstyles, music, attitudes
Resist the capitalist system
Challenged by postmodernists & feminists
Postmodernists
CLASS is no longer the main factor in creating identity. Society has moved AWAY from a belief that identity is based on where and how people earn their money. Instead, identity is now based on how and where people SPEND their money.
ignore diversity of influence from other factors
Marxism vs functionalism
Functionalists and Marxists both see class identity as important for forming youth subcultures. For functionalists this is to help working class boys to adapt to their role. For Marxists however, this is an insight into the exploitative nature of capitalism and resistance of working class identity
Rockers
Both the Mods and the Rockers were mainly working class. Cohen mean that because these youth groups were mainly working class and that meant that they had less opportunities than them of higher class, they also were not seen to have any specific talents and they did not have any money. Cohen (2009) states that since the Mods and Rockers did not have any social contacts, except for themselves, in society they had to create their own activities which them to take part in deviance