Download Discuss the view that females have little involvement in youth cultures

Discuss the view that females have little involvement in
youth cultures. (30)
Sociological research into the development and nature
of youth cultures has largely been focussed on male
involvement in youth cultures. For example work on
the skinheads focussed on aspects of working class
masculinity. However, Feminists such as Heidensohn
(1985) have argued that Sociology has until recently
has been ‘Malestream’, and therefore females have
been ignored. This suggests that females have been
involved in youth cultures in many ways but that very
little research has been done about them.
Structural perspectives like Functionalism and Marxism
(particularly CCCS) have been criticised for being
gender blind and for ignoring female involvement in
youth cultures. For example they often portray subcultures such as Hippies, Mods and Rockers as being a
male phenomena with girls tagging along but not
responsible for the iconic images of the era. However
a more detailed look shows that there were clearly
female hippies and rockers and even skinheads. This
implies that, because researchers were mainly male
they focussed on other males and were perhaps unable
to gain access to study female youth cultures.
Since the second wave of feminism in the 1960’s more
women were being employed in universities and hence
more female sociologists were emerging who were
able to conduct research on female youth culture. For
example McRobbie and Garber identified the ‘teeny
bopper’ female culture which centred around
romance, fashion and ‘bedroom’ activities carried out
by girls. This was nicknamed ‘bedroom culture’ and
was perhaps previously invisible to male sociologists
who were unable to gain access to the very private
context of a teenage girl’s bedroom. The work of Carol
Smart (1976) can explain this culture through the extra
parental control which is exercised over girls due to
gender stereotypes. This suggests that girls’
involvement in youth cultures has perhaps been
invisible to researchers but the involvement has
nevertheless existed.
More recent research has also identified the
emergence of visible female sub-cultures. For example
Blackman (1995) studied what he called the New Wave
girls who resisted male control and parental control
and were non-conformist at school. Other all-female
sub-cultures have also been identified in the last
decade in the USA such as riot Grls and Sk8er girls
linked with Avril Lavigne. These female sub-cultures
may reflect changing gender roles across this era.
However critiques of the feminist view also point out
that most youth, males and females are ordinary and
are not member of youth cultures. Furthermore this
analysis ignores other dimensions such as ethnicity and
class which may be more important in the
development of sub-cultures.
Finally in looking at youth sub-cultures which have
emerged since the 1980’s, many have been more
gender neutral movements. For example Goths, Emos
and house and rave. The rave culture of the 1990’s
was largely connected to dance music and clubbing
and was seen to cut across boundaries of gender,
ethnicity and class. In the Emo culture girls and boys
are equally involved and practice ‘sexual blurring’
breaking down the traditional stereotypes. The Sisters
of Mercy are a famous female Goth band of the 1980’s
and clearly shows that women were involved in this
sub-culture. However their neutral nature may suggest
that gender is not the most important aspect of these
cultures.
To conclude, it appears that research into youth subcultures up to the 1980s largely focussed on male
involvement. This essay has shown that women may
have been involved in those early youth cultures but
were largely ignored by Sociologists. More recent
research has found that girls are involved in subcultures of their own which were previously invisible,
e.g bedroom culture and that more female only subcultures are emerging. Therefore females are just as
likely to be involved in youth sub-cultures as males.