Ethnicity & Deviant Subcultures
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- Created by: nelliott
- Created on: 22-04-21 12:25
Criminal/Delinquent Subcultures
- The Centre for Social Justice's report in 2009 challenges the idea that gangs are associated with ethnic minorities
- Instead, gang members tend to reflect the ethnicity of the local population
- e.g. gangs in Scotland are mostly white and gangs in London are mostly black
- It could be said that the high presence of black communities in the UK reflects the high presence of black communities in deprived neighbourhoods, where gangs are more likely to form
- Could gangs be down to social class more than ethnicity?
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Criminal/Delinquent Subcultures Studies
- Nightingale studied young black males in Philadelphia
- ARgued that they consumed mainstream US culture through media, sharing values e.g. money
- However, they were excluded (racially & economically) from achieving these goals, so turned to crime
- Bourgois studied Latino drug dealers in New York and found that the 'anguish of growing up poor in the richest city in the world created an inner-city street culture where deviant practises become the norm
- Drug dealing was a way to survive and achieve respect
- Bourgois understood why they would not work a minimum wage job when they could drug deal in a million-dollar industry on their doorstep
- These two studies show a 'paradox of inclusion'
- They desire to be included by being successful, but this is difficult
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Alexander: Deviant subcultures?
- Alexander studied a group of Bengali youths (age 14-16) in inner-city London
- This was in the wake of a moral panic about 'the Asian gang'
- She found that they fought amongst themselves and against other ethnic groups
- Membership within these groups were constantly shifting so the 'gang' was often fragile
- She argued that the myth of the 'Asian gang' was created through the media but fuelled by general Islamaphobia
- These stereotypes were picked up by teachers, who projected the gang label onto groups who shared a common identity
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Mac an Ghaill: Young, Gifted and Black
- Studied black youths in inner-city schools
- Suggested social class and gender intesect with racism and racial stereotypes
- Found young African-caribbean males developed subcultures based on masculine images as a response to percieved teacher labelling and racism
- He identified three subcultures:
1. Rasta Heads - open confrontation
2. Warriors - Asian males who were anti-school but went unnoticed
3. Black sisters - Asian and African Caribbean who were pro-education
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Anti-school Subcultures: Sewell
- A successul black male would be target for bullying, wheras educational failiure becomes a badge
- Four visible groups were identified:
1. Conformists (pro-school)
2. Innovators (pro-education, but anti-school, seeking other ways to achieve)
3. Retreatists (dropping out)
4. Rebels (formed subcultures, often based on rap)
- The majority were conformists but the rebels (18%) got the attention
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Anti-school Subcultures: Mirza
- African Caribbean girls are more pro-education
- They adopted strategies to be successful, such as keeping their head down
- They would avoid subjects in which they felt the teacher was racist and support each other academically
- This was seen as a rational response
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Anti-school Subcultures: Strand & Wilson
- Found negative peer relationships to be significant in underachievement for African Caribbean boys
- White boys underachieving related to low self esteem
- Asian boys had no positive peer support
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Anti-school Subcultures: Archer
- Muslim boys saw themselves as Muslim, not Pakistani
- Being a member of their subculture gave them protection from racist bullying
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Ethnic Minority Subcultures in the UK
- Rastafarians are associated with Jamacian/Caribbean culture, reggae, dreadlocks and clotthes in red, gold and green
- These colours come from the flag of Ethiopia, as they have religious beliefs associated with African roots
- Hebidge saw this culture as froms of resistance to white culture and racism with roots in slavery
- Johal suggests some Brasians adopted a 'hyper ethnic' style, exaggerating their parents culture and giving them 'empowerment through difference'
- Issues such as marriage and diet meant some Brasians became selective about what they want to follow, known as 'code switching'
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Ethnocentric Sociologists
- Functionalists, feminists and the CCCS can be criticised as they don't consider the impact of race and ethnicity on youth subcultures
- Hebdige says there are clear relationships between black music, dance etc. but these are not explored further
- These sociologists are accused of being 'ethnocentric'
- Studies in the US have been less 'white focused' and consdered hip hop and 'gangsta rap' as subcultures
- However, these studies have only been carried out by black sociologists
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Resistance or Hybridity?
- Rastafarian can be seen as resistance, but Brasians show more hybridity, blending Asian culture with British culture
- However, hanging on to some of their traditional culture can be seen as resistance, as they are resisting to assimilate (intergrate) into white British culture
- Mercer discusses the styling of hair and its symbolic meaning (e.g. afro, dreadlocks)
- Mercer says all forms of hairstyles can be forms of hybridity
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Examples of Hybrid Subcultures
- 'White wannabes' identified by Nayak as young white working-classmales who adopt the style and language of black culture
- 'Modern primatives' ( found in the US and parts of Western Europe) and are described as a 'neo-tribe' rather than a subculture
- They focus on individuality and have body modifications (e.g. tattoos, piercings) as a way of expression
- Vale and Juno argue that this is a reaction to the powerlessness created by a fast-changing world, as it gives them a regained sense of power
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Hybridity: Cultural Exchange & Appropriation
- Can be seen as a positive (cultural exchange) or negative (cultural appropriation)
- e.g. the use of tattoos in modern primative's subculture (tribal artwork, Chinese letters)
- Hutnyk argues that Western subcultures may take away the meaning from symbols and use them superficially
- e.g. aspects of British culture have been imposed on other cultures, wheras aspects of other subcultures have been taken and used by British subcultures
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