Feminist views of youth culture

Throughout the studies completed by sociologists in the 60's and 70's on youth culture, feminists claim that females were invisible. If females are considered it is only in the role of 'pillion passengers' or tag alongs of the male subculture. In particular Heidensohn pointed out that sociology was 'malestream' - written by men about men and this may be an expression of male dominance over females.

During the 80's there were some changes. Firstly youth subculture were more androgynous (the subculture was genderless) like new romantics, rave and emo. Secondly females had become more involved in music and fashion. Also during the 90's with increasing sexual equality and the rise of girl power, sociologists such as Hollands noted that girls roles in youth culture were becoming more similar to that of men.

McRobbie and Garber (1976) were the first to make a study of girls and formed the concept 'Bedroom Culture'. This was based around the codes of romance, fashion and beauty, personal life and pop music. They also studied girls magazine 'Jackie' which they decided created a 'cult of femininity' which guided young girls on how to act and think about the world. Within this private sphere girls would experiment with make-up and…