How have females in urban youth subcultures been portrayed? How might this involvement be researched?
How have females in urban youth subcultures been portrayed? How might this involvement be researched?
The portrayal of females in the sociology of youth, and particularly in the field of subcultural studies, has been characterised by the marginal positions to which girls have been relegated. Initial research into the white, working class gang of lads can be criticised for its failure to seriously consider female participation in subcultural activity. [see Campbell A. 1984; McRobbie A. & Garber K. 1976; McRobbie A. 1991] The male bonding, between researcher and researched, identifiable in a number of studies, indicates the acceptance of the stereotypical representations of females which emerged in the research dialogue. The categorisation of girls into such roles as the girlfriend or the 'lay' by the 'lads' [Willis P. 1977, p43] is exacerbated by the absence of any analysis of these comments. The complacency towards the treatment of girls as '..invisible, peripheral or stereotyped..' [Brake M. 1980, p137] in the field of subcultural studies has led to the genre being defined as '..a celebration of masculinity..' [Brake M. 1980, p137]
The Subcultural Deficit
The portrayal of girls in subcultural literature reflects the inadequate approach initially utilised in sociological studies of youth. Confining the definition of the subculture to that of a wholly male phenomenon resulted in a denial of the existence of female participation. Within examples where females have been active subcultural participants, their contribution to the group has been trivialised, the assumption being made that they are untypical and hence unworthy of study. [see for example; Cohen S. 1990; Hall S. & Jefferson T. [eds.] 1976; Willis P. 1977] It is from this point that an examination of the paucity of subcultural theory in dealing with young females, and the groups existing in the sphere of girl culture, will commence. The accepted definition of subcultural membership as a predominantly male preserve has reduced female participants to a peripheral status which only a minority of researchers, themselves females, have attempted to challenge. [see for example; Campbell A. 1984; Griffin C. 1986; McRobbie A. 1991]
The acknowledgement that female subcultural activity coexists with that of males [Tedstone C. 1995] necessitates a scrutiny of examples of this subcultural deficit to locate the discrepancies in their research context. The following studies have been selected as examples illustrating the marginalisation of females and the emergence of male experience as the dominant reference point. While the study of the 'lads' indicates the researcher's lack of analytical comment upon the attitudes expressed towards females, the interpretation of the dance scenario concentrates on the incidence of male sexual dominance in the context of heterosexual relationships.
Willis and the 'lads' [Willis P. 1977]
The 'lads' of Willis's research base their perception of masculinity upon the social and sexual derision of women. A preoccupation with the expression of a 'macho', chauvinistic form of masculinity involves the assumption of superiority over female peers, asserted through tales of alleged sexual conquests and the recounting of 'dirty' jokes. Females themselves are subject to labelling, dependent on their categorisation as either 'easy lays' or 'domestic comforters'. [Willis P. 1977, p43]
While the 'lads' appear to promote male promiscuity, the sexually explicit language which they employ is denied to girls. Sanctions placed upon female peers emphasise the gulf existing between the girl who is pursued only for sex and the girlfriend who represents '..the human value that is squandered by promiscuity..' [Willis P. 1977, p44] The reliance on male bonding to create a cultural space in which working class masculinity can be celebrated reveals the chauvinistic, territorial nature of this subculture. The 'lads' rigid classification of females and the attitudes expressed provoke little comment from Willis in his analysis. ...
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While the 'lads' appear to promote male promiscuity, the sexually explicit language which they employ is denied to girls. Sanctions placed upon female peers emphasise the gulf existing between the girl who is pursued only for sex and the girlfriend who represents '..the human value that is squandered by promiscuity..' [Willis P. 1977, p44] The reliance on male bonding to create a cultural space in which working class masculinity can be celebrated reveals the chauvinistic, territorial nature of this subculture. The 'lads' rigid classification of females and the attitudes expressed provoke little comment from Willis in his analysis. Failure to probe further into these attitudes is encapsulated in the comment '..the girls are clearly dominated but collude in their own domination.' [Willis P. 1977, p46] and leaves the reader in no doubt exactly whom Willis deems most deserving of his attention.
Mungham and the dance [Mungham G. in Mungham G. & Pearson G. [eds.] 1976]
This study of a dance hall scenario illustrates the differences in socially sanctioned gender appropriate behaviour for working class males and females. Pre-ordained codes of conduct transform males into actors and relegate females to passive recipients of their attention within this '..convention of courtship, dating and sexual bargaining..' [Mungham G. in Mungham G. & Pearson G. 1976, p35] The sexual objectification of girls by their male peers is a vital component of the chauvinistic masculinity subscribed to by the males in this study.
The double standard which differentiates between the codes of behaviour for males and females ensures that any girl who transgresses these boundaries, by swearing or fighting for example, is subject to her actions being negatively sanctioned. [Mungham G. in Mungham G. & Pearson G. 1976, p88] Mirroring the existent code of masculinity is one of femininity, placing the onus on marriage and the family to females, effectively serving as a form of social control over the females' behaviour. In a '..culture where men can decide whether or not to make advances to a woman..' [Mungham G. in Mungham G. & Pearson G. 1976, p95] the male prerogative, in the context of the relationship, is emphasised. By means of relating the strict sexual mores, which exist in the dance scenario, to the societal position of the working class female the designation of women to a subordinate status becomes apparent and as before provokes little comment from the researcher in the final analysis.
Subcultural Portrayal of Female Members
The hidden agenda of subcultural studies has contributed to the marginalisation of female involvement. As a result of the attribution of a masculine nature to the subculture, female subcultural involvement has proved problematic for researchers. [for examples see; Mungham G. & Pearson G. 1976; Whyte W. 1955; Willis P. 1977] Representations of girls have tended to depict them in terms of either their sexual attractiveness and behaviour or their potential for deviancy. [Brake M. 1980, p147] The consideration of the appropriateness of subcultural involvement for girls necessitates an additional consideration of their domestic role and existent social codes of gender appropriate behaviour. Subcultural focal concerns often transgress such codes, provoking media instigated moral panics centred around femininity. There follow examples of subcultural representations of females and a consideration of whether '..girls are present in male subcultures, but are contained within them, rather than using them to explore actively forms of female identity..' [Brake M. 1980, p141]
During the 1950s, the media promotion of the Bardot 'motorbike girl' [McRobbie A. 1991, p8] was cited as instigating a moral panic concerning acceptable modes of femininity and female sexuality. In reality the situation was far removed from this, illustrated when the masculine nature of biker culture is taken into account. Despite a much lauded show of defiance against convention the motorbike girl remained a fantasy figure. The codes of the subculture decreed that females could never succeed in penetrating its masculine core, they remained relegated to the role of pillion rider. [Brake M. 1980, p144]
In the following decade the Mod subculture co-existed with the rise of teenage consumerism, where employment opportunities for teenagers subsidised subcultural participation. The Mod style of appearing '..neat, tidy and apparently unthreatening..' [McRobbie A. 1991, p8] enabled conformity to a suitably respectable image. Although these criteria were equally applicable to both sexes, the onus concerning physical appearance was placed firmly on girls. Pressure to conform to fashionable body images and imitate conventional stereotypes of femininity persisted, Twiggy for example, exemplified the ideal role model and body shape to aspire to.
Media and societal influence of this nature leads to the question of whether the Mod subculture provided the liberating experience which has been attributed to it. [Brake M. 1980, p144] The sobering description of the female Mod with '..her mask like make up, her flapping bell bottomed trousers, her flat chest, her painted staring eyes..' [Cohen S. 1990, p186] could be interpreted as Cohen's attempt to reflect the absolute reality, although this negativity is directed only towards females. Subcultural activities remain gender segregated; male Mods portrayed as fighting participants, female Mods as occupiers of scooter backseats.
The middle class Hippy counter culture of the 1960s provided a space for experimentation with different beliefs and alternative lifestyles. However liberating this involvement was for females, it is essential to bear in mind that this culture ensured female participants were contained within the sphere of traditional codes of femininity. [Brake M. 1980, p144] Popular stereotypes of females as 'earth mothers' or 'flower children' [Cohen S. 1990, p184-6] illustrate the available roles. Pressure to conform to a preordained feminine identity, through an emphasis of the traditional values of the female child rearer and domestic provider, proved more beneficial to male Hippies than to females, mirroring gender divisions in working class youth subcultures.
Perhaps the only subculture to provide girls with a medium through which to voice opinions and reject accepted codes of femininity was that of Punk, which emerged during the 1970s. The adoption by female Punks of provocative clothing coupled with 'threatening' make-up and hairstyles provided an antithesis to conventional femininity. Employing cosmetics to express feelings, rather than to appeal to the male gaze, ensured codes of female prettiness and passivity were contradicted and challenged. This 'confrontation dressing' and the subsequent parody of a societal obsession with the female body acted as an outlet through which anger and distrust of established social norms could be expressed. [Davis J. 1977] The restraint of females in other subcultures was contradicted by the aggressive image which Punks cultivated. The representation of the female in this subculture as an individual who refused '..to be intimidated into submissive femininity..' [McRobbie A. in McRobbie A. & Nava M. 1984, p148] provides the most positive model of female involvement in the subcultural context.
Redressing the Balance
The failure of subcultural theory to account for female experience reveals that the 'gang of lads' model is deficient in providing an explanation of the dynamics of the female peer group and subcultural participation. [Griffin C. 1986, pp21-3] Apart from the female group being fundamentally different to the gang, in terms of numbers of members and the relationships within, societal and peer constraints placed on females result in greater policing of their behaviour than that of males. Differences in the social structure of female friendships ensured difficulty in pinpointing large groups or specific gangs of girls, leading to the conclusion that girls experience more fluid and intense friendships than males. [Griffin C. 1986, p22]
As well as the study by Griffin, other female researchers have purposefully focused on girls and female experiences of youth, moving beyond the boundaries of subcultural studies. Of particular significance is the ethnographic work of Anne Campbell [1984] who investigated the focal concerns and activities of girl gang members in New York. Particularly emphasising the way in which female identity is lived through the experience of gang participation and negating the assumption that the gang exists as a wholly male phenomenon, her study drew attention to the impact that poverty, sexism, racism and limited opportunity structures have on girls. Alternatively, concentrating her study on British girls, Angela McRobbie [1991; 1993] studied the ways in which girls won cultural space for themselves and employed strategies of resistance in the environments of the school and the youth club, through the hidden deviance of a show of '..silence, unambiguous boredom and immersion in their own private concerns..' [McRobbie A. 1991, p48] Through such strategies the girls transposed their friendship group from the confines of the parental home to the freedom of the outside world.
Pioneering studies, such as the previous two mentioned, have posed a challenge to the tradition of subcultural studies. The supposition that female youth culture is confined to the home environment has contributed towards the lack of study of females and the coping strategies formed to deal with the demands of adolescence. Providing a voice through which the subjective experience of females can be heard necessitates the employment of research methods which are geared towards revealing the formerly hidden experiences of relatively powerless societal groups. [see for example; Reinharz S. 1992; Roberts H. 1981] Appropriate research techniques include the oral and life history methods, particularly for studies of retrospective subcultural involvement with participants in the first wave of Mods and Punks, for example. [Roberts H. 1981; Tedstone C. 1995] For more contemporary work, the ethnographic study and/or the employment of observational study, supplemented by in-depth interviews, would serve to contribute to understanding the lived reality of girls.
The undertaking of an ethnographic study, complemented by recorded in depth interviews, [Campbell A. 1990, pp279-80] or an observational study, supplemented by diary keeping and group and individual interviews, [McRobbie A. 1991, pp37-8] can only aid in increased understanding of the experience of female youth. Employing these unconventional research methods can emphasise wrongful assumptions made about female behaviour while also challenging conventional research concerns of objectivity and researcher neutrality. To do so would contribute towards female experience being '..included as an integral part of our understanding of human behaviour, rather than as a footnote to the lives of men.' [Campbell A. 1990, p281]
Bibliography
Brake M. The Sociology of Youth Culture and Youth Subcultures Routledge & Kegan Paul: London, 1980.
Campbell A The Girls in the Gang: A Report From New York City Blackwell: Oxford, 1984.
Campbell A. The Girls in the Gang: A Report From New York City Blackwell: Oxford, [2nd ed.], 1990.
Cohen S. Folk Devils and Moral Panics: The Creation of the Mods and the Rockers [2nd ed.] Blackwell: Oxford, 1990.
Davis J. [ed.] Punk Millington: London, 1977.
Hall S. & Jefferson T. [eds.] Resistance Through Rituals: Youth Subcultures in Post War Britain Hutchinson: London, 1976.
McRobbie A. & Nava M. [eds.] Gender and Generation Macmillan: Basingstoke, 1984.
McRobbie A. Feminism and Youth Culture: From Jackie to Just Seventeen Macmillan: Basingstoke, 1991.
Mungham G. & Pearson G. [eds.] Working Class Youth Culture Routledge & Kegan Paul: London, 1976.
Reinharz S. Feminist Methods in Social Research Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1992.
Roberts H. [ed.] Doing Feminist Research Routledge & Kegan Paul: London, 1981.
Tedstone C. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun: A New Perspective on Female Involvement in Subculture and Youth Culture, unpublished B.Sc.dissertation, 1995. [University of Portsmouth]
Whyte W. Street Corner Society: The Social Structure of an Italian Slum [2nd ed.] University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 1955.
Willis P. Learning to Labour: How Working Class Kids Get Working Class Jobs Saxon House: Farnborough, Hants., 1977.
Journal Articles
Griffin C. It's Different For Girls Social Sciences Review, Vol.2 No.2, Nov.1986, pp.21-5
McRobbie A. Shut Up and Dance: Youth Culture and Changing Modes of Femininity Cultural Studies, Vol.7 No.3, Oct.1993, pp. 406-26.
