Part B Exam Question: Outline and evaluate the view that girls have been ignored from the study of youth subcultures (33 marks) Youth subcultures are groups of individuals who often develop in opposition to authority and share norms and values which go against the norms in society. The different youth subcultures differ in terms of fashion, music, leisure interests and behaviours. Youth subcultures are a minority section of a majority culture. Feminists view that girls have been ignored from the study of youth subcultures and they believe that subcultures are male-dominated. Girls have been ignored from the study of youth subcultures because of male sociologists. There is a noticeable absence of girls from the study of youth subcultures and when …show more content…
Women had a large and productive presence in the formation and from the beginning of the punk subculture. However, the male academics who wrote about punk subcultures did not write about women and so their roles in the punk subculture were reduced to that of sub-subculture. Many people only remember the presence of role of male punks. This is supported by Reddington who believed that punk fashion was strongly influenced by the female fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and there was a numerous number of punk bands which were all-female or included female members. The high levels of participation by women were partly due to the ethos of punk culture which was based upon the principle that anybody could have a go at playing music and expressing themselves. Therefore, Reddington believed that the neglect of females in the punk subculture was not because they were absent from the subculture but was because the male academics who wrote about punk neglected the females. On the other hand, there is a rise in female academics who are studying female