Jessica West Media Theory 33574501
Using relevant theorists, outline and assess the view that youth
subcultures are a form of resistance.
The majority of people can look back on their youth and make a note of what various
subculture emerged and became popular at the time. Outrageous hair and questionable
fashion sense are the hallmarks of the rebellious phases embarked upon during the teenage
years, but is it possible these youth subcultures actually produced a meaningful form of
resistance to the dominant ideologies of society?
In order, to answer this question this essay will first establish what the terms subculture and
resistance mean, then after this brief description, this essay will go into detail on the main
theory and assumptions from the Birmingham School, that subculture is a form of youth
resistance, followed by an assessment of this theory by applying as an example American
drag ball subculture followed by an evaluation using both post-subculture theorists and
Marxist theory.
Subcultural theory is a sociological study that continues to develop and transform as time
progresses, making finding an explicit definition that encompasses all and can be agreed upon
by sociologists difficult. There are however certain characteristics that while may not apply to
all subcultures are a general guideline for differentiating a group of people and a subculture.
The first being a distinct resistance to the dominant ideology of society.
Subcultures often arise out of marginalised groups who feel as though they do not fit in with
the values or shared cultural norms of the mainstream or parent culture. This marginalisation
can be in relation to an individual’s race, sexuality or class. (Haenfler, 2014)
The second characteristic is a shared sense of identity.
Jessica West Media Theory 33574501
Subcultural studies formally originated during the 1920s from the Chicago School. Focusing
on marginalised groups such as immigrants, African Americans and poor working-class
individuals, Robert Park investigated the relationship between deviant criminal behaviour and
social groupings. Expanding on the research of the Chicago School, using semiotic analysis
the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies investigated the idea that youth
subculture was a form of ritual that produced a symbolic opposition to class oppression.
(Hall & Jefferson, 1975) Resistance through Ritual highlights symbolic forms of resistance
that working class British subcultures such as Skinheads, Mods and Rockers display in order
to challenge mainstream norms in a post war Britain. All though there is no official
leadership or government over these subcultures there is a stratification system based upon
the shared values of the group. Personal appearance and style are important elements of
resistance in subculture and the stratification system creates a hierarchy where positions are
determined by an individual’s cultural and symbolic capital. (Hall & Jefferson, 1975)
Cultural capital being determined by an individual’s ability to practices the shared values and
norms of the subculture, for example an individual belonging to the ‘skinhead’ subculture
would gain cultural capital by changing their appearance (shaving their hair) and listening to
Ska or 2 Tone to align their individual person with the accepted practices and values of the
subculture. In relation to cultural capital, Symbolic capital is the amount of status or ranking
given to an individual in the subculture based of their cultural capital, creating a level of
‘authenticity’
(Hebdige, 1979) theorised that the majority of individuals who identified themselves with a
particular subculture were young people who were unable to adjust to the expectations of the
dominant culture. Often the dominant societal culture determines which groups in society are
desirable based of its own values or norms. Individuals who are unable to meet these
expectations or are unwilling to conform feel alienated and excluded, being seen as deviants
Jessica West Media Theory 33574501
by the members of the mainstream culture. This leads marginalised groups to consider
themselves as outsiders and seek community with others creating a sense of shared ‘outsider’
identity. This collective form of self-identification is the basis of subcultures as members do
not require a personal relationship with one another to feel a strong connection (Hebdige,
1979). Participants in subcultures achieve this connection through shared values and
meanings that develop to distinguish the subculture from the mainstream. By doing so the
individuals who are unsuitable for mainstream culture are able to create their own shared
value system, resisting the dominant norms by creating an alternative power able allowing
them to attach new meaning and re-create their social capital. (Haenfler, 2014) Resistance
took place in youth subcultures subverting the meanings of the dominant cultures consumer
goods. As an example, at a semiotic level the practice of members from the punk subculture
tearing and distressing clothing challenges dominant culture capitalism by appropriating and
giving new meaning to their commercialised products. Jeans for example a trouser made from
denim originally made as a durable clothing item for miners, became popularised among
many teen subcultures changing the cultural association attached.
For the purpose of testing the Birmingham school’s theory that youth subcultures are in fact a
form of resistance again dominant culture the American subculture known as ‘Drag Balls’
will be used as an example to assess the strengths and weaknesses of this theory.
A Drag Ball refers to the underground subculture that gained popularity during the late
1960s. Primarily this subculture is made young LGBTQ individuals and people of colour
competing in pageant style events known as ‘balls’ for trophy’s and other prizes. Competing
can range from modelling various ‘looks’ walking down a runway, dancing or comedic
pieces. Similar to the Birmingham school’s assertion that youth resistance was a product of
class oppression Drag Ball culture originated from the poorer working-class neighbourhoods
Jessica West Media Theory 33574501
of New York City such as Harlem. However, the Drag Ball subculture created a safe place for
participants to resist the restrictive traditional expectations surrounding gender and sexuality
imposed by the dominant hegemony not directly as a result of class oppression. Members of
the ball community during this time period were marginalised not only due to their class in
society but we also alienated and abused for being on a minority or being unable to achieve
the heterosexual norm that was prevalent in mainstream culture. Being unable to find
acceptance from the mainstream participants within the subculture created their own social
stratification systems similar to the British subcultures studied by the Birmingham School.
Young people aligned themselves into houses, these multi-racial surrogate family
connections resisted the ideals of the traditional nuclear family, with older male members of
the house often being referred to as ‘mother’. Another similarity to the Birmingham’s
school’s theory is the use of resistance though style. An important aspect of resistance is the
challenging of gender roles through by a participant’s outfits and behaviour. A prominent
member of the Ball community was Willi Ninja. Leader of house Ninja. Willi was a young
gay African American man who held high social status within the ball subculture for his style
of dancing inspired by Madonna known as ‘vogueing’. Willi referred to himself with
feminine pronouns and presented himself at balls as either gender queer, adhering to no
gender roles or in feminine outfits. Outside of balls however Willi adopted a traditional male
style. The resistance though appearance was save exclusively for the subcultural events.
As a subculture Drag Ball both resists and conforms to the societal norms of the mainstream.
A ‘Realness’ Category is how well and individual can emulate a member of the dominant
ideology, this could range from ‘Schoolboy realness’ Being a well-educated straight character
to ‘Boyfriend realness’ emulating the masculine character who would fit perfectly into the
mainstream gender role of what a man should be. By practicing these straight personality’s in
order to gain trophy’s or advance in cultural capital within the internal hierarchy of the
Jessica West Media Theory 33574501
subculture this could be seen as a submissive act rather then resistant. This proves that
subcultures are not always fully resistant to the mainstream.
Post subcultural theorists such as (Castells, 2010) critique the Birmingham’s schools research
methods for their effectiveness primarily the approach lacks any ethnographic research
methods. The problem with this is that rather than researching directly from individuals who
actually participated in the subculture activities researches observe from afar interpretation of
signs under semiotic analysis can easily be misinterpreted or certain ‘spectacular’ aspects
such as style can be over emphasised. Subcultural styles such as Punk have also lost a lot of
their provocativeness in modern society. Post-subculture theorist argues that in a post-modern
society subcultures are a tool of marketing used by corporations to markets a false sense of
identity. For example, Ball culture has transformed from a closely knit underground culture
to a mainstream phenomenon with reality television series such as Ru Pauls Drag Race,
gaining world wider notoriety. The term ‘Culture Industry’ coined by Marxist sociologists
Theodore Adorno and Max Horkheimer refers to the theory that western capitalist society
produces identities for audiences to buy in the form of standardized goods such as film,
books, music. All though individuals feel as though they are autonomous in their decisions
they are in fact passive consumers still buying into the capitalist framework, making
subculture not a form or resistance at all. In modern society subcultures from the 20 th are
reduced to commodities to be sold to the young people.
In conclusion from the evidence presented so far, it is clear that while subcultures are a
symbolic form of resistance, which allows marginalised groups to express themselves within
a safe space and allows them to find community and a shared sense of identity the eventual
commodification of when said subculture becomes ‘trendy’, companies selling these
Jessica West Media Theory 33574501
identities to mass audiences nullifies any originality or resistance youth subcultures might
have held. This does not mean subcultures are negative influence on an individual’s life as
previously stated it allows for a sense of acceptance in society it just doesn’t perform any
type of meaningful resistance to the dominant ideology.
Word count: 1612
Bibliography
Castells, M., 2010. The Rise of the Network Society. 2nd ed. Chichester: Blackwell Publishing.
Chandler, D., 2002. Semiotics: The Basics. 1st ed. Milton Park: Routledge.
Haenfler, R., 2014. Subcultures: The Basics. 1st ed. Milton Park: Routledge.
Hall, S. & Jefferson, T., 1975. Resistance through Rituals: Youth subcultures in post-war
Britain. 8th ed. s.l.:Harper Collins Academic.
Hebdige, D., 1979. Subculture: The Meaning of Style. 1st ed. London: Methuen & Co. Ltd.
Paris is Burning. 1990. [Film] Directed by Jennie Livingston. United States: Academy
Entertainment.
