Youth Culture and Play

A culture may be described as being a way of life for its members.  Therefore, youth culture refers to the distinctive values and activities of young people.  (Morre,1985).  Whilst youth is often considered to be a culture in itself, it is often thought of as being divided into subcultures.  A subculture can be defined simply as a group within a group, with youth being the broader culture encompassing many smaller subgroups.  These subcultures are important in understanding the social lives of young people.  (Section 2.2, Chapter 1, p. 21).  These subcultures attempt to define themselves from the cultures around them, including the values of the parental home. They are often viewed as being transgressive and oppositional by wider society.  Studies have often shown that subcultures are non-conformist, however, within their subculture there is a lot of conformity.  This may include conformity in the mode of dress, music listened to or leisure activities partaken. (Section 2.2, Chapter 1, p.23). 

Corrigan,1979, claims that individuals who are a part of a youth subculture experience highs and lows, form the mundane to the excitement.  This experience of excitement would support the view that members of subcultures are not victims.  Subcultures are not however, entirely apart form the wider society as their activities may engage with the mainstream society and so the boundaries between the two merge.  (Section 2.2, Chapter 1, p.24).  They exist in relationship to the societies they are a part of, and may be a response to and a way of understanding social and economic circumstances and changes.  These subcultures change and develop over time reflecting these different circumstances and may differ within different cultures and societies.  (Section 3, Chapter 1, p.33). Play is a distinctive feature of childhood.  It is often seen as a way of expressing and dealing with emotions in an imaginative, safe and exploratory way.  A psychoanalytic perspective views play as being vital in emotional development and wellbeing. (Chapter 8, p.250).  Piaget (1951) distinguishes between play for enjoyment and play for learning.  He also believes that there are many types of play within these groups and that play goes through a series of stages as a process of development frojm childhood to adulthood.  I often view play as a ‘practise’ for adult life.  My children role play, imitating my actions, speech and activities.  I also view play as being an experience purely for pleasure and leisure. Young people’s play and leisure activities are often not seen in the same way as children’s play.  Rather than being viewed as a necessary and enjoyable experience for young people, it is viewed by some as potentially threatening and disturbing.  Play is also seen as evidence that young people are not ready for adulthood.  In my opinion, play continues to some extent into adulthood, but changes into more socially acceptable styles fitting to the adult status.  So, play in young people is just part of a continuous development process that is ongoing throughout life. Perhaps this negative view of young people and their leisure activities originates from the time when young people were originally thought of as teenagers and as separate consumer market.  Prior to the Second World War, there was a straightforward transition from childhood to adulthood.  After the Second World War, young people found themselves with more time and a disposable income, due to economic and social change and the growth of consumerism and leisure activities.  There was no longer a direct move from school to work or from the parental home to the marital one.  Thus, the teenage years and the leisure activities which they pursued were viewed as problematic.  (Chapter 8, pp. 251-4). A positive aspect of young people’s play is that it is a part of them forming and expressing their identities and of differentiating themselves from others or identifying themselves as being part of a particular group.  Ray Gosling, writing of his experiences as a young person in the 1960’s, tells how through pursuing a number of different interests and leisure activities that it was possible to be a part of more than one youth culture at any given time and that the most important prerequisite in being a part of these cultures is that you had to have conviction and feeling for that culture.  This example is also representative in one of the factors that affect leisure choice and to which youth culture you belong.  Gosling was a Teddy Boy, but this tended to be a
group more associated with the working classes.  Gosling was an upper-class school boy, so his other youth culture was to be a ‘grubbie’ and spend his time listening to classical music and awaiting social and political change.  ( Chapter 8, p. 254-5). Another defining factor in play and the way in which it defines youth culture is gender.  There are distinct differences in the play of boys and girls and the youth cultures to which they are drawn, and gender may be structured by play.  Males play often uses physical interaction to compete for their masculinity.  Studies suggest that young males play is social interactions that promote a sense of self.  This is known as identity work.  Examples of games that boys play are punch ‘n’ run, black slap and chase and boxing out.  Hewitt, 1997, conducted a study of 14-year olds in a youth centre.  He observed the game of boxing out.  The game involves punching out an object from the opponents’ hand.  They then win the object, or the equivalent in money.  Hewitt suggests that the point of this game is to fit in with societies view of the rogue and to express their masculinity.  It also enables them to participate in a group activity and to express their masculinity.  (Chapter 8, pp. 256-8). Girls behave much differently in their play.  It is more about friendship, socializing, supporting each other and talking.  Like Hewiit, McRobbie (1978) conducted a study on young people attending youth centres, this time focusing on girls.  She observed that working class girls formed groups that once formed were difficult to access.  These groups were a form of support and solidarity in their lives.  Mc Robbie argues that this practise enables them to prepare for their future roles as wives and mothers.  In later studies, McRobbie (1994), she refers to the changing mode of femininity and suggests that social practices and structures have experienced dramatic change.  (Chapter 8, pp. 258-9). Through my work in youth work and education I have witnessed the divide in leisure activities of boys and girls.  I also think that that their activities are not only representative of themselves, their gender and their youth culture, but of the way that they handle different situations in their lives.  For example, if a young person has a disagreement with someone in their peer group, then boys tend to deal with this in a physical way and girls tend to talk through their feelings and the situation. The theme of how gender, play and youth cultures are linked, leads directly to sex play.  Sexuality may be used as a resource for play humour and fun in the lives of young people.  (Chapter 8, p.271).  In modern Western societies there are now more ways to be a sexual subject.  McNair (2002) suggests that homosexuality and pornography are now recognized and accepted in our societies.  McNair also suggests that media has played a role in this by aiding a commercialised, less regulated and more varied sexual culture.  (Chapter 8, p.267). Girls in particular may use fashion and adornment to express themselves sexually.  This may be understood as a rebellion against society, parents and the beauty industry.  Similarly, gay identities may be expressed through fashion.  Wilson (1985) expresses the view that what you wear can be political or transgressive. The notions of production and consumption may be applied to culture and communication.  Tim O’Sulivan et al., 1994, define consumption as the use of products or yield of an industry.  This includes transactions of communication such as texts.  The industrial producers are the media professionals and the consumers are the readers or audience.  They also suggest that we are all consumers of messages and meanings that are absorbed into our cultural worlds.  Individuals define themselves and make sense of the world around them through their consumption of cultural products. Social change may have an impact on patterns of consumption in young people.  However, these patterns of consumption sometimes incur risk for young people and this is a cause for concern.  (Chapter 8, pp. 271-4).