SOURCES OF IDENTITY
FOUR MAIN SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS THAT SHAPE IDENTITY
Gender and Sexuality
Sex refers to biological differences between male and female
Gender are the cultural differences
Sexuality refers to desires, needs and behaviour that are seen as specifically sexual.
Both learned and natural, though much varies over time and between cultures. Natural is fixed by biology and normal is the way people 'should' behave. Eg. homosexuality as a separate identity rather than just a pattern of desires and behaviour, emerged in Europe only after it was seen as a medical abnormality caused by biology or upbringing.
Feminism encouraged the study of girl subcultures.
A. McRobbie wrote of the role of girls magazines in creating a bedroom-based subculture and feminine identity.
Age
Old can be seen as high status in traditional society, but dependent in modern.
Youth and subcultures
Based on:
Generation gap
Structural position of youth between child and adulthood.
Consumerist youth market in newly affluent society
Also biological and psychological explanations.
In sixties and seventies, focus went to deviant subcultures with a particular interest in style and fashion. The CCCS, Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies, researched emphasized the influence of social class (e.g. Hall and Jefferson 1976. S. Cohen's work on mods and rockers took a more interactionist approach to moral panics about youth.
In the eighties, focus went from deviants to ordinary youth. Reasons for the changing concerns included:
High youth unemployment replaced affluence.
Ethnic minority youth was recognised as having distinctive identities shaped by the diverse influences of parents, school and racism.
The interaction of gender, age, class and ethnicity was recognised.
Postmodernist approaches in the nineties suggest that youth subcultures have little to do with resistance but are based on superficial styles, often taken from the past and mixed in a playful way.
ETHNICITY
Racism likely strengthened existing identities and created new ones.
Old identities may be based on tradition and country of origin.
New identities may combine previously diverse groups under new labels of Asian of 'Black British' etc.
New ethnic identities are also influenced by the mass media.
C. Griffin and S. Sharpe wrote of the effects of subculture on education. M. Fuller wrote about black girls in school and C. Bulter about Asian girls.
Extra Information
Until 1972, homosexuality was considered a mental illness in the US.
Pattens of consumption, eg gay pink, are often marketed to particular social groups. It's arguable whether consumption can define people's identities. The 'pink pound' is the spending power of gay men.
Think of two reasons why old people might see themselves as helpless and dependent in modern society.
Forced retirement
Increasing ill health
Why do migrant groups often undergo a sea of change?
Different socialisation, school, media etc.
Many migrants are from the countryside, and they may end up in cities.
Impact of western ideas eg. feminism.