Subcultural Explanations of Crime and Deviance PDF

**Topic 6 -- Subcultural Explanations + Age & Crime** ***Key questions: What is the relationship between age and crime & deviance? What are subcultural explanations for crime and deviance? What is cultural criminology*** **[Introduction]** Crime is associated with young people, with the peak age...

**Topic 6 -- Subcultural Explanations + Age & Crime** ***Key questions: What is the relationship between age and crime & deviance? What are subcultural explanations for crime and deviance? What is cultural criminology*** **[Introduction]** Crime is associated with young people, with the peak age for offending being 14-25. Rates of criminality decrease as a person gets older. There might be some reasons for this such as young people living in urban areas giving them more opportunity to commit crime. Younger people are more likely to be marginalised and have low paid work or be unemployed. They are less likely to have strong bonds with society (see Right Realist Hirschi in Topic 8) such as a family of their own and high social standing. Young people are more likely to be involved in risk taking behaviour and succumb to peer pressure. Much youth crime is unsophisticated and unplanned. It is, therefore, more-likely to be witnessed, especially by the police who may have already labelled them. Young people are less likely to be able to afford legal representation; however, young people often receive less harsh punishment than adults committing the same crimes to avoid criminalising them. The lifestyles of young people (the young are the most-frequent users of pubs and clubs for example) may expose them to situations where criminal behaviour is possible / likely (especially violent crimes, joyriding and various forms of petty crime -- minor thefts, for example). Some sociologists seek to explain why young people are more likely to be involved in crime such as **subcultural theorists.** Others believe young people and crime is a ***social construction*** and that young people commit no more crime than any other age group, it just appears this way because of powerful groups like the police, courts and media (see **Hall, S Cohen**, etc). Many young people are involved in **juvenile delinquency**, which is described as low level offending by young people such as joyriding, graffiti, drug taking and anti-social behaviour, which has no monetary value (**non-utilitarian**). Much sociological theory on the matter suggests that young people are involved in juvenile delinquency because they are involved in subcultures. Subcultures are groups with distinct norms and values. Peer pressure plays a big role in young people joining subcultures and feeling the necessity to act in a certain way that they wouldn't when on their own. It's worth remembering that subcultures still exist within society as very few totally isolate themselves from everybody. Mostly, these groups deviate from society's norms and values, adhere to those of a group at times and not at others. Much of the material from this section you will recognise from the youth pack and therefore it is briefer. 1. **Deviant & Criminal Subcultures are Functional** Functionalist sociologists argue that deviant and criminal subcultures are functional for certain individuals within society. **Albert Cohen** showed that some youths join **deviant and criminal subcultures to gain status.** Cohen found that 'lower class' boys strove to emulate middle class values but were unable to do this; this led to a feeling of **status frustration**. As a result, they invert these values in favour of misbehaving in a subculture. He believed these working-class youths committed non-utilitarian crime to gain status among other members of the group. Also **Venkatesh**'s ideas of **'outlaw capitalism'** reinforces the idea of **youths joining criminal subcultures (drug dealing gangs) to gain money** and **as a defence mechanism against structural inequalities. Therefore these deviant and criminal subcultures are functional for individuals as it allows them to gain status, earn money and defend each other from an unjust world.** In a similar functionalist study, **Cloward and Ohlin** show how working class youth deviate from societal norms because they don't possess the same legitimate opportunity structures as the middle class (good education and access to jobs). Instead the working classes have more access to **illegitimate opportunity structures** (earning money and status via crime and deviancy)**.** This is because **criminal subcultures usually have established criminal networks, role models and hierarchies that already exist in working class areas. These criminal subcultures are functional as it allows working class individuals and groups opportunities to earn money and status when their legitimate means to do so are blocked. Cloward & Ohlin also show how conflict** subcultures (based on fighting, respect or challenging authority) is also functional for certain individuals and groups in society. A person who is not successful in either of these subcultures could join a **retreatist** subculture (a world of drugs and alcohol abuse). Again, these deviant and criminal subcultures provide opportunities for certain individuals and groups to earn money and status, to challenge authority or to retreat from society's norms. **[Criticisms]** **Marxists** like **Snider and Gordon** would point out that deviant and criminal subcultures are not just functional for youths or the working classes. **White collar and corporate crime** are mostly committed by middle-aged and middle-class individuals and groups, these are functional for the same reasons that functionalists endorse i.e. to earn money and status. Crimes like fraud, inflating share prices, tax evasion, car manufacturers hiding their emissions output to sell more vehicles or even MP's fiddling their expenses are all examples of deviant and criminal subcultures functioning to earn more money and status. More importantly, from a Marxist perspective, these deviant and criminal subcultures are operating in predominately middle-aged and middle-class environments and exist despite having access to legitimate opportunities. **2 Deviant & Criminal Subcultures are a Rebellion against Capitalism** **Remember (from the Youth booklet) that Marxists argue that deviant and criminal youth subcultures are a resistance to capitalism and consumerism. Gramsci points out that working class youths are yet to be ideologically controlled by capitalism and they still have the capacity for free thought to challenge the system. Therefore deviant & criminal youth subcultures are ways for working classes to rebel against cultural hegemony.** **Hebdige** takes Gramsci's idea further by showing us how the use of **alternative spectacular youth subcultures** (punks, hippies, etc) are used to **reject** **cultural hegemony**. These spectacular youth subcultures create their own distinctive styles in an attempt to **'solve' the problems** of capitalism but, according to Hebdige, the solutions they offer are **'imaginary solutions'**. **Scraton, on the other-hand, shows how deviant and criminal youth subcultures emerge as a legitimate resistance to oppression and exclusion. For example, working classes are excluded from legitimate opportunities (education, employment, etc) and are therefore justified in creating and maintaining anti-school subcultures to rebel against this injustice or they are justified in joining criminal gangs to earn money. For example, ethnic minorities may face historical, structural and individual racism which ultimately excludes them from legitimate opportunities and therefore these youths are justified in politically resisting these structural inequalities via political protests (BLM) or joining gangs and participating in alternative lifestyles that conflict with mainstream society (Sivanandan & Rastafarianism are useful examples here). Scraton's idea could also be applied to gender (structural exclusion via capitalism & patriarchy) and justified rebellion via groups like Pussy Riot, Ladettes, etc. Nevertheless, Marxists show that marginalised groups like the working class, ethnic minorities and females are resisting the external forces of a capitalistic society.** **[Criticisms]** **Postmodernist Katz is sceptical of the Marxist view that crime and deviance is politically motivated or takes place as a resistance to capitalism. He suggests that deviance and crime is often impulsive, seductive and sensual. Young people transgress for the thrill of misbehaviour and for a break to their routine. Katz argues that young people are randomly attracted to deviant behaviour, rather than being influenced or directed by the inequalities of capitalism.** 3. **Deviant & Criminal Subcultures are a Reaction to Patriarchy** Both female and male dominated youth subcultures can be seen as reactions to patriarchy in different ways, i.e. to deviate from patriarchy, to conform to patriarchy or to challenge and rebel against patriarchy. For example, deviant online subcultures like pro-ana and pro-mia (**Cieslik and Pollack**) show that some young females are **deviating against the patriarchal ideology** of the ideal body image for women. These females, by participating in eating disorders, see this as a way to gain control over their own bodies and therefore not conform to male dominated ideas of female body image. **Harding** shows us that in criminal subcultures like gangs young females are still **controlled by a patriarchal hierarchy** and play **secondary roles**. These roles include hiding weapons, carrying drugs and providing a sexual role for males. This shows that females, even if they do join deviant and criminal subcultures, are still controlled by the patriarchal hierarchy within them. Other studies show how **patriarchy can hinder females** from joining both deviant and criminal subcultures. **Heidensohn** shows how patriarchy controls females in both **public** (work, media, education) and **private** (family: socialisation, conjugal roles, domestic violence, etc) spheres which results in females having less opportunities to be involved in deviant or criminal gangs. Nevertheless, **Adler** shows how female subcultures can be seen as a rebellion against patriarchy. In her **Liberation Thesis** she argues that females should be more deviant and criminal in order to challenge and eradicate patriarchy. Examples of this include **Pussy Riot** and **\#metoo** campaigns. **Jackson** also shows how females rebel against the **patriarchal school system** by creating deviant anti-school subcultures. The **increase in female crime rates** are also evidence of liberation ideology (Adler) and ladette subcultures (Jackson). All of these studies show that female subcultures can either deviate from patriarchy, conform to patriarchy or challenge and rebel against patriarchy. For **males**, deviant and criminal youth subcultures can also be seen to **deviate or to conform to patriarchy.** For example, **Messerschmidt** shows how patriarchy influences male criminal activity as young males express their **hegemonic masculinity** values via criminal activities like drug-dealing (breadwinner) violence (protector) sexism and misogyny (dominance). But **Haenfler** shows that some males don't conform to hegemonic masculinity in wider society but instead practice **nerd masculinity** via online subcultures. This is evident in gaming where males can compete and earn status amongst others. Some sociologists like Haenfler see this is as a reaction to the dominant values of hegemonic masculinity and therefore see these males as deviating from the norms of patriarchal society. However, other sociologists (like **Sarkessian**) point out that these online nerd masculinities are still glamorising criminal ideas of **sexism, misogyny and violence** which is reflective of both hegemonic masculinity and patriarchy. **[Criticisms]** **Intersectionality** shows that it is not just patriarchy that influences deviant and criminal subcultures a multitude other factors need to also be taken into consideration too. **Marxists** (Gramsci, Hebdige, etc) show that **social class and capitalism** has a major influence, **ethnicity** (Sivanandan, Scraton, etc) **racism and culture** plays a huge role, the role of the **media** (Hall, Cohen, etc) and **age** can also be strong contributing factors to the origins and development of deviant and criminal subcultures. Therefore, although patriarchy is a strong contributor, other influences need to be taken into consideration too. 4. **Deviant & Criminal Subcultures are Linked to Socialisation & Dependency** The New Right point to socialisation and dependency as reasons for the origins and development of deviant and criminal youth subcultures. **Charles Murray** suggests that the **underclass** (long-term unemployed and welfare claimants) subscribe to **deviant and criminal value sytems** and transmit these values to their children via socialisation. Murray (and others) point to the rise of **single mothers and absent fathers** as a major factor in the development of the underclass. The argument is that a lack of male role models in female headed single parent families leads to a lack of discipline and control of younger males growing up in these underclass families. **Tony Sewell** points to the role of the media in socialising these young males into a culture of **hypermasculinity** which glamorises the activities of rebellion via drug dealing to earn money, gang violence to sustain status, and sexism and misogyny to control females. Both of these studies show how poor socialisation from single mothers in underclass families are a cause for the rise of deviant and criminal youth subcultures in wider society. **Marsland** reinforces Murrays' idea on the underclass but he blames a **dependency culture** for the continuation of the underclass and therefore the development of deviant and criminal youth subcultures. Marsland believes that the **welfare state is over-generous** and makes it too easy to 'live of the state' which in turn encourages an underclass culture of immediate gratification, anti-work and anti-authority values and norms. Therefore a **'nanny state' encourages a culture of dependency** which in turn leads to a rise in deviant and criminal youth subcultures. #### **Criticisms/counterpoints/evaluation** Marxists would also criticise Marsland for failing to recognise that the government is responsible for class inequality but it's not because they are too generous. It's because capitalism is an economic system which allows one social class to exploit the other. **Marxist Shildrick** also criticises Murray's view that the key explanation for worklessness with the underclass community is simply down to internalise poor attitudes and poor work ethics. He argues that the main causes behind worklessness are down to **multiple forms of deprivation and social exclusion** experienced by the underclass, as well as the limited opportunities available due to the economic situation and state of the labour market.