Chapter 6 The Formation of Subcultures A subdivision

Chapter 6 The Formation of Subcultures

A subdivision within the dominant culture that has its own norms, beliefs and values Tend to emerge when people in similar circumstances find themselves isolated from the mainstream and band together for mutual support. Delinquent subcultures emerge in response to special problems that members of the dominant culture do not face. Copyright © 2007 by The Mc. Graw. Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Delinquent behavior is rooted in class differentials between the lower-class and middle-class. Delinquent subcultures emerge in the poor areas of large American cities Lower-class children are evaluated by middle-class teachers on the basis of a middle-class measuring rod. Lower-class children experience status frustration, and strain. Copyright © 2007 by The Mc. Graw. Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Working-Class Sociolization + Middle-Class Values of success Lower-Class Failure in the school system (among many) School dropout and Association with delinquent Peers (among some) Increased hostility and Resentment toward Middle-class standards And symbols, thus reaction formation Loss of self-esteem and increased Feelings of rejection Copyright © 2007 by The Mc. Graw. Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Improved self-image In a gang context And through negative And malicious delinquent behavior

Types of gangs 1. Corner Boys 2. College Boys 3. Delinquent Boys Copyright ©

Is the most common response to middleclass rejection - corner boys try to make the best of a bad situation. Most lower class boys become corner boys. Not a chronic delinquent but a truant. His main loyalty is to his peer group which provides support. They are well aware of their failure to achieve the standards of the American Dream. Eventually, they get menial jobs and live conventional lifestyles. Copyright © 2007 by The Mc. Graw. Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

There are few “college boys” on the corner. These boys continually embrace the cultural and social values of middle-class. Their chances for success are limited because of they are ill-equipped academically, socially, and linguistically. Copyright © 2007 by The Mc. Graw. Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

“Delinquent boys” band together to form a subculture in which they can define status in ways that to them seem attainable. Reaction formation: a mechanism that relieves anxiety through the process of rejecting with abnormal intensity what one wants but cannot obtain. These boys turn the middle-class norms upside down, thereby making conduct right in their subculture precisely because it is wrong by the norms of the larger culture. Copyright © 2007 by The Mc. Graw. Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Begins with the assumption that conventional means to success are not equally distributed among the socioeconomic classes. The lack of means causes frustration for lower-class youths which leads to criminal behavior learned and culturally transmitted. The type of delinquent behavior they engage in depends on the illegitimate opportunities available to them.

Criminal Gangs In areas where conventional and illegitimate values and behavior are integrated by a close connection of illegitimate and legitimate business, “criminal gangs” emerge Older criminals serve as role models. Teach youngsters the kinds of people to exploit and the necessary criminal skills Teach the importance of loyal relationships with criminal associates and the way to make the right connections. Copyright © 2007 by The Mc. Graw. Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Conflict Gangs Their goal is to gain a reputation for toughness and destructive violence

Retreatist Gangs This type of gang is described as a double failure given their lack of success in legitimate and illegitimate activities Characterized as interested in alcohol and drug abuse. Copyright © 2007 by The Mc. Graw. Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Limited access to legitimate means of achieving desired economic success Feelings of frustration and deprivation, leading to gang formation Stable, integrated conventional and criminal systems=criminal, theft gang Predominance of one of three types of gangs, depending on the Integration of conventional adult and criminal adult value and behavior systems in a neighborhood Nonintegrated systems, absence of criminal organization. instability = conflict, violent gang In either type of neighborhood, double failure, residual adolescence = retreatist “gang” or retreatist response Copyright © 2007 by The Mc. Graw. Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Subcultures that adhere to conduct norms conducive to violence are referred to as subcultures of violence Violence is not considered antisocial. Members of this subculture feel no guilt about their aggression. Critics argue that economic factors, not cultural ones explained regional variation in homicide rates. Copyright © 2007 by The Mc. Graw. Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Study conducted by sociologist Elijah Anderson (1999) wrote work titled “Code of the Streets” among young African Americans. He argued that violence arises from despair and alienation in which they live. They often adopt a certain “look” involving they way they dress, move, and talk. At the heart of the code is the issue of “respect”. Copyright © 2007 by The Mc. Graw. Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Display nerve by initiating physical and verbal attacks, even at the risk of their life. Distrust of the police and courts also helps explain urban violence. Young urban males feel they can not count on the legal system for help and deem it necessary to use violence to defend themselves, their families and friends. Copyright © 2007 by The Mc. Graw. Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

To Miller, juvenile delinquency is not rooted in the rejection of middle-class values; it stems from lower-class culture, which has its own value system. Gang norms are simply the adolescent expression of the lower-class culture in which the boys have grown up. The value system, not the gang norms, generates delinquent acts. Copyright © 2007 by The Mc. Graw. Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Trouble – prestige and respect Toughness – masculinity, denial of sentimentality and display of physical strength. Smartness – outsmarting, outwitting Excitement – risks, danger and thrills Fate (luck) – lucky break Autonomy – being independent of authority figures such as the police, teachers and parents. Copyright © 2007 by The Mc. Graw. Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Between 50 and 70% of gang members have access to weapons. From 1989 to 1997 nearly 20, 000 juveniles were murdered in the United States. More than half of juvenile homicide victims are killed by a firearm. Juveniles killed by a firearm increased 44% from 1988 to 1997. Copyright © 2007 by The Mc. Graw. Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Studies show that girls, like boys, join gangs for mutual support, protection, and a sense of belonging. Between 10 to 25 percent of gangs members nationwide are female – higher in major cities. Many of the female gangs are affiliates of male gangs offering support for the young men or their “homeboys” Copyright © 2007 by The Mc. Graw. Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.