Minority Working Class Youth Subcultures

The different youth subcultures in the three books face prevailing social, economic, cultural, political, and racial structures which, if they are not designed to disempower and alienate youth, nevertheless have that effect. The basic reason that youth form gangs, or "subcultures," is that they do not feel a part of the "culture" at large. Whether they join together to kill or kill themselves, to steal or do drugs or vandalize, they are responding in opposition to structural conditions which do not value them as productive members of society. As Brake explains, for "American society," it is "essential" to "control" "working-class youth" and "vagrant unemployed youth" (Brake, 1993, 57). Inevitably, if such youth are viewed negatively by the controlling structures of society, any behavior they exhibit which is out of the norm---even if it is not illegal---is viewed as a problem or potential problem: "Urban working-class culture, part

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xible in the gangs than in the prevailing culture. For example, Jankowski notes that individual acts of violence in gangs, if seen as a threat or potential threat to the gang as an organization, are met with punishment from the leadership of the gang. There must be some control of membership if the gang is to survive as an organization and not dissolve into anarchy and chaos, but at the same time gang members are "defiant individualist characters" and will not tolerate too much control. Therefore, "If control is exerted, it must be confined to incidents that have either negatively affected the entire organization or have the potential to do so" (Jankowski, 1991, 176). Jankowski studied thirty-seven gangs overall in three cities, gangs composed of many ethnic groups, and his general conclusions with respect to structural conditions and gang responses are aligned with the findings of both Gaines and Brake. Jankowski argues, citing Erich Fromm as support, that the gang member's "defiant individualist character" is a response and "adaptation to the economic, social, and cultural conditions common to that group" (Jankowski, 1991, 23). The differences between the white and minority youth subcultures might account for the fact that, a
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Approximate Word count = 1533
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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