1. 1
“Believing they come from one of the toughest areas in town holds great
advantage for the Boys. They gain dignity and stature and a sense of
importance from such an image. Hence some comments made by ‘the boys’
from another area about not wanting ‘no trouble with you lot’ is seized
upon and repeated continuously till everyone has bathed in the glory.”
An extract from Parker’s (1992) study of downtown male adolescents,
known as ‘the Boys’ who lived in Roundhouse in Liverpool.
2
Paul Willis (1977) studied a group of 12 non-academic, white working class
‘lads’ in a Midlands school. The ‘lads’ were anti-school and part of a
counter-school culture which involved completely opposing the values of
the school. They opposed authority and rejected the conformist boys in
the school, who they referred to as the ‘ear’oles’.
3
Albert Cohen argued that working class boys joined delinquent
subcultures to gain status within their peer group.
4
Cloward and Ohlin describe ‘conflict subcultures’ as loosely organised
gangs where violence provides a release for young men’s frustration at
their blocked opportunities, as well as an alternative source of status
that they can earn by winning ‘turf’ (territory) from rival gangs.
5
Walter B Miller argues that the lower class has its own independent
subculture separate from mainstream culture, with its own values.

2. 6
The Crips are a mainly African American gang. They were founded in Los
Angeles, California in 1969. The Crips are one of the largest and most
violent street gangs in the United States, with an estimated 30,000 to
35,000 members.
The gang is known to be involved in murders, robberies, and drug dealing,
among many other criminal pursuits.
The gang is known for its gang members' use of the colour blue in their
clothing. However, this practice has become less common due to police
crackdowns on gang members.
Crips are publicly known to have an intense and bitter rivalry with the
Bloods and lesser feuds with some Chicano gangs.
7
“I was in prison for selling drugs. It's the area I live in, it's what it is. I
was skiving school, seeing people with flashy cars and that. I thought I
want that lifestyle, and so I did it. You never speak to anyone in another
gang or from another area. It would have kicked off. One time in a club
some Meadows lads came in and saw some St Ann's lads, then it kicked
off. I heard some people got stabbed and some people got shot. It was
just life to me.”
(Dean, an ex gang member, taken from Radio 1 Newsbeat website, 31st Jan
2011)

3. Notes for Teachers – Some characteristics of subcultures
Linked to a particular area/territory
Concerned with status/glory (discuss Cohen’s ‘status frustration’)
Rebellious – non-conformist, anti-school etc
Different values to the rest of society
Young (w/c) men?