The document discusses several theories around youth culture and sexuality: 1) Erikson and Parsons' theories discuss adolescence as a time of identity development and transitioning from reliance on parents to autonomy through dependence on peer groups. 2) Cohen and Hebdige view youth subcultures as reactions to social forces and the dominant adult culture, with media and ideology influencing the construction and labeling of subcultures. 3) Butler and Foucault suggest that sexuality and gender identities are socially constructed through regulatory forces that determine what possibilities appear natural and coherent. Representations of sexuality in media are shaped by these dominant ideologies.

1. Youth & Sexuality

2. Youth Culture
James Coleman argues that age segregation is
the root of a separate youth culture.
Erikson theorized that the major psychological
conflict of adolescence is identity versus role
confusion. The goal of this stage of life is to
answer the question, “Who am I?”
Parsons stated that adolescence is a time when
young people are transitioning from reliance on parents
to autonomy. In this transitory state, dependence on the
peer group serves as a stand-in for parents

3. Youth Sub-Culture
Stan Cohen argues youth subcultures are not
coherent social groupings that arise
spontaneously as a reaction to social forces, but
that mass media labelling results in the creation
of youth subcultures by imposing an ideological
framework in which people can locate their
Behaviour.

4. Youth Sub-Culture
Dick Hebdige describes subcultures as a reaction
of subordinated groups that challenge the
hegemony of the dominant culture. Therefore
youth culture can be viewed as a subordinate
group in relation to the dominant adult society.

5. Your Work
Have you used any youth sub-cultures in your
work? How (construction – mise-en-scene,
sound) and why – link to narrative themes.

6. Sexuality
(Using Queer Theory as our approach)
“Queer is by definition whatever is at odds
with the normal, the legitimate, the dominant.
There is nothing in particular to which it
necessarily refers.”

7. Judith Butler
Butler suggests that sexuality is socially
constructed. She borrows from the work of
Foucault suggesting that “regulatory forces” –
for us the controllers of dominant ideology
decide in advance what possibilities of sex, gender,
and sexuality are socially permitted to appear as
coherent or "natural. Ultimately ideologies of
homosexuality, heterosexuality and bisexuality are
born out of this

8. Your Work
In your work how have you constructed
representations of sexuality? Why?

9. Task
Now Plan a response to the following:
Evaluate one of your coursework using the
concept of representation.