The document explores how age and identity are social constructs that vary depending on factors like class, gender, ethnicity, and culture. It discusses how youth, middle age, and old age are portrayed in media and society, often negatively. For example, youth may be seen as rebellious but also facing disadvantages like unemployment and low wages. The roles and experiences of different age groups are also shaped by other social institutions like family, religion, and the workplace.

1. Exploring Identity Culture and Socialisation:
The Formation of Age Identities

2. Identity, Socialisation, Culture: Age
• L.O to understand the idea that age is a
social construction.
• To understand the different ways of
understanding age
• To evaluate ways of understanding age

3. Youth
• What is youth?
• How much power
and status do youths
have in society?
• How are youths
portrayed by the
media?
• When does it begin?
• When does it end?

4. Youth
 The experience of youth differs depending on
class, gender and ethnicity.
 Clarke (1976) – youth is based around the
concepts of rebellion and resistance. This could be
resisting the norm or rebelling against a relatively
low status position.
 E.g. how the youth of the 1960s protested against
the Vietnam war and racism in the USA.
 Subcultural groups such as Chavs are often used
by the media to represent youth in contemporary
UK – is this a true representation of youth identity
today?

5. Middle Age
What is middle age?
When does it begin?
When does it end?
Is it a good or a bad time in a person’s life?
Explain your answers

6. Old Age
1. List 10 words you would instantly associate with the term
‘elderly’
2. Compare your words to person sat next to you and highlight
any similarities
3. Highlight words that appear positive and those that have
negative connotations
4. Listen to the song ‘My generation’ by The Who. What
message does this give about old age
5. Watch the video by The Zimmers and write down ways in
which this reflects a changing view of the elderly

8. Age and the Family
• According to Jenks (1996) “childhood is not
a natural but a social construct”, Therefore
our idea of childhood is socially constructed
• Functionalists see that the move towards a
child centred society is a positive step
• Feminists such as Firestone argue that the care
and protection offered in this society is
actually oppression and control
• For example protection from paid work is not
seen as liberating, but as restrictive and as
creating inequalities between children and
adults

9. The views of childhood
• The Dionysian child is one constructed as “a
wilful material force....impish and harbouring a
potential evil'. This view suggests adults must
control children in ways that prevent them falling
victim to their essential “badness”.

10. The Apollonian child
The Apollonian child, on the other hand, is
constructed as “angelic, innocent, untainted by the
world it has recently entered. It has a natural goodness
and a clarity of vision that must be encouraged,
enabled, facilitated, not crushed or beaten into
submission”. This view suggests the role of adults is
to create the conditions under which children can
develop their essential “goodness”.
• Answer the Following Questions
• Which view is dominant today?
• What is the evidence for this?
• How is this reinforced by parents?

11. Age and the Media
Cohen Santog
• Cohen suggested that the The elderly are also portrayed
negatively. Sontag suggests that
media portray the youth as women especially are required to
‘folk devils’ look youthful and are fired when
they reach 50
• Give examples of negative
images of the youth in the
media

12. Identity, Socialisation, Culture: Age
• To understand the impact of religion and
the workplace on age identities

13. Age and Religion
• List reasons why the young are less
likely to believe and practice religion.
• List reasons why the elderly are more
likely to attend a religious orgainsation

14. Religion and Age
• Paul Heelas’ sought to explain differences in religious
participation between different age groups
• He found that 73% of those active in the holistic milieu of
Kendal are aged 45 and over
• 25% of adults aged 30-39 have downshifted over the last 10
years
• People in their forties and forties do this to spend time with their
children
• 25% of over fifties stated that they do this because they are
seeking a healthier lifestyle
• They want to stay younger for longer
• They are more likely to have affected by health problems
• An awareness of the limits of life; feeling of “time running out”

15. The Workplace
• Why do young people suffer from high
rates of unemployment?
• Why do young people earn mostly low
wages?

16. The Workplace
The Young
The young are also disadvantaged in contemporary society.
The government has estimated that 5 million children in the UK live
in poverty and many young people of working age are disadvantaged
by low wages, student loans and ineligibility for state benefits.
Most young workers earn minimum wage, 235,000 18 – 20 year olds.
More than 2/3rds of Mcdonalds’ staff are under 20. Nearly 2 million
16 – 24 year olds in full time education are also in paid employment.
2/3rds of Pizza Hut’s crews and 1/5th of Sainsbury’s store staff are
included in this figure.
In 2001, the unemployment rate for those under 25 was over 20%
and some groups of young people face greater disadvantage because
of their social characteristics.

18. • Describe what is meant by age
discrimination?
• What are the most significant figures to
illustrate age discrimination?
• What research methods would you use
measure age discrimination? (what
problems would you have?)
• What would a society without age
discrimination look like?