The legacy of Resistance Through Rituals

Since its initial publication in 1976, Resistance Through Rituals has become one of the most influential – and criticised – texts in the academic study of youth culture. Criticisms fall into two broad camps: the perceived shortcomings of the study itself, notably its lack of attention to issues of gender and ethnicity, its Anglo-centric focus and the absence of empirical data to support its central claims vis a vis the significance of subculture as site of working-class youth resistance; criticisms of the concept of subculture itself and the proposing of new conceptual frameworks, notably, scene, lifestyle and neo-tribe. Beyond such criticism, however, there are also other questions to consider in assessing the 50-year legacy of Resistance Through Rituals . How has the concept of youth culture itself changed over the last 50 years? How have such changes been influenced by factors such as post-industrialisation, digital technologies and shifts in understandings about age and age-appropriate behaviour? Taking such considerations into account, this article will discuss the extent to which Resistance Through Rituals reads in the current context as a largely historical text and, conversely, what aspects of the work continue to have relevance (or perhaps revived relevance) for the study of youth in a contemporary context?