Boy Racer Culture: Youth, Masculinity and Deviance

Despite its longevity and revived public prominence, boy racer culture has largely been overlooked by sociology and criminology thus far - as have empirical studies of car cultures and automobility more generally - despite the fact that they offer a particularly rich site for the exploration of a range of major topical themes. This book makes a significant contribution to empirical investigations of car cultures and the 'mobility turn' within the social sciences. Boy Racer Culture sheds light on the internal world of boy racers, including their participation in various rituals such as car modification, subcultural media and events, and the public exhibition of this car culture. Further themes which are explored include both internal and external subcultural conflict, gender, social class, and their engagement with various societal groups. In addition, this book offers an analysis of the societal reaction or 'moral panic' concerning youth driving culture on the part of the media, police, local community, and government. Boy Racer Culture thus contributes to existing bodies of work which deal with youth, material culture, subcultures, gender, media representations of crime and deviance, and moral panics. It highlights the role of new technologies and media(s) (such as the internet) in shaping and organising youth subcultures. Moreover, it highlights the participation of women in largely male-dominated subcultures, a feature which has traditionally been overlooked in studies of youth subcultures.