Figure Eights, Spin Outs and Power Slides: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Youth and the Culture of Joyriding

What Does it Mean to be an Adult? Perceptions of Young Men in Residential Care

“…While some commentators suggest that young people may be drawn to alternative or less socially desirable rites (e.g. alcohol consumption, criminal behaviour) (Dawes 2002;Tacey 1995), the evidence supporting such propositions remains unclear (e.g. see Ogilvie 1996).…”

Auto Theft and Youth Culture: A Nexus of Masculinities, Femininities and Car Culture

“…Also, approximately 75% of all the people accused of motor vehicle theft in 2001 were under the age of 25 and young people aged 12Á17 accounted for 42% of all people charged with stealing a motor vehicle (Wallace 2003). Other authors (e.g., Cunneen & White 1995;Dawes 2002;Copes & Hochstetler 2003) in the United States and Australia have also recognized that motor vehicle theft is a crime primarily participated in by men. Drawing on interviews conducted with young men and women who had participated in motor vehicle theft, this paper considers masculinity and femininity as performative expressions of gendered practice.…”

“…Since motor vehicle theft is not considered an avenue to meet hegemonic feminine ideals, young women should ascribe different motives and report different behaviours for their participation in auto theft than the young men. Although some research has been completed on the relationship between motor vehicle theft and masculinity (e.g., Walker 1998;Dawes 2002;Copes & Hochstetler 2003), the literature surrounding masculinity and crime has tended to focus on violence (e.g., Polk 1994;Messerschmidt 1997Messerschmidt , 1999Messerschmidt , 2000Totten 2003). This has meant that there has been little consideration of what motor vehicle theft means for women.…”

Policing the roads: traffic cops, ‘Boy Racers’ and anti-social behaviour

“…Car cultures which have recently been the focus of social scientific investigation include the kortelliralli street racers of Helsinki (Vaaranen, 2004), the raggare in Sweden (O'Dell, 2001) and Chicano Lowriders in the United States (Allard-Holtz, 1975;Bright, 1998;Vigil, 1991). 'Boy racers' have been an area of scrutiny in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia 2 with scholars highlighting the link between working-class masculinity and participation (see Author, 2009a;Bengry-Howell and Griffin, 2007;Dawes, 2002;Falconer and Kingham, 2007;Hatton, 2005;Leigh, 1995).…”