Tarmac Cowboys: an Ethnographic Study of the Cultural World of Boy Racers
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University of Plymouth PEARL https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk 04 University of Plymouth Research Theses 01 Research Theses Main Collection 2007 Tarmac cowboys : an ethnographic study of the cultural world of boy racers Hatton, Zannagh http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/516 University of Plymouth All content in PEARL is protected by copyright law. Author manuscripts are made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the details provided on the item record or document. In the absence of an open licence (e.g. Creative Commons), permissions for further reuse of content should be sought from the publisher or author. Tarmac Cowboys: an Ethnographic Study of the Cultural World of Boy Racers by Zannagh Hatton A thesis submitted to the University of Plymouth in partial fulfilment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Law and Social Science, Faculty of Social Science and Business May 2007 90 0762650 0 REFBENCE USE OI\fLY University of Plymouth Library Item no. 9oo-7b9-fc>SoO ShelfrTiark ^, , , , Copyright Statement This copy of the thesis has been suppHed on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with its author and that no quotation from the thesis and no information derived from it may be published without the author's prior consent. The Tarmac Cowboys: An Ethnographic Study of the Cultural World of Boy Racers By Zannagh Hatton Abstract Through my varying degrees of engagement with the street car culture which existed around the area where 1 lived in Comwall, 1 had become aware of the extent to which cars played an important role and represented the norm of daily discourse, entered into by others, and particularly young men. Yet as one of the dominant forms of mobility, the car appears to have been a neglected topic within sociology, cultural studies and related disciplines. Furthermore, 1 was unable to find a great deal of academic literature on the combined subjects of young men and motorcars, and in particular how consumption of the car and car related activities are used by some young men to express self-definition. This ethnographic study which has examined the cultural world of boy racers aged between 17 and 24 years is the result of my enquiry. My research will provide a detailed picture of how young working class men have used ownership of their cars to define who they are, and the sort of life they lead, something that other strains of social enquiry have largely ignored. It will also examine how boy racers have utilised consumption of the car and car-related practices as social capital within their own lived experiences and have used car ownership not only for mobility, but rather as a medium through which they have been able to acquire through performance with their cars, status, self- realisation, and an 'appropriate' masculine identity, something which they perceived has been denied them through other means. 1 LIST OF CONTENTS Contents: Page Number Abstract 1 Acknowledgments 7 Author's Declaration 8 Glossary of Terms 10 Chapter 1: Introduction 15 Motoring Miscreants 15 Chapter 2: The Literature Review 30 Introduction 30 The Significance of Age 34 Habitation of the Car as 'Private Space' 37 The Car as a Building Block of Self-definition 41 Notions of Working Class Masculinity 44 Creating a Masculine Image through Consumpfion of the Car and Car-related Practices 49 Cultural Capital 53 Boy Racers: Another Youth Subculture? 55 Speed and Risk-taking 60 Summary 62 Chapter 3: The Research Methodology 66 Choosing Ethnography 66 Identifying Appropriate Research Participants 75 Entering the Field 79 Increasing the Number of Research Participants 83 Participant Observation 87 "Insiders" and "Outsiders" 96 Ethical Considerations 99 The Importance of Reflexivity 106 Summary 108 Chapter 4: Life in Cornwall 110 Introduction 110 Employment and Unemployment in Cornwall 113 Mobility Within Comwall 122 The Population Distribution in Comwall 125 Work as a Central Source of Identity for the Men in my Study 127 Education and Training as Sites of Struggle 136 Summary 142 2 Chapter Page Number Chapter 5: Constructing and Maintaining the Image of a Boy Racer 146 Introduction 148 Initiation into Adult and Masculine Behaviours of Working Class Culture 149 Who are you, what are you, and what can I sell you? 155 Local Networks and Group Identity 168 Summary 178 Chapter 6: Performance 182 Having the Means for Moddin 181 A Ceaseless Challenge 194 The Meets 203 Where You Live Reflects How You Live 207 Summary 214 Chapter 7: Masculinity, Risk and Relationships 217 Growing Old is Mandatory, Growing Up is Optional 217 Exploring Relationships 227 The Perceived Role of a Girlfriend 232 Managing Tension Within the Groups 236 A Socially Constructed 'Family' 240 Summary 248 Chapter 8: Conclusions 253 Introduction 253 More than a Mode of Transport 257 Performative Exhibitionism and Risk 261 Establishing Male Identities and Ties of Friendship in a Changing Climate 263 Postscript 271 Appendices: 272 References 284 3 List of Tables Table Page Number Table 1: Unemployment Rates Data from the Office of National Statistics (NOMIS) 118 Table 2: Findings from the Basic Skills Agency (2000) 141 Table 3: Driver Behaviour Believed to Contribute to Road Traffic Accidents (Comwall County Council Road Traffic Accident Statistics Report, 2004) 225 List of Illustrations Illustrations Page Number Figure 1: Headlines from the Western Morning News, March 2006 16 Figure 2: Road Safety campaign, 'For My Girlfriend' 26 Figure 3: Early Poster advertising Michelin Tyres 43 Figure 4: A standard saloon car modified to appear more aggressive 52 Figure 5: Redefining public space and demonstrating a 'burnout' 68 Figure 6: Hundreds of boy racers and cruisers converge at an evening meet 76 Figure 7: Police presence at a meet 77 Figure 8: Saturday morning 'hanging out' at the garage 83 Figure 9: Map of Comwall 86 Figure 10: Awaiting action in a multi-story car park 90 Figure 11: Late night cruise along Torquay sea front 92 Figure 12: The inevitable result of some risky driving practices 104 Figure 13: Map of Comwall showing the District Council areas 111 Figure 14: Newlyn, showing the harbour 113 Figure 15: South Crofty Mine depicted after its closure in 1998 115 Figure 16: How it used to be. Richard O'Brian and Steve Powers at work at South Crofty Mine 120 Figure 17: Map of Comwall showing strategic transport networks in 2004 124 Figure 18: Bikers protest at Wheal Maid Valley 151 Figure 19: Home grown motocross champions 151 Figure 20: Southwestcruisin, the boy racers and cruisers website 156 Figure 21: Imagination 157 Figure 22: Auto-suppliers advertising on a cruisers website 158 Figure 23: Celtic Cruisers car window stickers 158 Figure 24: A popular example of body graphics 159 Figure 25: Demonstrating a 'wheelie' 162 Figure 26: Creating the spectacular at Saltash during a night time meet 163 Figure 27: Redline magazine feature 164 Figure 28: A reader's view of Max Power magazine 165 Figure 29: Models at the 2005 Max Power show, Birmingham NEC 166 Figure 30: A 'muscle' car 168 Figure 31: Punishment 175 Figure 32: An example of 'Bling' 184 Figure 33: Dan perfecting 'drift' on a roundabout 185 Figure 34: Showing the latest gadgetry 188 Figure 35: Work in progress 190 Figure 36: Audience participation 191 Figure 37: Demonstrating 'doughnuts' 192 Figure 38: Extract from the West Briton Newspaper, October 2004 195 Figure 39: Extract from the West Briton Newspaper, January 2004 197 Figure 40: Letter from the Devon and Comwall Constabulary 199 Figure 41: Copy of Police Waming Notice 201 Figure 42: Late night cruise arriving in Bristol 202 Figure 43: Extract from the West Briton Newspaper, June 2004 204 Figure 44: Late night meet in a multi-story car park 206 5 Figure 45: Tyre marks showing the results of manoeuvres in the multi-story car park Figure 46: Extract from the West Briton Newspaper, October 2004 Figure 47: Story from BBC News, 15 March 2005 Fieure 48: Car crash headlines in the West Briton Newspaper, 2""November, 2005 Acknowledgements "We are here; that last drive before sunrise and the glistening highway, kissed by the first shower of rain. We are that breeze that blows through open windows carrying the smell of rain on warm tarmac. We are the thrill, the speed of three hundred and eighty break horsepower up Treleigh highway whilst other people sleep. We are that freedom and we are not far away and we will see you again but not yet". This work is primarily dedicated to the memories of; Steven Roberts, David Hunter and Richard (Ritchie) Penrose (the FUBAR Posse), Tudor Evans ("T"), Duncan Willis, Bobby Marshall, Ben Waters, Peter Mayho, Peter Duckworth, Shaun James and Shaun Richards. However, 1 am deeply indebted to all the young men who gave so much of themselves and their time to the research; many of them sometimes unwittingly, especially Dominic, Shaun, Ben, Jez, Shane, Gordon, Ian, Nixon, Marvin, Joseph and Dan. 1 am particularly grateful to Professor Malcolm Williams who encouraged me to enter the field of research for without him 1 doubt that 1 would be here today. Gratitude is also extended to my long suffering children who have had to regard the back of my head inclined towards a computer for what my daughter Zelga argues has been a lifetime. Thanks must go to Dr Kevin Meethan who 1 have tried not to bother too often on the road to completion, but whose patience 1 am sure 1 have tested on occasions to the limit and to Dr Steven Miles who provided the initial spark. 7 Author's Declaration At no time during tiie registration for tiie degree of Doctor of Philosophy has the author been registered for any other University award without prior agreement of the Graduate Committee.