The Fast and the Spurious: Geographies of Youth Car Culture in Hamilton, New Zealand

Abstract

quot;Boy racersquot; or quot;hoonsquot; attract extensive media attention and are often the focus of public concern. Discourses about quot;hooningquot; often focus on notions of public safety and illegal behaviour. What is largely absent from these debates is alternative explanations as to why young people choose to engage in quot;hooningquot; behaviour, what drives them to congregate in public spaces and why they choose to express themselves through an quot;autocentricquot; culture. When these issues are addressed it is usually within broader policy frameworks which seek ways of dissipating youth activities in spaces constructed as quot;trouble spotsquot;. This thesis represents an attempt to provide a reverse discourse about youth car culture and young people's presence in public spaces. Criminal activity not withstanding, youth car culture behaviour in this context is treated as a legitimate form of cultural expression that has the same social validity as other non-mainstream phenomena. Through feminist and poststructuralist understandings of identities, landscapes and place, the complexities of youth car culture will be unpacked in an attempt to expose quot;concernsquot; which may turn out to be little more than moral panic.