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Fuelling the panic: The societal reaction to boy racers
Get PDFThis article is part of the Moral Panic Studies Working Paper Series, edited by Amanda Rohloff of Brunel University. The series disseminates the work of a network of international researchers on all areas of moral panic studies.Fuelled by media coverage of reckless, irresponsible and anti-social driving, young
(male) motorists are an area of concern for politicians, police and citizens more
generally. In media and popular discourses the symbol of the boy racer has come to
represent deviance, anti-social behaviour, criminality and risk on the roads. This
paper focuses on a local moral panic concerning boy racers in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. Five elements, which characterise a moral panic, are identified and include: concern, hostility, consensus, disproportion and volatility (Goode and Ben-
Yehuda 2009[1994]). Urban regeneration played a key part in this particular moral
panic in terms of class, cultural and intergenerational clashes between racers and
outside groups. The moral panic was further institutionalised through the use of
measures such as anti-social behaviour legislation. Moreover, it was symptomatic of
wider societal concern regarding the regulation of young (male) motorists and the
related governance of urban space and incivilities. The discussion draws on data
collected via participant observation with the drivers, semi-structured interviews with
members of the outside groups and content analysis of media reports which focus on
the culture
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