Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.2009, Page 77

DREYMAR UM BILAR Á OYGCJUM
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non-conformist youths from the rest is often
linked to political risk discourses. The risky
youth is, implicitly, not supposed to have
much contact with the risk-free groups in
society because of a 'risk fencing' policy. The
ideational suppression of youth with risk
behaviour is today more elaborate than ever
before. Risk was a natural part of everyday
life on the rocky islands when natural forces
in the form of wind, rain, fog and stormy
waters had to be faced from the age of 14.
The concept of risk itself was ambiguous and
beyond human judgement.
The free untamed mind, characterizing
many youngsters, was praized, not
suppressed, in traditional society. There was
no strict separation between work and
leisure, duties and privileges. Even the
analytic distinction between youth and
adults was uncommon in premodern
society. Young and old worked closely
together and were hence in friendly social
interaction that secured the smooth
reproduction of cultural values from
generation to generation. The reckless young
driver that spreads horror and panic in his
home community is seldom accompanied
by elder passengers. The boy is probably not
even talking to his elders about his high
speed car driving.
This text has put young men in focus,
but young women take part in all the car
cultures in the Faroe Islands. There might be
less focus on women as drivers in the public
discourse and media in general, but the fact
is that women are very active participants in
tnost cruising and racing missions. They are
still a minority among the hard core drivers
with high risk behaviour, but they are no
i°nger excluded from the traditional
masculine sphere of society. The Atlantic
cowboys of the 1970s and 1980s lived in a
society characterized by deep gender
divisions regarding young people's leisure,
lifestyle and identities. There has been a shift
in society since the 1990s. Today young
women with a deep interest in motor
vehicles and engines feel free to act like the
lads on the roads.
Nobody can become totally risk-free.
The so-called 'risk society' is characterized by
the 'democratization’ of risk, which implies
the spreading of unwanted risk to all social
and cultural layers of society, even if the
wealthy classes indeed invest huge amounts
of money in order to improve security and
reduce risk in their own neighbourhoods
(Beck, 1992; 1998; 2008). Young people -
especially young men - are often considered
the most dangerous participants in car
traffic in modern societies. It might be a
statistically correct statement, but the ironic
side efTect of the public warning against
young male drivers is the desperation and
aggressiveness of the outsiders that take risks
on the roads. The rough prejudices against
young drivers, labelling a whole generation
as senseless road users, are largely unfair and
ineffective. The car cultures reflect youth
cultures that reflect general currents in con-
temporary culture. It is in other words a
larger construction involving adults as well
as young people.