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Collective identity is a very difficult concept to define. This is because it is such a broad area that can be expressed through a number of cultural materials including “names, narratives, symbols, verbal styles, rituals, clothing and so on”, all of which were established by a theorist named Polletta, and therefore because there are numerous factors affecting collective identity, this prevents the word from developing a concise meaning. To define “identity” as an individual word alone is also very problematic. This is because, as quoted by David Buckingham “identity is something we uniquely possess.. yet on the other hand, identity also implies a relationship with a broader collective”. Therefore this makes identity complicated because it can be used to define and represent two completely contrasting factors. Equally, to define the concept of “collective” can be just as difficult. Collective refers to a group and is “a perception of a shared status or relation”, however there are so many different factors that can influence collective identity such as social class, gender, age and so on and this is where it becomes difficult to understand the entire concept of what collective identity actually is. Trying to define British Youth as a collective identity is again very complicated as there are so many contrasting stereotypes within British Youth, for example “grebs” who listen to rock music and wear black clothing and “chavs” who listen to grime and wear tracksuits and hoodies, and therefore this represents why we as an audience cannot simply define British Youth as a single collective identity as there are so many implementing factors within this category. I will be exploring my chosen texts, all of which come from the British media, to analyse the representations that the producers have chosen to construct focusing specifically on gender within British Youth, and whether or not the media portray male and female stereotypes accurately.