Thesis (M.A.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Arts, 1990 / In r.he context of family instability, inadequate schooling, massive youth unemployment and severe residential overcrowding, juvenile delinquency became rampant in Witwatersrand townships during the 1930s. By the mid 1940s the I'tsotsis", a criminal, male-dominated youth gang subculture with its own distinctively urban style, ritual and language, had entrenched itself amongst urbanised township communities Tsotsis angrily rejected both hegemonic whlte middle class values and the apparently acquiescent culture of their parents. Tsotsi style, which drew heavily on American cinema imagery, expressed a denial of cultural consensus in urban society. Tsotsi gangs preyed materially off township residents and distanced themselves from political activity or community affairs. However, around 1959-60 tsotsis were attracted to the radical, machismo, aggressively anti-establishment politics of the Pan-Africanist Congress. The subculture dissolved during the 1960s as a result of police crackdowns, expanded state schooling and improved employment opportunities for urban youth. / WS2017