Subculture

In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people

with a culture (whether distinct or hidden) which differentiates them from the larger
culture to which they belong.
As early as 1950, David Riesman distinguished between a majority, "which
passively accepted commercially provided styles and meanings, and a 'subculture'
which actively sought a minority style ... and interpreted it in accordance with
subversive values".[1] In his 1979 book Subculture the Meaning of Style, Dick
Hebdige argued that a subculture is a subversion to normalcy. He wrote that
subcultures can be perceived as negative due to their nature of criticism to the
dominant societal standard. Hebdige argued that subcultures bring together likeminded individuals who feel neglected by societal standards and allow them to
develop a sense of identity.
In 1995, Sarah Thornton, drawing on Pierre Bourdieu, described "subcultural
capital" as the cultural knowledge and commodities acquired by members of a
subculture, raising their status and helping differentiate themselves from members
of other groups.[2] In 2007, Ken Gelder proposed to distinguish subcultures from
countercultures based on the level of immersion in society.[3] Gelder further
proposed six key ways in which subcultures can be identified:
1. through their often negative relations to work (as 'idle', 'parasitic', at play or
at leisure, etc.);
2. through their negative or ambivalent relation to class (since subcultures are
not 'class-conscious' and don't conform to traditional class definitions);
3. through their association with territory (the 'street', the 'hood', the club, etc.),
rather than property;
4. through their movement out of the home and into non-domestic forms of
belonging (i.e. social groups other than the family);
5. through their stylistic ties to excess and exaggeration (with some
exceptions);
6. through their refusal of the banalities of ordinary life and massification.[3]
[edit] Identifying subcultures
The study of subcultures often consists of the study of symbolism attached to
clothing, music and other visible affectations by members of subcultures, and also
the ways in which these same symbols are interpreted by members of the
dominant culture. According to Dick Hebdige, members of a subculture often signal
their membership through a distinctive and symbolic use of style, which includes
fashions, mannerisms, and argot.[4]
Subcultures can exist at all levels of organizations, highlighting the fact that there
are multiple cultures or value combinations usually evident in any one organization
that can complement but also compete with the overall organisational culture.[5] In

some cases, subcultures have been legislated against, and their activities
regulated or curtailed.[6]
[edit] Subcultures' relationships with mainstream culture
It may be difficult to identify certain subcultures because their style (particularly
clothing and music) may be adopted by mass culture for commercial purposes.
Businesses often seek to capitalize on the subversive allure of subcultures in
search of Cool, which remains valuable in the selling of any product. [7] This process
of cultural appropriation may often result in the death or evolution of the subculture,
as its members adopt new styles that appear alien to mainstream society. [8] This
process provides a constant stream of styles which may be commercially
adopted.[citation needed]
Music-based subcultures are particularly vulnerable to this process, and so what
may be considered a subculture at one stage in its historysuch as jazz, goth,
punk, hip hop and rave culturesmay represent mainstream taste within a short
period of time.[9] Some subcultures reject or modify the importance of style,
stressing membership through the adoption of an ideology which may be much
more resistant to commercial exploitation.[10] The punk subculture's distinctive (and
initially shocking) style of clothing was adopted by mass-market fashion companies
once the subculture became a media interest. Dick Hebdige argues that the punk
subculture shares the same "radical aesthetic practices" as Dada and surrealism:
Like Duchamp's 'ready mades' - manufactured objects which qualified as art
because he chose to call them such, the most unremarkable and inappropriate
items - a pin, a plastic clothes peg, a television component, a razor blade, a
tampon - could be brought within the province of punk (un)fashion...Objects
borrowed from the most sordid of contexts found a place in punks' ensembles;
lavatory chains were draped in graceful arcs across chests in plastic bin liners.
Safety pins were taken out of their domestic 'utility' context and worn as gruesome
ornaments through the cheek, ear or lip...fragments of school uniform (white brinylon shirts, school ties) were symbolically defiled (the shirts covered in graffiti, or
fake blood; the ties left undone) and juxtaposed against leather drains or shocking
pink mohair tops.[11]
[edit] Urban tribes
In 1985, French sociologist Michel Maffesoli coined the term urban tribe, and it
gained widespread use after the publication of his Le temps des tribus: le dclin de
l'individualisme dans les socits postmodernes (1988).[12] Eight years later, this
book was published in the United Kingdom as The Time of the Tribes: The Decline
of Individualism in Mass Society.[13]
According to Maffesoli, urban tribes are microgroups of people who share common
interests in urban areas. The members of these relatively small groups tend to
have similar worldviews, dress styles and behavioral patterns. Their social

interactions are largely informal and emotionally laden, different from late
capitalism's corporate-bourgeoisie cultures, based on dispassionate logic.
Maffesoli claims that punks are a typical example of an "urban tribe".[14]
Five years after the first English translation of Le temps des tribus, writer Ethan
Watters claims to have coined the same neologism in a New York Times Magazine
article. This was later expanded upon the idea in his book Urban Tribes: A
Generation Redefines Friendship, Family, and Commitment. According to Watters,
urban tribes are groups of never-marrieds between the ages of 25 and 45 who
gather in common-interest groups and enjoy an urban lifestyle, which offers an
alternative to traditional family structures.[15]
[edit] Sexual subcultures
Further information: Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures
The sexual revolution of the 1960s led to a countercultural rejection of the
established sexual and gender norms, particularly in the urban areas of Europe,
North and South America, Australia, and white South Africa. A more permissive
social environment in these areas led to a proliferation of sexual subcultures
cultural expressions of non-normative sexuality. As with other subcultures, sexual
subcultures adopted certain styles of fashion and gestures to distinguish them from
the mainstream.[16]
Homosexuals expressed themselves through the gay culture, considered the
largest sexual subculture of the 20th century. With the ever increasing acceptance
of homosexuality in the early 21st century, including its expressions in fashion,
music, and design, the gay culture can no longer be considered a subculture in
many parts of the world, although some aspects of gay culture like leathermen,
bears, and feeders are considered subcultures within the gay movement itself.[16]
The butch and femme identities or roles among some lesbians also engender their
own subculture with stereotypical attire, for instance drag kings.[17] A late 1980s
development, the queer movement can be considered a subculture broadly
encompassing those that reject normativity in sexual behavior, and who celebrate
visibility and activism. The wider movement coincided with growing academic
interests in queer studies and queer theory. Aspects of sexual subcultures can vary
along other cultural lines. For instance, in the United States, the term down-low is
used to refer to African-American men who do not identify themselves with the gay
or queer cultures, but who practice gay cruising, and adopt a specific hip-hop attire
during this activity.[17]
THE WAY WE DRESS, the way we speak, THE WAY WE DO

"Urban tribes are groups of people in urban areas who have some kind of close
association
based
upon
similar
lifestyles
or
activities"

"Urban tribes are young city people that gather in relatively small, fluid groups.
These groups share common interests that are, in general, different from the
interests
of
mainstream
culture".
(Michel
Maffesoli)

They are made up by groups of people usually young, with a distinct common
identity: the same aesthetic codes, the same identity symbols, the same rules, the
same language, the same music........ A whole ideology! They are a reflection of
what they love or what they hate and of their own instincts. We can find them in
any Spanish city, but they are usually concentrated in the big cities like Madrid,
Barcelona
or
Seville.
SOME

URBAN

TRIBES

etas y Latin Kins Pijos Ocupas Pelolais o Barbies Mods Emos

Heavies Rastas Hardcores Gticos Grunges Skaters Rockers Raperos Wannabes
Lolailos
Frikis
Canis
Bakalaeros

Some of them are nearly extinct, and others in full expansion. It is estimated that in
Madrid alone coexist more than fifteen tribes. They usually meet in central,
commercial
or
nightlife
areas.
Sometimes people associate urban tribes with violence. In fact, there are some of
them which are linked to incidents, brutal attacks and social problems; but many of
them
are
inoffensive.
Do
you
know
What
?................
Urban tribes are not new, but a very fashionable tendency. In fact, they date back
hundreds years: concretely to the 18th century in Madrid: There are some
references identifying them in paintings by Goya or Atienza !
Urban Tribes: Yesterday
The Hippies

The hippie subculture was originally a

youth movement that began in the United
States during the early 1960s and spread
around the world. These people created
their own communities, listened to
psychedelic rock, preached free love, and
used drugs such as cannabis and LSD to
explore
alternative
states
of
consciousness.
Hippie fashions and values had a major
effect on culture, influencing popular music,
television, film, literature, and the arts.
Since the 1960s, many aspects of hippie
culture have been assimilated by
mainstream society. The religious and
cultural diversity espoused by the hippies
has gained widespread acceptance, and
Eastern philosophy and spiritual concepts
have
reached
a
wide
audience.
Both men and women in the hippie
movement wore jeans and maintained long
hair, and both genders wore sandals or went barefoot. Men often wore beards,
while women wore little or no makeup, with many going braless. Hippies often
chose brightly coloured clothing and wore unusual styles, such as bell-bottom
trousers, waistcoats, tie-dyed garments, peasant blouses, and long, full skirts.
Hippies often purchased their clothes from flea markets and second-hand shops.
Hippie homes, vehicles and other possessions were often decorated with
psychedelic art.
The Punks
The punk subculture is based
around punk rock. Punk culture
encompasses distinct styles of
music, ideologies, fashion, visual
art, dance, literature, and film. The
punk subculture emerged in the
United States, United Kingdom,
Australia and South Africa in the
mid-to-late-1970s, and has since
undergone several developments.
While most punk rock uses the
distorted
guitars
and
noisy
drumming that is derived from
1960s garage rock and 1970s pub
rock, some punk bands incorporate
elements from other subgenres,

such as metal or folk rock. Most punk rock songs are short, have simple and
somewhat basic arrangements using relatively few chords, and they use lyrics that
express punk values and ideologies ranging from the nihilism of the Sex Pistols'
"No Future" to the positive, anti-drug message of Minor Threat's "Straight Edge".
Punk rock is usually played in small bands rather than by solo artists. Punk bands
usually consist of a singer, one or two electric guitars, an electric bass player, and
a drummer (the singer may be one of the musicians). The backup vocals typically
consist of shouted slogans, choruses, or football(soccer)-style chants, rather than
the
sweet,
arranged
harmony
vocals
of
pop
bands.
Punk-related ideologies are mostly concerned with individual freedom. As
regards politics, most punks could be categorized as having left-wing or
progressive views. Some punks participate in protests for local, national or global
change. Some trends in punk politics include anarchism, socialism, antiauthoritarianism, anti-militarism, anti-capitalism, anti-racism, anti-sexism, antinationalism, anti-homophobia, environmentalism, vegetarianism, veganism, and
animal
rights.
Punks seek their identity with the highly theatrical use of clothing, hairstyles,
cosmetics, tattoos, jewelry and body modification. Ordinary clothing is adorned with
paint; a black bin liner becomes a dress, shirt or skirt; safety pins and razor blades
are used as jewellery. Leather, rubber, and vinyl clothing are also popular. Punks
also sometimes wear tight "drainpipe" jeans, Plaid or Tartan trousers, T-shirts with
risqu images, rocker jackets (which are often decorated with studs or spikes), and
footwear such as Converse sneakers, skate shoes or Dr. Martens boots.
Some punks style their hair to stand in spikes, cut it into Mohawks or other
dramatic shapes, often colouring it with vibrant, unnatural hues. Punks tend to
adorn their favorite jacket or waistcoats with pin-back buttons and patches of
bands they love and ideas they believe in, telling the world around them a little bit
about who they are. They sometimes flaunt taboo symbols such as the Iron Cross.
Some early punks occasionally wore clothes displaying a Nazi swastika for shockvalue, but most modern punks are staunchly anti-racist and are more likely to wear
a crossed-out swastika symbol. In contrast to punks who believe that fashion is a
central part of the punk subculture, there are some punks who are decidedly "antifashion," arguing that music and/or ideology should define punk, not fashion. This
is most common in the post-1980s US hardcore punk scene, where members of
the subculture often dressed in T-shirts and jeans, rather than the more elaborate
outfits and spiked, dyed hair of their late 1970s UK punk predecessors.
The Event
The Night of the Pencils (in Spanish, La Noche de
los Lpices) was a series of kidnappings and forced
disappearances followed by torture of a number of
young students by the Argentine police, during the last
dictatorship (known as the National Reorganization
Process).
The kidnappings were performed by the Buenos Aires
Provincial Police (under Coronel Ramn Camps and

Commissioner General Miguel Etchecolatz), mostly in the night between 16

September and 17 September 1976. The victims were 10 students, mainly current
or former activists and members of the Secondary Student Union in the city of La
Plata, who had been demanding the creation of a free bus pass. Such demands
were considered subversive by the dictatorship. The students were held for months
in several illegal detention centers, and tortured. Six of them were killed; the other
four were released at different times between 1978 and 1980.
The story of the students from their kidnapping until their death or release was
depicted by the 1986 film Night of the Pencils, directed by Hctor Olivera.
The testimony of Pablo Daz, the last survivor to be released, served as the basis
for a song with the same title by Canarian singer Rogelio Botanz.

Urban Tribes: Today

Many
different
urban
tribes roam the streets of
Buenos Aires, Argentina.
They meet on Saturday
afternoons in a park just
opposite
the
Palacio
Pizzurno. Goth girls wear
tight
corsets,
fishnet
sleeves, purple hair and
razor blade necklaces.
Gothic boys paint their
fingernails black and wear
make-up and clothes of

the same colour.They listen to the band Lacrimosa. Goth lolitas, instead, wear
garter belts, black satin gloves and minimal checked skirts: they imitate the
Japanese
anim
characters.
Emos wear black and they reflect on the sadness of life. They mostly listen to the
bands My Chemical Romance,
Tokio
Hotel and
Good
Charlotte.
Floggers wear tight trousers (known as chupines in Spanish) of different colours, Tshirts with letters (sometimes in pink) and have delicate gestures when they move.
They are called like that because they have a fotolog on the internet. The leader of
the floggers is Agustina "Cumbio" Vivero. They dance electro music. "Alternas" are
the girls who wear green T-shirts, orange shoes, pins on their schoolbags and
listen to the group Miranda!. They are fans of Kitty and they love fruit motifs (such
as
cherries
and
strawberries).
in
patterns.
Another urban tribe is that of the visuals. Boys wear tube skirts and dark make-up
whereas the girls wear tulle skirts and strass bracelets and have platinum blonde
hair.
The Emo Girl and The Band

In May 2008 Hannah Bond, a 13-year-old girl from Kent, hung herself, and Emo
music was blamed for her suicide. The coroner suggested that because Bond was
so obsessive with that music that it was linked to her death.
Bond had apparently talked with her friends about the "glamour" of suicide and
even had a picture of an emo girl with a bleeding wrist on her Bebo page. She was
also obsessed with the band "My Chemical Romance." Her parents seemed to
think her obsession and moodiness were normal and that emo was just a fashion.
Hannah was also attracted to Gerard Way, the lead singer of My Chemical
Romance. Due to his own history of alcoholism, Gerard Way went through periods
of intense depression, during which he experienced suicidal feelings. Hannah

could have tried to imitate Way by committing suicde, as many teens want to
emulate their idols. What Hannah did not know is that music -with its cathartic
effect- has turned out to be an effective means for Way to deal with his long-time
battles against depression, alcoholism and prescription and illegal drug use.
Why is music always blamed? If everyone who listened to "Emo" music killed
themselves there would be a lot of dead people in this world. It happens with rap
music too. Not everyone who listens to rap is going to become a gangster. It
could be that the girl had some psychological issues on her own, regardless of the
music she listened too. You don't get 'sucidial' just solely by listening to 'emo'
music:
there
are
always
deeper
reasons
and
connections.
My Point of View
Maybe I'm wrong but it seems to me the new urban tribes don't have an ideology
behind them. Hippies were all for love and peace. They believed in flower power,
they loved pop art, they worked the land, they were artisans and even made their
own
clothes.
The countermovement which emerged after them -the punks- had diverse ideas.
Some of them were radically violent whereas others were extreme pacifists.
Goths and emos seem to draw inspiration from dark gothic topics but there is no
underlying
philosophy supporting them. It is more a visual preoccupation than any other thing.
Floggers seem to pursue a rather empty goal: to collect as many signatures in
their fotologs as they can to become a gold member. Some of them -the famous
ones- are paid outrageous sums of money just for making their appearance at
private parties or discos... They seem to have no ambitions: they live just for today
and for their fotologs...
Urban Tribes
There are many urban tribes today, and young people normally finds his or her way
in these urban tribes. Now, Im going to explain shortly some of the urban tribes:

Emo: The original culture Emo was born in the 80s, as a musical style derived
from the American punk hardcore. The emo word is from Emotional hardcore
music. Nowadays, the majority of the Emos are teenagers, between 14 and 20.
They have a negative vision of the life and normally theyre pessimistic and think

that theyre victims from a capitalist society.

Pokemones: They derive from the Emo culture, but it is based in the aesthetic
more than on other things. This group was create in 2006-2008, more or less. The
most important difference from the Emos is that Pokemones dress with brighter
colours (Emos only use black, and sometimes pink or blue colors).

Punk: They are born in England between 1976 and 1977 as an opposition to the
decay of the culture. Nowadays, they are not many, but those that who are tent to
be very radical. Sometimes they are mixed with skins, gothics and heavys. It is the
unique tribe who created its own style of music. Their ideology is: Anarchist, okupa,
antimilitarist, antifascist, anti-imperialist and anticapitalist. Usually they are very
violent;
theirs
enemies
are
the
neo-Nazi,
fascist
and
posh.

Gothic: They were born in the United Kingdom in the 80s, from punk groups. It is
not more of the extended tribes. Normally, they wear black clothes, preferably
leather and boots. They have pale skin. They also complements like bracelets with
thorns, wristband, chains, grids. Usually they wear religious things as crossings
(upwards
or
downwards),
stars
of
five
ends,
etc.

Lolitas: It is a of Japanese origin fashion, it

mixes youthful currents with the aristocracy of last centuries, mainly the times of
the Rococo and the Victorian era. Like many of the Japanese Underground
currents, it was born at the end of the 70; to go away propagating until arriving at
neuralgic points like Tokyo, thus turning the famous Harajuku district into the

capital

of

the

Lolitas.

Hippie: They were born in the 60s, because of the injustices of the Vietnam war.
They have long bobs and they wear showy clothes with intense colors. They flee
from the violence and they proclaim the peace in the world and love among people
with the thought of that we are all equal. They dont like the politics. They want to
live life intensely, using of corporal pleasures and drugs. It is a tribe practically
extinguished
but
their
ideas
even
remain
in
the
world.

Heavy: It was born in England, in the 60, as extremist radicalization of the ideology

hippie and conjunction between its aesthetic and hard music rock. Its complete
name: Heavy metal, reference to the intense metallic sounds (electrical) produced
by
the
musical
groups.

Mod: These group was born in London, the first 60s, like reinterpretation of the
style "modern of the 40s and 50s, mainly North American (Mod = contraction of
Modernist). Their ideology is moderately progressive, aesthetic vision of the world,
latent individualism. Violent tendencies: Practically nonexistent. They drink mark
beer and they go to design bars. They are in the movement of Defense of the

Earth.

URBAN TRIBES
Urban tribes are those gangs, street gangs or just groups of young people who
dress similarly, they have common habits and gathering places diferent from the
rest of the people. The pleasure of being part of the band comes from the necesity
to adapt, the band offers the members safety and emotional support that is missing
and authorizes activities that are within the limits of moral and social rules.

Urban tribes created in the 50's

They appeared at the beginning of the 50's in the Anglo-Saxon world; when the
transit of the childhood to the madurity began to extend. Before, the childhood was
very brief; once concluded, one enter completely the madurity, after a brief
adolescence. ROCKERS they were born in the Unites States and have Elvis
Presley as their idol, from whom they copy his stile and way of life. Men wear
enormous tupes, sideburns and sharpened end boots. Women dress very fit skirts
in the waist and heel shoes. Their interest in rock &roll is almost obsesive. The
motorbike is their essential way of transport.

Urban tribes created in the 60's

HIPPIES They emergence in the 60's influenced by the injustices of the Vietnam
War.All of them have long hair and clothes with bright colors. Their ideology is
fleeing violence and proclaming peace in the world and love among people with the
idea that everybody is equal. You could say that they have anarchist ideas. They
want to live life intensely using for it drugs. They have managed to leave with us
their ideas. MODS They appeared in London, as reinterpretation of modern style of
the fifties and forties. Trhey look tidy, and wear grey and black coloured clothes
with straight lines and old styling accessories.

Urban tribes created in the 70's.

HEAVIES They appeared in England in the early seventies, as radicalization hippie
extremist ideology. His name, Heavy metal, is referred to the intense sound
produced by musical groups.Their characteristic attire is tight jeans, long hair,
leather jacket, t-shirts emblazoned with musical idols and or symbols of death.
Their favourite activities are the concert and weekend out.

Urban tribes created in the 80's.

GOTHIC They arise in the UK in the 80's punk bands. According to location, you
can see more or less Gothic, however it is most widespread tribes. They wear
black clothing, preferably of leather, boots, pale skin.They tend to show attraction
to everything related to death.
3.

LOS

SKINHEAD

NEONAZIS

La palabra deriva de la raz inglesa SKIN: Afeitar, Rapar y HEAD: Cabeza.

Su origen se remonta a los aos 60 en Inglaterra, cuando bandas urbanas
compuestas principalmente por jvenes obreros, adoptaron la costumbre de
rapar su cabeza, usar botas y cadenas en sus vestimentas casi militares,
apoyando
el
racismo
y
la
xenofobia.
Elevan la mentalidad neo nazi, reviven los sueos de Hitler, manifestando un
odio hacia los judos y a cualquier minora tnica.