Social Identities and Subcultures

mixer Identities and Sub nicetysSocial Identity, Subcultures and StyleSocial identity is often tied to the concept of subculture, the members of which in general advertise their allegiance by making distinctive and symbolic choices in much(prenominal) things as clothing, hairstyles and footwear. Other elements, including common interests, slang and dialects, musical genres and impact places are in any case important factors. Subcultures offer participants an identity external of the ones ascribed by social institutions such as work, family, home and school. What follows result be an geographic expedition of the role subcultures play in shaping social identity, with a exceptional emphasis on fashion.Youth subcultures can be defined as meaning systems, modes of expression or lifestyles developed by groups in effectuate structural positions in response to plethoric systems, which reflect their take on to bat structural contradictions rising from the wider societal context (Brake, 1985). The term can also refer to specific subsets of a subculture, that is, sub-subcultures, or scenes, which are amplely geographical, such as the London churl scene or the American thrum and bass scenes. Scenes tend to be volatile, purposely marginal and tribal, with some members playing elitist towards those considered to be less fashionable, and with an boilersuit oppositional attitude towards the culture at large (Thornton, 1995).Many subcultures define themselves as being against the mainstream, or the commercialised culture promoted by the media. This dichotomy, the subculture versus the mainstream, is often more of a way of maintaining individuality than an veridical social distinction (Grnlund and Holme, 2004). For what is the mainstream, really, exclusively a set of subcultures? And how do the more or less obscure subcultures find their way into the minds (and wardrobes) of young people, if not through the media, which is basically the mouthpiece of the controlling culture? The truth is that there is much convergency between cultures, twain big and small, both prevalent and obscure, and this back-and-forth exchange of ideas is polar in identity validation, no matter what the source or overall outcome.Subcultures may last for extensive periods, like the punk or tap movements, or fade away to the highest degree as soon as they are born. They may be centred around sports (such as the surf or skateboard culture), literature (such as the Beat generation), fashion or worship (Rinehart and Sydnor, 2003). To look at a a subculture is to examine the ephemera associated with the group clothing, music, politics, etc. and also the ship canal in which these symbols are interpreted by members of the dominant culture (Straw, 1991). Each subculture has a distinct individual style, with certain ways of dressing (clothing, shoes hairstyles), speaking (slang) and gathering (ravers at dance clubs, bikers at bars, etc.). Subcultures are conti nually combining and recombining old symbols in advanced ways, in a sort-of kaleidoscope of youthfulness lore and culture. Youth identity itself shifts in concert with these genre transformations (Damrell, 1978).Punk, for example, embraced a variety of accoutrements that, worn all together, appeared almost as a supply. As seen in the photograph below, these include ripped, restrict or distressed clothing studded bracelets and necklaces tattoos, piercings and former(a) body modifications spiked, colorful and eccentric hairstyles etc.But what do these clothing choices mean? What do these symbols represent? One way to analyze the punk aesthetic is to distinguish it with its predecessor, the Teddy Boy revival. bit the Teds revived ethnical accoutrements in order to effect a magical return to the past, or an authentic stylistic aesthetic, punks deliberately assaulted meaning entirely, mocking not lone(prenominal) those ascribed by persons outside their group, but those they devel oped themselves, in an attempt to evade closure on meaning of their emblems (Hebdige, 1979).The punk adoption of the swastika, for example, was a somewhat contradictory strain in the duologue of punk subculture. While it was adopted as a symbol of opposition, as an effective way to inspire anger, the punks themselves were not fascists whatsoever, but the opposite, aligning themselves with the Labour party, anti-poverty activists and the radical left (Brake, 1985). Wearing a swastika, therefore, became a symbolic opening, an invitation to negotiate meaning. In contrast, while the Teddy Boy revivalists of the premature seventies developed a style based on nostalgia, make up of long coat tails, bouffant hairstyles and rockabilly music, all in an attempt to hark back to a bygone era, the group was symbolically un var.lymeanings ascribed to their symbolic adornments were fixed, and the same whether viewed from inside or outside the group (Hebdige, 1979).While historically memorable, subcultures like punk are highly unstable, and vulnerable to co-option from the outside. There is a similar process of identity and style dialog in the case of knock culture hip jointhop artists part style as a form of identity formation which plays on class distinctions and hierarchies by using commodities to claim the cultural terrain. Clothing and outgo rituals testify to the power of consumption as a means of cultural expression (Rose, 1994).Identity and style negotiation in the hip-hop companionship are often one in the same, as can be evidenced by selfnaming in rap music, stigmatisation the streets by way of personalized graffito tags, and the intense confrontations between freestyle competitors, breakdance crews and graffiti artists. Like punk, hiphops opposition is directed outward, toward the dominant structure, or the man. Dominant, mainstream culture is mocked via symbolic assemblages which can reach ridiculous heights. As seen in the pictures below, these may inclu de gaudy collages of jewelry or bling rattling(a) designer patches stitched onto clothing and other accessories and a variety of other cultural accoutrements, from gold teeth and sports uniforms to fancy cars and champagne.This all acts as kind of a sartorial warfare against Fifth Avenue haute couture, for teenagers who understand their limited access to traditional avenues of social status attainment (ibid).Both hip-hop and punk, along with other subcultures, are subject to transformation and negotiation, much of which centers on notions of authenticity (Gunn, 1999). For example, in the goth genre, popular music may be defined or re-defined in terms of canonisationCanonising simultaneously broadens and fixes generic boundaries, making room for the inclusion of untested music in name and address to the old. The logic here operates metonymically by fixing previously accept bands of historical significance as the originators of a given musical genre, so that future musical acts wi th similar sounds may expand generic boundaries with the legitimate value of difference (ibid).The important factor here is authenticity. An inauthentic goth song or group would not fit comfortably at bottom the subculture. Fashion functions much in the same manner. For example, a true goths uniform is generally black, which includes black nail polish, eyeliner and lipstick, along with belts, bracelets and the like. This is often paired with a ghostly, pale face, with the entire ensemble evoking something out of a fairy tale, or even the Gothic period itself. Some of these various choices can be seen on the group below.However, goth style, in addition to punk, have both become absorbed by the mainstream. Nowadays, any teenager can go to a local Hot Topic, Urban Outfitters or similar retailer, that specializes in punk, goth, retro, rock n roll or alternative styles, and try on the aesthetic.The notion of authenticity sheds some light on our understanding of the negotiation of ident ity within various subcultures. Genre can be rattling territorial because of the degree to which self-conception is tied to a particular group. Rivalries over new styles, artists and lingo, and whether or not to include or exclude them, express the contention between unlike identities in what might be called a canonisation of selves. (Damrell, 1978).One can often distinguish youths from adults, not only by their age, but by their clothing, gait, posture and words. And in the West at least, successfulness has postponed the entry into adulthood, which has increased the importance of youth subcultures in terms of a search for identity. Subcultures allow a tangible way not only to view the world, but to be in it, providing, for the most part, a demonstrable function in easing the transition from childhood to adulthood. And while the volume of practitioners leave these youth subcultures at some point, shedding their counter-culture personas for those of the mainstream, there will alw ays be lingering reminders of ones old allegiances, whether they be photographs, tattoos, or simply memories. And in this way, ones connections to youth culture, along with the sources of identity that go with it, never fully fade away.BibliographyBrake, Michael. Comparative Youth Culture The sociology of youth culture and youth subcultures in America, Britain and Canada. London Routledge, 1985.Damrell, J. Search for Identity Youth, holiness and Culture. Beverly Hills, CA Sage Publications, 1978.Frith, S. The Sociology of Youth. Lancashire Causeway Press Ltd., 1996.Gronlund, A., and Holme, P. Networking the seceder model Group formation in social and economic systems. Physical Review 70, 2004.Gunn, J. Gothic music and the Inevitability of genre. Popular Music and Society, volume 23, number 1, 1999.Hall, Stuart, and Jefferson, Tony. Resistance by means of Rituals Youth Subcultures in Post-war Britain. London Routledge, 1993.Hebdige, D. Subculture The Meaning of Style. London Methva n Co Ltd., 1979.Rinehart, R., and Sydnor, S. (eds.) To the complete Alternative Sports, Inside and Out. Albany, NY State University of New York Press, 2003.Rose, T. A Style secret code can deal with Politics, style and the postindustrial city in Hip Hop. in Ross, A., and Rose, T. (eds.) Microphone fiends Youth music and youth culture. New York Routledge, 1994.Straw, Will. Systems of Articulation, Logics of mixture Communities and Scenes in Popular Music. Cultural Studies 5, 1991.Thornton, S. Club Cultures Music, Media and Subcultural Capital. Cambridge Polity Press. 1995.