University of Rhode Island DigitalCommons@URI Open Access Master's Theses 2018 GRUNGEWAVE: THE AUTHENTICITY OF NEO-TRIBES Elizabeth Beasley University of Rhode Island,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/theses Recommended Citation Beasley, Elizabeth, "GRUNGEWAVE: THE AUTHENTICITY OF NEO-TRIBES" (2018). Open Access Master's Theses. Paper 1384. https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/theses/1384 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@URI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Open Access Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@URI. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. GRUNGEWAVE: THE AUTHENTICITY OF NEO-TRIBES BY ELIZABETH BEASLEY A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN TEXTILES, FASHION MERCHANDISING AND DESIGN UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 2018 MASTER OF SCIENCE THESIS OF ELIZABETH BEASLEY APPROVED: Thesis Committee: Major Professor Karl Aspelund Jessica Strübel Hilda Lloréns Nasser H. Zawia DEAN OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 2018 ABSTRACT Neo-tribes are characterized by fragmented identities, noncommittal membership, fascination with style and image, and social connections between members. They are often confused with subcultures due to sharing characteristics with subcultures. This has resulted in the authenticity of neo-tribes to be questioned. The confusion between neo-tribes and subcultures could be from the lack of detailed study on the use of apparel and style in neo-tribe identity. Previous studies on neo-tribes have incorporated the visual of apparel and style, however; these studies do not focus on the logistics of identity creation and authenticity through apparel and style of its members.