Module 4 ‐ Understanding Youth and Culture Subcultures: definitions Look at the list of some subcultures that are observed in youth culture around the world1. Punk The punk subculture is based around punk rock. It emerged from the larger rock music scene in the mid‐to‐late‐1970s in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, and Japan. The punk movement has spread around the globe and developed into a number of different forms. Punk culture encompasses distinct styles of music, ideologies, fashion, visual art, dance, literature, and film. Punk also lays claim to a lifestyle and community. Biker Around the world, motorcycles have historically been associated with subcultures. Some of these subcultures have been loose‐knit social groups such as the cafe racers of 1950s Britain, and the Mods and Rockers of the 1960s. A few are believed to be criminal gangs. Social motorcyclist organisations are popular and are sometimes organised geographically, focus on individual makes, or even specific models. Many motorcycle organisations raise money for charities through organised events and rides. Some organisations hold large international motorcycle rallies in different parts of the world that are attended by many thousands of riders. Bōsōzoku (暴走族 "violent running gang") is a Japanese subculture associated with motorcycle clubs and gangs. They were first seen in the 1950s as the Japanese automobile industry expanded rapidly. The first bōsōzoku were known as kaminari‐zoku (雷族 "Lightning Tribes"). It is common to see bōsōzoku groups socializing in city centres and playing loud music characterized by their lifestyle, such as The Roosters, and the Street Sliders. The word bōsōzoku is also applied to motorcycle gangs, who share an interest in modifications (often illegal) for motorcycles. These bōsōzoku groups also engage in dangerous or reckless driving, such as weaving in traffic, not wearing motorcycle helmets, and running red lights. Cyber Cyber is the name given to a contemporary subculture having roots in multiple music and fashion scenes including the European and American rave/clubbing scenes and dark culture scenes. Someone who identifies with the cyber subculture can be referred to as a "cyber", or "cyberkid". The term "cyber‐Goth" and "cyberpunk" refers to those who those that maintain some common elements with "cyberkids", but lean more towards a Goth or industrial aesthetic. 1 Adopted form List of Subcultures <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_youth_subcultures> (accessed 2 December 2009.) Emo Emo is a genre of music that originated from hardcore punk and later adopted pop punk influences when it became mainstream in the US. It has since come to describe several variations of music with common roots and associated fashion and stereotypes. In the mid‐ 1980s, the term emo described a subgenre of hardcore punk which stemmed from the Washington, D.C. music scene. In later years, the term emocore, short for "emotive hardcore", was also used to describe the emotional performances of bands in the Washington, D.C. scene and some of the offshoot regional scenes. It is currently popular with disenfranchised or isolated youth. Goth The Goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in the United Kingdom during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post‐punk genre. The Goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify. The Goth subculture has associated tastes in music, aesthetics, and fashion, whether or not all individuals who share those tastes are in fact members of the Goth subculture. It is typically popularized by wearing black makeup, clothes and dyed black hair. Hip Hop Hip hop is a subculture, which is said to have begun with the work of DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, and Afrika Bambaattaa. The four main aspects, or "elements", of hip hop culture are MCing (rapping), DJing, urban inspired art/tagging (graffiti), and b‐boying (or breakdancing). It quickly came to include any follower of hip hop, identifiable by clothing habits, listening tastes or lifestyle, but has returned in later years to the more specific usage in connection with dance. Metal head Metalhead (or headbanger) is a popular term for a devoted fan of heavy metal music and is often used interchangeably with the term "hesher". Heavy metal fans exist in many countries beyond the United Kingdom and United States, where it first developed, especially in Japan and Brazil. Heavy metal fans have created a strongly masculine “exclusionary youth community” whose core audience in the U.S. and the U.K. is “white, male, blue collar youth.” Metalheads affirm their membership in the subculture or scene by attending metal concerts, buying albums, and most recently, by contributing to metal websites. The long hair, leather jackets, and band patches of heavy metal fashion help to encourage a sense of identification within the subculture. Like the music at its cultural core, these fashions have changed over the decades, from tight blue jeans, motorcycle boots and black t‐shirts in the late 1970s and early 1980s to black jeans and army fatigue pants, military‐style coats, and shaven or short‐clipped hairstyles in the 1990s and 2000s. Nazi Punk A Nazi punk is a neo‐Nazi who is part of the punk subculture. The term can also describe the kind of music they play. Nazi punk music is similar to most other forms of punk rock, although it usually differs by having lyrics that express hatred for Jews, blacks, multiracial people, homosexuals, Marxists, anti‐racists and other perceived enemies. Nazi punks often wear clothing and hairstyles typically associated with the majority of the punk subculture, such as: liberty spike or Mohawk hairstyles, leather rocker jackets, boots, chains, and metal studs or spikes. However, Nazi punks are different from early punks, who incorporated Nazi imagery such as Swastikas but are commonly thought to have done it purely for shock or comedy value. Rocker Rockers are members of a subculture that started in the United Kingdom in the 1960s among motorcycle riding youths. Before that time, young motorcyclists had not been grouped together and labelled as such. Rockers are different from greasers, rockabillies, Teddy Boys, psychobillies and punks. However, rockers in the 1960s were commonly referred to as greasers or grease as an insult by mods and skinheads, and today the British use of the terms greasers and rockers are fairly interchangeable. Skaters/Skateboarding Skateboarding is the act of riding and performing tricks using a skateboard. A person who skateboards is most often referred to a skateboarder, skater or skate rat. Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report by American Sports Data found that there were 18.5 million skateboarders in the world. 85 percent of skateboarders polled who had used a board in the last year were under the age of 18, and 74 percent were male. Skinhead A skinhead is a member of a subculture that originated among working class youths in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, and then spread to other parts of the world. Named for their close‐cropped or shaven heads, the first skinheads were greatly influenced by West Indian (specifically Jamaican) rude boys and British mods, in terms of fashion, music and lifestyle. Originally, the skinhead subculture was primarily based on those elements, not politics or race. Since then, however, attitudes toward race and politics have become factors in which some skinheads align themselves. The political spectrum within the skinhead scene ranges from the far right to the far left, although many skinheads are apolitical. Fashion‐wise, skinheads range from a clean‐cut 1960s mod‐influenced style to less‐strict punk‐ and hardcore‐influenced styles. .