Article of the Week #7

A brief history of the greasers

Examiner.com April 9, 2011 by Lacy Pierce

The Outsiders novel by S.E. Hinton centers on a group of rural adolescent males who refer to themselves as “greasers”. Historically, in the 1950’s and early 1960’s, this was a name for southern and northeastern street gangsters and was rebelliously imitated among many youth in the general population.

Originally, in the 19th century, was a disrespectful term referring to someone of a Mexican ethnicity. It was integrated in an 1855 edict in an anti- Mexican law in California called the Greaser Act, which served to define them as those “’…who go unarmed and are not peaceable and quiet persons.’” The word was also derived from the occupation of greasing the cattle and mule carts which was considered to be one of the lowliest occupations of the time.

The 1950’s was a very diverse time for in the U.S. For example, some of the styles of men’s jackets were influenced by WWII and Hawaiian shirts also appeared. Aside from the beatniks (the young poets who were famous for their black turtleneck sweaters and unkempt ), the greasers were the other major group known for their distinguished . As portrayed in The Outsiders, the real-life greasers were distinguishable by the way they would slick their hair back by using various combinations of at-home hair creams and gels, leather jackets and various styles of boots.

According to www.urbandictionary.com, (2005) the time of the greasers existed before gangs were about drugs, guns and rap music promoting abuse. Unlike today, instead of being a life-threatening business, they were rebels who were simply out to have fun . This was also the time when it was still fairly safe to keep your door unlocked at night.

The subculture also existed in Britain in the 1950’s and 1960’s. One major group called themselves the Rockers in the 1960’s. They were a well-known biker group who were favored café motorcycles for personalization and speed. Traveling to cafes before a single song was played on the jukebox was a major part Article of the Week #7 of their lives as they especially favored (a very early style of rock ’n roll) music.

The time of the greasers is very significant to American history. Aside from having made a trademark in the fashion market, it was a time of the beginning of breaking away from group thinking and favoring individuality. The Outsiders, as a triumphant story which touches the spirit of the adolescent, is still being read in our classrooms today.

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Questions: Answer in complete sentences when possible.

1. Annotate throughout the entire article.

2. What is the origin of the “greasers”? Provide textual evidence.

3. How did the “greasers” influence the fashion industry? Provide textual evidence.

4. Compare and contrast the gang from The Outsiders with your background knowledge and knowledge gained from the text using a graphic organizer.