Subculture Skinhead Essay Example
Subculture Skinhead Essay Example

Subculture Skinhead Essay Example

Available Only on StudyHippo
  • Pages: 3 (578 words)
  • Published: May 14, 2017
  • Type: Essay
View Entire Sample
Text preview

Skinhead Subculture A subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong. Many youths tend to join certain subcultures and are identified by which group they are from with distinct styles, behaviours, and interests. Subcultures offer participants an identity outside of that ascribed by social institutions such as family, work, home and school. Many youths join subcultures in order to be accepted by people who share the same interests also some may want to rebel against society. The subculture I am going to describe and analyse is a group called the Skinheads.

This is a group of working class youths who rejected politics and labels. This subculture developed in the 1960’s and the youths were greatly influenced by West Indian specifically Jamaican rude boys and British mods, in terms of fashion, music and lifestyle. Tradition

...

ally skinheads were a group formed in order to fight for the working class rights. Phil Cohen (1972) also did research on skinheads. Cohen mentions that the skinhead’s way of dressing represented both a ‘caricature and reassertion of solid male, working-class toughness’. This was due to many factors linked to decline in working-class communities.

One example was that large scale immigration into these areas by poorer Asians who were perceived as destroying their communities and taking their jobs. In order to deal with this the skinheads was involved in reclaiming territory; this was often played through football violence, which allowed groups to claim ownership of a club and the area around it. Skinhead subculture was therefore wrapped in racism. Many skinheads felt undermined by the middle class and decided to rebel against them in a bid to feel accepted. However within the Skinhead culture a new type o

View entire sample
Join StudyHippo to see entire essay

subculture formed which were the White Power/National Socialist skinheads.

The identity of skinheads in the 1960s was neither based on white power nor neo-Nazism, but some skinheads (including black skinheads) had engaged in "gay-bashing", "hippy-bashing" and "Paki bashing" in which violence against random Pakistanis and other Asian immigrants took place. Skinheads tended to drink and smoke and generally get rowdy. Skinheads are visually identified by their short hair and unique clothing styles. Many of the clothing items they wore were tight jeans, Doc Martens, flight jackets, and braces. Their hair was either very short or completely shaven off, hence the name of the group ‘Skinheads’.

Some skinheads sport sideburns of various styles, usually neatly trimmed, but most skinheads do not have moustaches or beards. Many of them supported tattoos. Female skinheads generally wear the same clothing items as men, with the addition of skirts, stockings, or dress suits composed of a ? -length jacket and matching short skirt. Some Skingirls wore fishnet stockings and mini-skirts, a style introduced during the punk-influenced skinhead revival. Overall the subculture evolved overtime and many people adapted to the culture in different ways.

The change took place in order to make a statement such as the White Power/National Socialist Skinheads who were against immigration and felt their jobs were taken away from them. Generally the Skinhead subculture represented the working-class and showed they were different from the rest of the society, this was shown through their clothes and behaviour. Skinheads the subculture showed that the working class had a voice and fought for their rights. http://www. skinheadrevolt. com/content/info/history. html http://cjwww. csustan. edu/hatecrimes/00/Skinheads/Index. html http://h2g2. com/dna/h2g2/A427213

Get an explanation on any task
Get unstuck with the help of our AI assistant in seconds
New