What is a Subculture?
‘A cultural group within a larger culture, often having beliefs or interests at variance with those of the larger culture.’
A journey through diversity…
I have decided to look at several different subcultures to begin with as I am not aware of many, so I can then determine which subculture I would like to use and study in my project.
Teddy Boys.
These were the first young generation in the 1950’s to create their own style. They made it acceptable to dress up and made effort with their clothes everyday, rather than being limited like we do today when we go to work / school or for some people their Sunday best. Teddy Boys were certainly easily recognised and caught the eye.
They wore things like Dark long drape jackets, often with a velvet trim and pocket flaps – these came in handy when concealing weapons and alcohol. They also wore the classic high-waisted trousers (drainpipe) often with brightly coloured socks mainly white which were revealed by the high waisted trousers. For shoes they chose chunky brogues or large crepe soled shoes, these were often known as brothel creepers sometimes made in suede. To complete the ‘Teddy Boy’ look they wore a high-necked loose-collared white shirt, with a narrow ‘slim Jim’ tie and a brocade waistcoat.
The ‘Teddy Boy’ outfits came with a rather large price tag as they were more than often tailor made to there size. These looks were mostly paid for in weekly instalments.
Different hairstyles were just as important as the attire for the Teddy Boys. The chosen hairstyles included long, strong moulded greased hair with a quiff at the front and the sides combed back to form what was more commonly known as the ‘Duck’s Arse’ shape at the back of the head. Another preferred hairstyle was called the ‘Boston’, this was when the hair was greased straight back and cut square across at the back of the neck. And yes there were Teddy Girls also, they adopted the American fashions for example. toreador pants and circle skirts, however they tended to wear low-cut tops to make themselves look less prim and proper.
Hippies.
The youth subculture of the Hippies was established in the 1960’s. The hippies were known for rejecting conventional values of society in that era. There main values were based on peace, love and respect for the environment. They were interested in the Rock and Roll/Classic Rock types of music as well as a more psychedelic type of music and folk music for example a popular choice being the singer Bob Dylan. With there interest in music they were also very interested in taking soft hallucinogenic drugs like ‘magic mushrooms’, ‘LSD’ and cannabis.
Their clothing was more than often loose and made of natural fibers like cotton and hemp as they were very much for the environment. Both Men and women grew their hair long and avoided products and fussy styling although, contrary to popular belief, they did still shampoo their hair. The black turtlenecks and trousers worn by the Beatniks, male and female, morphed into peasant blouses and jeans. Anything worn was handmade, whether sewn, knit or woven as macramé. Gradually, this extended towards dyeing one’s own clothes and the colorful tie-dye style became popular.
Skinheads.
The Skinhead subculture is a particularly interesting one from a criminological and a sociological point of view, due to its broken nature and the sheer length of its existence. Skinheads have existed fundamentally uninterrupted since the mid-1950s but began mainly in the 1960s and are relevant mostly in the categories like ‘moral panic’, ‘labelling theory’, ‘youth subculture’ and ‘trash culture’. However from a youth subculture viewpoint they are not particularly unique, they have for some reason been generalised and slandered by the media and the public more than many other of the subcultures I have been looking at.
The skinheads were described as having aggressively masculine hair and interesting dress styles, including shaved heads, braces and heavy boots (Doc Martins). In many countries skinheads are commonly viewed as extreme right-wing nationalists with racist views, although the skinhead phenomenon is not always truly political and not all skinheads are racists.
I have decided after looking at some different types of subcultures that I am going to choose Skinheads as personally I feel that they have an interesting image and there is a lot of interesting articles I have seen about the moral panic that it caused which could be a good opportunity to research to include in my Creative Review magazine spreads.
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