Youth subcultures: what are they now?

Hello!

A part of my studies this year is centred around subcultures. If you didn't know, a subculture, at its simplest, refers to the values, beliefs, attitudes and lifestyle of a minority group within society.

Our lecturers have explained the ins and outs of mods, punks,  goths and hippies to name a few. But I couldn't help but think, is this relevant now in today's society?

This article from the Guardian articulates this is much more detail than I ever could, do you remember any subcultures? were you apart of one? are they relevant today? can you think of any today?

As subcultures are often connected to younger people, I am not really aware of the one's relevant today. When I grew up, however, there were at least a few of them. Often centered around music. Punk rockers, skinheads, hard rockers, synth poppers, a few mods, are the groups that first pop up in my head. Where I grew up, synth music was big, while the few that listened to hard rock were looked down upon.

You had to be strong to belong to the ”wrong” group. What group you belonged to often set other people's expectations and prejudice.

I liked that the subcultures had different styles, but not the antagonism that often came with it. Hopefully it isn't like that anymore. It almost was like in football.

Can cosplay be seen as a subculture?

I studied countercultures for a marketing course during my undergrad. In a sense I do still think that the concept of subcultures evolve. In the older days I guess it could be seen more apparent by the type of music one listened to and was thus was more cohesive or concrete. I think that contemporary society is becoming more and more fragmented, and with that, so is our identities so in a way these subcultures still exist but are not as visible if that makes sense. 😅

#2 I was wondering the same too

#2 I don't know too much about Cosplay, the main features are a that they share the same values, tastes and forms of behaviour which set them off from ‘mainstream’ society. Do people in cosplay have particular values and beliefs?

#3 Do you have any examples of counter cultures? that is what I will be learning next!

#1 Its refreshing to hear someone actually mention the antagonism, I find in documentaries (and things alike) that they tend to romanticise and focus of the nostalgic aspects of subcultures when in actual fact there was a lot of negatives. 

It's an odd one, that's for certain. I think that the way in which people mobilize is simply different nowadays. Other things (such as the internet) keep people occupied more often now, so maybe they are there, just not in plain sight. Perhaps they even form online now, and stay there as their way to make a claim for [cyber]space.

I get the impression that there are at least very active youth organizations in the areas of animal rights and environmental care. Maybe they qualify as subcultures.

Everything seems more homogenised in the west now. An interesting current example is the Sapeurs in Congo.

https://youtu.be/W27PnUuXR_A

#7 this looks really interesting, most of the example in my lectures were western examples. I’m going to do some literature searching on this and hopefully it will make for a really enlightening essay.

#8 Yes there is plenty on the net about them. I first heard about them on a fascinating BBC documentary of a trip up the Congo River (on You Tube.) They really make sacrafices to do it as a good pair of shoes can require saving up for a couple of years or not buying plots of land etc. I grew up in the time of Punk Rock. As you can imagine there were not so many punks at Oxford Uni, but nevertheless one of my best friends there decided to become one, grew a mohican, dropped out and went to live in a squat. He's now an urban hermit.

#7: You could easily think that a pair of shoes shouldn't take a year of saving to buy. Weston shoes, that he talks about, can cost over 2,000 USD, so to most people in the world, that isn't something you just go out and buy.

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#8 wow did you go to oxford university!?

#10 I could never imagine spending that much money on shoes!

#10 I had no idea they were that expensive. It is insane given the poverty in which he lives, but it seems to be part of their subculture. It would look bizzare even on somewhere like King's Road in London, but in Kinshassa the comparison with the surroundings is startling.

#11 Yes I did my undergrad there. I think it's my spiritual home, I always love to revisit the city.

#12: Part of me understand the wish to flee the sense of poverty by dressing like that, but it is sad that they spend so much money that might otherwise get them out of poverty.