The Defining Of Subculture By Ken Gelder

A subculture is a part of society that has different ways of doing things that stray from the dominant or mainstream culture. It can sometimes be described as a stereotype. Its members have little commitment to the category. A subculture is different from the dominant culture, but is not necessarily seen as bad, and is generally seen as "okay" with the rest of the dominant culture. It's members still function as a part of

“I'm not Mexican. I am not American. I am not American in USA and Mexican in Mexico. I am Chicano everywhere. I do not have to assimilate anything. I have my own history”, stated the writer and novelist Carlos Fuentes. The Chicano subculture is the mixture of the Mexican and the American cultures. This subculture has its own history and unique characterizations that make it stand out. According to the Merriam Webster dictonary the word subculture is defined as “a group that has beliefs and behaviors that are different from the main groups within a culture or society”. The Chicano subculture has a history, language, leaders, art, literature, and even their music, and it’s the perfect example for this definition of the word subculture.

Perhaps the most culturally diverse nation on the globe, the United States is home to a dominant Anglo-American Protestant culture intermixed and alongside a host of sub-cultures that live and thrive on US soil. Among these cultures exists an array of distinct form of living all who boast an identity specific to only that select group. These subcultures exist in a couple different forms; convergent subcultures and persistent subcultures. First, convergent subcultures intend toward assimilation with the dominant society through various tactics to include: residential clustering, adherence to the language, dress, and cultural norms of their native land (Parrillo, 42). Contrarily, some cultures simply do not assimilate. In these cases, persistent subcultures adhere as much as possible to their own way of life and resist absorption into the dominant culture (Parrillo, 43). Among these persistent subcultures within the US are the Amish. The Amish are a sect of the Christian faith whose members have roots in twenty-two states across the

Subculture is a branch off of culture that explains a person view. According to Chapter Three, Culture, and the Culture-Learning Process, authors Cushner, McClelland, and Safford (2009), states “Subculture refers to a social group with shared characteristics that distinguished it in some way for the larger group in which it is embedded” (p. 62). A subculture talks about a group of people that have a different view on culture than the one they grew up with. In “My Life in a Bag” activity during class, I had a rosary bead in there to represent my religion. I grew up in a strong Catholic family that always went to church every Sunday. As I grew up, I realized that religion is important to me, but I didn’t think it was necessary for me to go to church every Sunday when I could talk and pray to God in my own home. I also had a bad experience with the church itself and not my religion. My grandpa was very ill and his one last wish was to go back to his church before his time was up. However, he was divorced and his church did not believe in divorce and considered it to be a sin. They would not let my grandpa back in the church and he was devastated. That changed the way I looked at my religion and realized that I could

identified, are the ways that subcultures react to certain norm breaking differently as well as

The Sub-cultural Theory is in reference to a smaller group of people within a larger group. The larger group might be the poverty stricken lower class society, and a sub culture to the larger group might be a smaller group such as the gangs (manly delinquent) that plague or cities and streets.

Pollemous, a postmodernist would also argue against the statement that youth sub-cultures are rebelling against capitalist society, stating that old/solid subcultures no longer exist as boundaries between subcultures have become blurred. His concept, the supermarket of style illustrates that lifestyle is now based on individual taste, and often approached in a pick 'n' mix approach. The pick 'n' mix approach involves playing with different styles, sampling and mixing them. Criticisms of postmodernist research into youth sub-cultures is that distinct sub-cultures may not have disappeared, some still exist in contemporary society- included Goths and hipsters.

A subculture is a group of people who share a distinctive set of cultural beliefs and behaviors that differ in some significant way from that of larger society. Marijuana smokers can be considered a subculture for many reasons. Marijuana is used by millions of people around the world, either for recreational, spiritual, or therapeutic reasons. Some call themselves the cannabis connoisseurs; people who respect cannabis and use it responsibly. Few drugs have been so politicized recently as marijuana has. It is frequently praised by one side and condemned by the other, on the basis of emotional issues rather than an objective view of research.

There is something about the ideology of a subculture that sparks an interest in me. Maybe it is intriguing due to its members’ originality, courage to stand up for beliefs, or freely expressing their own self- identity. A subculture forms by individuals taking a risk, separating themselves from the mainstream, and forming their own distinctive norms, not caring what the “normal” members of the mainstream society think of them. Or do they care? Maybe that is the exact statement a subculture is making. Maybe these individuals are forming these groups so that people will care. Maybe their rebellious attitude is a final, somewhat desperate approach to getting that response. The images being portrayed in most subcultures are

Culture is the ways of thinking, acting and the material objects that form a people’s way of life. Within each culture there are many subcultures, which are cultural groups within a larger culture with similar beliefs. Many times, the subculture a person belongs to provide him/her with a sense of identity and belonging. Subcultures are characterized by their origin and the characteristics that define it. While growing up I belonged to many different subcultures, but my main one was my gymnastics competitive team. This was definitely the most influential and time-consuming subculture I was a part of and is considered a special interest subculture. Along with its origin, subcultures

A culture is the way of life of a particular group of people that is learned and shared. On the other hand subculture is described as the non-dominant group within a society, usually smaller groups as it is not the primary culture. A subculture is created based on an idea such as music, age, location, religion or even lifestyle. The subculture theory of delinquency explains the subculture that exists in society, which contains different value systems than the rest of society. The key element in the subculture theory of delinquency is to achieve an understanding of those who are seen as an outcast or delinquent.

They must be focused around certain activities, values, certain uses of material artefacts, territorial spaces etc. Which significantly differentiate them from wider culture. But, since they are sub-sets, there must also be significant things which bind and articulate them with their “parent” culture.” (Gelder, K. et al (2005) The Subculture Reader, New York Routledge). Although this could come across as contradictory, I believe Gelder is trying say is a subculture is defined by the differences from its parent cultures, but there is no specific characteristic required to make it a subculture, however there does have to be something to make it distinguishable from other subcultures, but It should also resemble characteristics from its parent culture to show its origin and show what it was developed from. There is a lot of misconception of what a subculture is and it is believed by many that most subcultures derive from poor, lower class areas however it is not limited to one particular country, class, society, economic well-being or

Subculture refers to a minority of individuals who adhere to different rules, dress codes and lifestyle choices from mainstream culture. Throughout this essay the traditional definitions of subcultures, that mainly concentrate on class and style as their main features, will be looked at and explained. It will then be demonstrated how these ways of thinking are no longer relevant to the 21st century therefore the term 'subculture ' needs to be rethought for it to be an applicable category in the 21st century.

Looking at the big picture, subcultures and countercultures are both cultures that have their own values and norms. They are both capable of being a culture within a culture. A subculture is a smaller culture that exists within a larger culture but fit within the dominant culture, where as a counterculture is an opposition to the norms of society and contradict the dominant culture and norms. Both cultures dress and behave in different ways than average citizens of a society and are usually identifiable by their different appearances. A subculture can have its own beliefs, norms and values, but they are usually able to exist

The term “subculture” refers to a group of people who have similarities between them, and these similarities distinguish them significantly from other social groups. The similarities do not mean religious or political affiliation. These groups have different beliefs than the main culture and are youth oriented. These subcultures have their own styles of music, ideology,