SUBCULTURE: ORIGIN, TYPES AND EXAMPLES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Subculture is a term that is used to define those minority groups within a society, which have beliefs and behaviors different from those of the dominant culture. These differences may be ideological, political, religious, aesthetic, age, ethnic, sexual, or otherwise.

Although it is not part of the Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), the term subculture is widely used in the academic field of sociology, anthropology and semiotics.

A group from the punk subculture burns a United States flag. Tacosunday.

It comes from the Latin prefix "sub", which means "under" and "culture", which refers to the set of ways of life, customs and knowledge of a community at a given time.

In general, subcultures include particular tastes, attitudes, symbols, ways of dressing, and language skills, which both identify them and distinguish them from the rest of the members of the society of which they form part.

In many cases, their position implies an opposition to the ideas and values ​​of the hegemonic culture. Furthermore, like any trend that departs from established canons, subcultures tend to suffer prejudice and discrimination from the majority groups.

Origin of the term

The word subculture began to be used in the mid-twentieth century, when the American sociologist David Riesman (1909-2002) published the book The Lonely Crowd: A Study of the Changing American Character., in 1950.

This work, considered a milestone in the sociological analysis of that country, distinguished between two types of people: those who passively accepted the dominant lifestyle and others who revealed themselves and chose to live "their own way."

These minority groups who opted for different values ​​and patterns, far from the traditional model, he called subcultures.

Among them, he highlighted the young beatniks of that time, who had an anti-capitalist stance and emphasized the importance of developing the spiritual side of each individual, away from material possessions and the rules imposed by the system.

These distinguished themselves from the majority, who constantly sought the approval of their neighbors and lived in fear of being left out of society.

Riesman's book became a best-seller, adding new ideas and descriptive terms to popular culture, including subculture.

Types

The style of the haircut often marks belonging to a certain subculture. Source: pixabay.com

Subcultures can be of various types. Some of the most common have regional, religious, racial, age, ideological, and musical characteristics.

nationality

Those of nationality appear because in many countries the entry of immigrant groups is common, who carry their ideas, customs and ways of living with them. By moving their culture to another area where it is not predominant, they are considered a subculture.

Religious

The same is true of religion. In many regions there is a belief that is followed by the vast majority of the population, who live with others that have a smaller number of faithful.

Racial

In the same way, this is also visible from a racial point of view, where certain ethnic groups are a minority and have their own and characteristic habits in relation to the rest of society.

Ages

Other types of subculture tend to appear for age reasons, especially among young people and adolescents, who seek to oppose or distinguish themselves from the models and customs that adults follow.

These groups generally try to reveal themselves to the dominant culture, which they feel is being imposed on them through school, parental norms, the production system, the media, and the organs of control and repression.

Other

Subcultures can also occur for political, sexual or ideological reasons, or simply for having a characteristic taste, which is not followed by the majority.

Throughout history, many have stood out for the originality of their ideas and the strong legacy they left behind.

Examples

As examples of subculture we can mention beatniks, mods, hippies, punks, rockers, metalheads, gamers, goths and emos.

Beatniks

Jack Kerouac. Image via]

Beatniks shone in the 1950s and 1960s. They stood out for opposing classic American values, drug use, sexual freedom, and anti-materialism. His typical clothing included a French beret, sunglasses, and a black turtleneck sweater. His main references were the poet Allen Ginsberg and the writer Jack Kerouac.

Mods

The mods were from the same period and the men stood out for their tailored Italian suits and the women for the use of mini skirts and boots. They used to be lovers of jazz, British beat, and American blues. They were also known for their helmet-like haircut and for riding motorcycles. Its main exponents were the model Twiggy and the guitarist of The Who, Pete Townshend.

hippies

Hippies emerged in the 60s and 70s. They stood out for their long hair and colorful clothes, the use of sandals and drug experimentation as a way to expand the mind.

They listened to psychedelic rock and folk, and believed in pacifism, community life, the sexual revolution, and free love. Some of its icons were musicians John Lennon and Janis Joplin, as well as LSD guru Tim Lear.

Punks

The punks emerged in the mid-1970s. Their ideology promoted anarchy, opposed the establishment and rejected all conventions. Their main mottos were “there is no future” and “do it yourself”.

Aesthetically they were characterized by Mohican haircuts, leather jackets and the use of collars with padlocks. His main references were Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicius.

Others

Rocker on stage with guitar. Source: pixabay.com

Other cases of subculture that survive to this day are those of rockers, lovers of rock and roll music; metalheads, who listen to heavy metal; gamers, video game fans; the goths, with their attraction to black, mourning and death; and emos, linked to emotionality and adolescent depression.

References

1. Contraculture and Subculture. Author: J. Milton Yinger. Source: American Sociological Review, Vol. 25, No. 5. Published by: American Sociological Association. Available at: jstor.org
2. David Riesman, Sociologist Whose 'Lonely Crowd' Became a Best Seller, Dies at 92. Article of the New York Times. May 11, 2002.Available at: nytimes.com
3. These are the 30 urban tribes you need to know now. Article by Noel Ceballos in GQ magazine. March 15, 2019.Available at: revistagq.com
4. Subculture, Wikipedia. Available at: en.wikipedia.org
5. Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE). Available at: rae.es