:''For the term in biology, see subculture (biology).'' :''For the song by New Order, see Sub-culture (song).'' :''For the computer game by Criterion Studios, see Sub Culture.''

In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture (whether distinct or hidden) which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.

Definition

As early as 1950, David Riesman distinguished between a majority, "which passively accepted commercially provided styles and meanings, and a 'subculture' which actively sought a minority style ... and interpreted it in accordance with subversive values". In his 1979 book ''Subculture the Meaning of Style'', Dick Hebdige argued that a subculture is a subversion to normalcy. He wrote that subcultures can be perceived as negative due to their nature of criticism to the dominant societal standard. Hebdige argued that subcultures bring together like-minded individuals who feel neglected by societal standards and allow them to develop a sense of identity.

In 1995, Sarah Thornton, drawing on Pierre Bourdieu, described "subcultural capital" as the cultural knowledge and commodities acquired by members of a subculture, raising their status and helping differentiate themselves from members of other groups. In 2007, Ken Gelder proposed to distinguish subcultures from countercultures based on the level of immersion in society. Gelder further proposed six key ways in which subcultures can be identified: # through their often negative relations to work (as 'idle', 'parasitic', at play or at leisure, etc.); # through their negative or ambivalent relation to class (since subcultures are not 'class-conscious' and don't conform to traditional class definitions); # through their association with territory (the 'street', the 'hood', the club, etc.), rather than property; # through their movement out of the home and into non-domestic forms of belonging (i.e. social groups other than the family); # through their stylistic ties to excess and exaggeration (with some exceptions); # through their refusal of the banalities of ordinary life and massification.

Identifying subcultures

The study of subcultures often consists of the study of symbolism attached to clothing, music and other visible affectations by members of subcultures, and also the ways in which these same symbols are interpreted by members of the dominant culture. According to Dick Hebdige, members of a subculture often signal their membership through a distinctive and symbolic use of style, which includes fashions, mannerisms, and argot.

Subcultures can exist at all levels of organizations, highlighting the fact that there are multiple cultures or value combinations usually evident in any one organization that can complement but also compete with the overall organisational culture. In some cases, subcultures have been legislated against, and their activities regulated or curtailed.

Subcultures' relationships with mainstream culture

It may be difficult to identify certain subcultures because their style (particularly clothing and music) may be adopted by mass culture for commercial purposes. Businesses often seek to capitalize on the subversive allure of subcultures in search of ''Cool'', which remains valuable in the selling of any product. This process of cultural appropriation may often result in the death or evolution of the subculture, as its members adopt new styles that appear alien to mainstream society. This process provides a constant stream of styles which may be commercially adopted.

Music-based subcultures are particularly vulnerable to this process, and so what may be considered a subculture at one stage in its history—such as jazz, goth, punk, hip hop and rave cultures—may represent mainstream taste within a short period of time. Some subcultures reject or modify the importance of style, stressing membership through the adoption of an ideology which may be much more resistant to commercial exploitation. The punk subculture's distinctive (and initially shocking) style of clothing was adopted by mass-market fashion companies once the subculture became a media interest. Dick Hebdige argues that the punk subculture shares the same "radical aesthetic practices" as Dada and surrealism:

''Like Duchamp's 'ready mades' - manufactured objects which qualified as art because he chose to call them such, the most unremarkable and inappropriate items - a pin, a plastic clothes peg, a television component, a razor blade, a tampon - could be brought within the province of punk (un)fashion...Objects borrowed from the most sordid of contexts found a place in punks' ensembles; lavatory chains were draped in graceful arcs across chests in plastic bin liners. Safety pins were taken out of their domestic 'utility' context and worn as gruesome ornaments through the cheek, ear or lip...fragments of school uniform (white bri-nylon shirts, school ties) were symbolically defiled (the shirts covered in graffiti, or fake blood; the ties left undone) and juxtaposed against leather drains or shocking pink mohair tops.''

Urban tribes

In 1985, French sociologist Michel Maffesoli coined the term ''urban tribe'', and it gained widespread use after the publication of his ''Le temps des tribus: le déclin de l'individualisme dans les sociétés postmodernes'' (1988). Eight years later, this book was published in the United Kingdom as ''The Time of the Tribes: The Decline of Individualism in Mass Society''.

According to Maffesoli, urban tribes are microgroups of people who share common interests in urban areas. The members of these relatively small groups tend to have similar worldviews, dress styles and behavioral patterns. Their social interactions are largely informal and emotionally laden, different from late capitalism's corporate-bourgeoisie cultures, based on dispassionate logic. Maffesoli claims that punks are a typical example of an "urban tribe".

Five years after the first English translation of ''Le temps des tribus'', writer Ethan Watters claims to have coined the same neologism in a ''New York Times Magazine'' article. This was later expanded upon the idea in his book ''Urban Tribes: A Generation Redefines Friendship, Family, and Commitment''. According to Watters, urban tribes are groups of never-marrieds between the ages of 25 and 45 who gather in common-interest groups and enjoy an urban lifestyle, which offers an alternative to traditional family structures.

Sexual subcultures

The sexual revolution of the 1960s led to a countercultural rejection of the established sexual and gender norms, particularly in the urban areas of Europe, North and South America, Australia, and white South Africa. A more permissive social environment in these areas led to a proliferation of ''sexual subcultures''—cultural expressions of non-normative sexuality. As with other subcultures, sexual subcultures adopted certain styles of fashion and gestures to distinguish them from the mainstream.

Homosexuals expressed themselves through the gay culture, considered the largest sexual subculture of the 20th century. With the ever increasing acceptance of homosexuality in the early 21st century, including its expressions in fashion, music, and design, the gay culture can no longer be considered a subculture in many parts of the world, although some aspects of gay culture like leathermen, bears, and feeders are considered subcultures within the gay movement itself. The butch and femme identities or roles among some lesbians also engender their own subculture with stereotypical attire, for instance drag kings. A late 1980s development, the queer movement can be considered a subculture broadly encompassing those that reject normativity in sexual behavior, and who celebrate visibility and activism. The wider movement coincided with growing academic interests in queer studies and queer theory. Aspects of sexual subcultures can vary along other cultural lines. For instance, in the United States, the term down-low is used to refer to African-American men who do not identify themselves with the gay or queer cultures, but who practice gay cruising, and adopt a specific hip-hop attire during this activity.

See also

List of subcultures

Popular culture

Underclass

Urban culture

Urban sociology

Youth subculture

Art world

Adolescence

Folk culture

History of Western subcultures in the 20th century

Intercultural competence

Footnotes

References

Gelder, Ken (2007). '' Subcultures: Cultural Histories and Social Practice'' (Routledge, March 2007; softcover ISBN 0-415-37952-0)

Hebdige, Dick (1979). ''Subculture: The Meaning of Style'' (Routledge, March 10, 1981; softcover ISBN 0-415-03949-5). Cited in Negus, Keith (1996). ''Popular Music in Theory: An Introduction''. Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 0-8195-6310-2.

Huq, Rupa (2006) 'Beyond subculture' (Routledge, 2006; softcover ISBN 0-415-27815-5. Hardcover ISBN 0-415-27814-7)

Maffesoli, Michel (1996). ''The Time of the Tribes: The Decline of Individualism in Mass Society''. (London: Sage Publications. ISBN 080398474X)

McKay, George (1996) ''Senseless Acts of Beauty: Cultures of Resistance since the Sixties''. (London: Verso. ISBN 1-85984-028-0.)

McKay, George (2005) ''Circular Breathing: The Cultural Politics of Jazz in Britain.'' Durham NC: Duke University Press. ISBN 0-8223-3573-5.

Riesman, David (1950). "Listening to popular music", ''American Quarterly'', 2, p. 359-71. Cited in Middleton, Richard (1990/2002). ''Studying Popular Music'', p. 155. Philadelphia: Open University Press. ISBN 0-335-15275-9.

Thornton, Sarah (1995). ''Club Cultures: Music, Media, and Subcultural Capital''. Cambridge: Polity Press. Cited in Negus, Keith (1996). ''Popular Music in Theory: An Introduction''. Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 0-8195-6310-2.

Watters, Ethan (2003). ''Urban Tribes: A Generation Redefines Friendship, Family, and Commitment''. ISBN 1-58234-264-4.

Hall, Stuart, Tony Jefferson (1993). ''Resistance Through Rituals: Youth Subcultures in Post-War Britain''. Routledge, 1993.

Blair, M. Elizabeth. "Commercialization of Rap Music Youth ''Subculture''." Journal of Popular Culture 27.3 (1993): 21-33. Print.

Goldstein-Gidoni, Ofra. "Producers of 'Japan' in Israel: ''Cultural appropriation'' in a non-colonial context." ''Ethnos:Journal of Anthropology'' 68.3 (2003): 365. Print.

Lewin, Phillip, J. Patrick Williams. "Reconceptualizing Punk through ''Ideology'' and Authenticity". ''Conference Papers—American Sociological Association''. 2007 Conference Papers, 2007.

Howes, David. ''Cross-cultural consumption: global markets, local realities''. New York: Routledge, 1996. Print.

External links

Disjuncture and Difference in the Global Economy

Key youth subcultures from Lenin to our day

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Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
name	Chris Lowe
background	solo_singer
birth name	Christopher Sean Lowe
born	October 04, 1959Blackpool, Lancashire, England
instrument	Synthesizer, piano, electronic drums, vocals, keyboards
genre	Synthpop, dance, electropop, electronica
occupation	Musician, keyboardist
years active	1981–present
associated acts	Pet Shop Boys
website	Official Pet Shop Boys website
notable instruments	Fairlight CMI Korg Triton ExtremeKorg M3 }}

Chris Lowe (born Christopher Sean Lowe, 4 October 1959, Blackpool, Lancashire, England) is an English musician, who, with colleague Neil Tennant, makes up the pop duo Pet Shop Boys.

Childhood

Lowe attended Arnold School, an independent school in his home town of Blackpool. He also worked in the Solarium. While there, Lowe played trombone in a seven-piece dance band called One Under the Eight, that played old-time favourites like "Hello Dolly", "La Bamba" and "Moon River". Lowe's grandfather had been a trombonist and was a member of comedy jazz troupe The Nitwits. Lowe also became a skilled pianist.

Later life

Lowe studied architecture at the University of Liverpool from 1978. During a work placement in 1981 at a London architectural practice, he designed a staircase for an industrial estate in Milton Keynes. It was at this time that he met Neil Tennant in a hi-fi shop on the Kings Road in London.

Although Lowe has not been involved in many solo projects, in 1993 he wrote and produced the track "Do the Right Thing" for the footballer, Ian Wright (Lowe is a die-hard Arsenal F.C. fan). The song featured backing vocals by the long-time Pet Shop Boys’ backing singer, Sylvia Mason-James, and the single featured remixes by Rollo. In 2004 Lowe was commissioned to do music for an advertisement for the sunscreen brand Blockhead. The song ended up in a remixed version on a "Café Mambo" chill-out compilation. He has also written the music for the song "Streets of Berlin", featured in the revival of ''Bent'' at the Trafalgar Studios in Whitehall in 2006.

In 1995, he had a cameo in the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours''. In 1997, his flat was the subject of an in-depth feature in ''Elle Decoration'' magazine.

Stage presence

After Pet Shop Boys began touring on a regular basis, Lowe became known for his behaviour of standing still while playing keyboards on stage. In 1995, ''The Guardian'' commented that he was "possibly more famous for not doing anything than almost anyone else in the history of popular entertainment."

Radio

He once stood in for Pete Tong when he was too sick to present the ''Essential Selection'' on BBC Radio 1.

In August 1991, Lowe and Tennant were invited to take over Simon Bates' mid-morning show on BBC Radio 1. They chose the playlist, principally dance music. Lowe swore on air once, but despite this they were still invited back to fill the same role in July 1992.

Lowe along with Tennant presented a radio cover show at Absolute Radio on 15 March 2009, while DJ Geoff Lloyd was on holiday. They played their own choices as well as some old favourites.

Both Lowe and Tennant appeared on Rob Da Bank and Friends on 16 March 2009, showcasing their A to Z of music.

Lowe was interviewed by Gaydar Radio presenter Simon Le Vans. The interview was transmitted on 19 March 2009.

References

External links

Official Pet Shop Boys Site

Chris Lowe discography at Discogs

Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:British disco musicians Category:English electronic musicians Category:English pop musicians Category:English dance musicians Category:English keyboardists Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:Old Arnoldians Category:Music from Blackpool Category:People from Blackpool Category:Alumni of the University of Liverpool Category:Pet Shop Boys

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