Meaning Of Style: Musical-Based Subcultures
Subcultures are small groups of people who have similar views and interests within a larger culture. Subcultures are a way of expressing one’s style, “an imaginary coherence, a clear-cut ready made identity which coalesces around certain chosen objects”, according to Hebdige.
The punk subculture emerged from the United States and United Kingdom in the 1970’s. It was a subculture that portrayed a vibe where everything was unpleasant, revolting by conventional standards. This particular subculture had its own style, ideology, music, dance, film etc.
Hebdige in his essay Subculture: The Meaning of Style says, “Musical-based subcultures in general, and punks in particular, are engaged in a constant struggle for identity with mainstream culture …show more content…
where meaning is constantly negotiated and renegotiated.” The punks chose to be different to convey their total disregard towards the mainstream.
Most youth cultures seemed to have been dominated by boys.
This particular subculture had a major involvement of girls. In Rouse’s essay, she mentions a key element of the punk subculture was the rejection of conventional femininity. The concept of the traditional nice girl next door had transformed. The characteristics of what “nice girls” would do were certainly not present. The girls shaved their heads, mutilated themselves wore torn and dirty clothes, used bondage gear etc.; they already fabricated outrageous styles by de-naturalizing the use of make-up and hair products.
The fashion world quickly took up these changes in styles despite the distaste of the media seeing these young people in bizarre, rather odd clothes. The subculture had a massive effect in the late seventies and early eighties fashion.
Fashion magazines such as Vogue ran features by showing bondage images by punk. Punk clothing adapted objects for aesthetic effects. There was usage of safety pins, which were actually used to pin diapers for babies. This caused a stir in the general public’s views and opinions because there was a sentimental value involved. Mothers would use safety pins to pin a child’s diaper, whereas the youth would wear them as gruesome ornaments in the cheek, ear or
lip.
There was also the emergence of punk rock music. This began to surface in United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. It was generally the younger, more rebellious crowd that would listen to this genre of music. As it is known, youth cultures were somehow stereotypes as well. This younger crowd came from working class families who lived by their own standards on the fringes of society. The Ramones were a definitive statement of the punk genre era. They produced songs such as “Beat on the Brat” and “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue”.
The punk subculture emerged from the United States and United Kingdom in the 1970’s. It was a subculture that portrayed a vibe where everything was unpleasant, revolting by conventional standards. This particular subculture had its own style, ideology, music, dance, film etc.
Hebdige in his essay Subculture: The Meaning of Style says, “Musical-based subcultures in general, and punks in particular, are engaged in a constant struggle for identity with mainstream culture …show more content…
where meaning is constantly negotiated and renegotiated.” The punks chose to be different to convey their total disregard towards the mainstream.
Most youth cultures seemed to have been dominated by boys.
This particular subculture had a major involvement of girls. In Rouse’s essay, she mentions a key element of the punk subculture was the rejection of conventional femininity. The concept of the traditional nice girl next door had transformed. The characteristics of what “nice girls” would do were certainly not present. The girls shaved their heads, mutilated themselves wore torn and dirty clothes, used bondage gear etc.; they already fabricated outrageous styles by de-naturalizing the use of make-up and hair products.
The fashion world quickly took up these changes in styles despite the distaste of the media seeing these young people in bizarre, rather odd clothes. The subculture had a massive effect in the late seventies and early eighties fashion.
Fashion magazines such as Vogue ran features by showing bondage images by punk. Punk clothing adapted objects for aesthetic effects. There was usage of safety pins, which were actually used to pin diapers for babies. This caused a stir in the general public’s views and opinions because there was a sentimental value involved. Mothers would use safety pins to pin a child’s diaper, whereas the youth would wear them as gruesome ornaments in the cheek, ear or
lip.
There was also the emergence of punk rock music. This began to surface in United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. It was generally the younger, more rebellious crowd that would listen to this genre of music. As it is known, youth cultures were somehow stereotypes as well. This younger crowd came from working class families who lived by their own standards on the fringes of society. The Ramones were a definitive statement of the punk genre era. They produced songs such as “Beat on the Brat” and “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue”.