Preview

Skinhead Subculture

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
967 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Skinhead Subculture
The Skinhead culture has a variety of subcultures within the culture itself due to the evolution and separation of different groups of skinheads. The Skinhead subculture originated in the mid to late sixties and was created by the working class community that had a strong fondness for fashion and music. The original Skinheads enjoyed listening to soul, ska, bluebeat, and rocksteady music. They were also highly influenced by the Jamaican Rude Boy subculture, Reggae, and Rastafarianism.
From this original subculture many other styles and forms of Skinhead subcultures sprouted from this. Regardless of most of them have similar styles to you and me, subtle differences separate the groups. Despite their similar styles they can have vastly diverse beliefs and values.
I am going to focus on a particular group of Skinheads called “SHARP” which stands for Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice. SHARP originated in New York in 1987 by Marcus Pacheco to demonstrate that the skinhead subculture was not based on racist beliefs or political extremism.
The SHARP subculture was spread to the UK because of a visit by a member of the band The Oppressed who then began to support the SHARP morals to British skinheads. The SHARP subculture was then spread throughout Europe but took on a stance that was more founded upon the individual rather than the group as a whole.
The core values and beliefs that the SHARP skinheads hold is a strong hatred for Nazism and Communism. They also embrace much value in the working class people, since they are from the working class community. But the main belief that unites all SHARP skinheads is the strong opposition to racism.
The non-material culture that makes the SHARP skinheads distinct form the mainstream culture is their strong beliefs in the anti-communism and anti-racist beliefs. The SHARPs have almost a extreme position against racism which makes them stand out in the fight against racism around the world.
Some of the traditions or customs

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Best Essays

    From the beginning this groups core philosophy revolved around belief that the white race was supreme, and should assert its dominance over all other races by whatever means necessary (Prison Offenders, 2009). This…

    • 2790 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    The deadhead culture was a group of people that toured with the band, “The Grateful Dead” throughout the summer months and it became a very strong sense of community. Sociologists saw that in various cities, the police and security attendance increased due to the fact that they are a deviant group that lives outside of social norms. Fortunately, there were…

    • 321 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Punk hairstyles are in a class of their own. Punk Hairstyles express freedom, independence and expression. Basically punk culture is more than hairstyles. Punk culture has to deal with clothing, jewelry,cosmetics and hairstyles as the whole part of punk culture. Punk hairstyles emerged in the 1970's however it became more popular in the 80's with the help of MTV and popular band influence. The 80's punk hairstyle included colored hair, spikes, infamous mohawk and other unconventional type hairstyles. However to be considered a true punk style; A punk style must consist of three main elements.…

    • 405 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The group had a black member in it as well. These skinheads was just a part of a subculture, originated among working class youths in England in the 60’s. After some time an earlier member of the gang, Combo who has been in prison gets out after a three years sentence. He returns to the group and expresses some harsh opinions about immigrants in England. He tells them about English nationalism and says that the immigrants are the reason why England has a miserable economy and so big social differences. Some other arguments Combo had against immigrants were that benefits from the government that was meant for British people were given to foreigners. They were the ones that got the bigger and nicer living spaces while the British people had to do with what the little they already had. Immigrants are cheap labour and this meant that the British people also had to work cheap to be able to get a job. The immigrants steals the jobs away from the British people. England was at risk and they had to do something. Combo orders them to stand up and fight against these “filthy bloodsuckers”. He enforces his beliefs upon the group members and this divides the group into two; the ones who does not want anything to do with these views and the ones who agreed with…

    • 662 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The definition of a subculture is a culture within a culture where a group develops distinctive norms and values that are different from those of the mainstream culture.…

    • 820 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sociology of Potheads

    • 1366 Words
    • 6 Pages

    subculture in today's society. From the way they dress, their lingo and the music they listen to…

    • 1366 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Neo-Nazi's in America

    • 953 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The American Neo -Nazi movement started in the streets in the middle 1980's, in the U.S. The movement is an act to keep alive the beliefs and actions of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Regime. Believers and activist in the movement are known as Skinhead, or "Skins." Some are dresses like a lot like the original British movement, which was started by some rough looking teenagers in combat boots hanging out on the streets. The average Skinhead, wears combat boots or Doc Martens, thin red suspenders, and a bomber jacket. The hair is completely shaven or closely cut to the head. The Skins wear many symbols supporting the movement, such as, swastikas supremacy slogans, and other white power emblems or tattoos. Neo-Nazis believe that to be white is to be right. That the Aryan race, the whites, are the pure race and that there should be no other ethnic groups or races. Homosexuals, Jews, Hispanics and Afro-Americans are the main targets for this organization. But there are others. Any minority is the enemy of a true Skin. They wish to attract only those people who are willing to fight and sacrifice for something greater and more meaningful than themselves...The White People as a race. The members usually range from 13 to 25 years old. These groups have been responsible for more than 45 deaths of minorities. American groups that are included in the Neo-Nazi movement are: The KKK, The American Nazi Party, National Alliance, Christian Identity, And The World Church of the Creator.…

    • 953 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Ku Klux Klan people haven 't gotten out of the idea the black people…

    • 1738 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Punk Subculture History

    • 618 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The New Romantics was a subculture born out of dissatisfaction with the way ‘punk had become a parody of itself’ (Cole, 2000) that, once adopted by the mainstream, began to alienate ‘many of those who were at first attracted to it’s embracing of difference and individuality’ (Cole, 2000). Where punk had once been about a very ‘DIY’ ethic and energy, it evolved into something uniform and hyper-masculinised. In doing so, the punk scene became much less of a welcoming space for LGBTQ+ youth, such as George O’Dowd (better known today as cultural icon, Boy George) and the Bromley Contingent (which included Siouxsie Sioux and Billy Idol) who ‘spent more time hanging out at gay clubs’ (Rimmer, 2003).…

    • 618 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Modern Day Goth Subculture

    • 1333 Words
    • 6 Pages

    First of all, lets dive into what a subculture is exactly. Well, subcultures are norms different from the majority, and are managed by a social group within a wider society. Each Individual subculture has its own unique set of characteristics making it distinguishable from the other subcultures, but together, they still operate as a whole striving for the same overall goals. Now that the definition of what it is to be a subculture has been covered, a particularly type of subculture is going to be discussed. An example of a subculture is a Goth. Now what is a Goth subculture? Well, the modern day Goths began as a subculture in the early 1980s in the United Kingdom, they came out of the punk rock subculture itself. In the late 1970s there was…

    • 1333 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Aryan Brotherhood

    • 2933 Words
    • 12 Pages

    The Aryan Brotherhood has traditionally nurtured a deep hatred toward black individuals and members of black groups/gangs, such as the: Black Guerrilla Family (BGF) Crip Bloods El Rukns…

    • 2933 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Juggalo Subculture Essay

    • 938 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The majority of the Juggalo sub-culture following, which constitutes the non-criminal element, likens themselves to a “family". The sub-set groups constituting the criminal element have broken off of the mainstream Juggalo subculture. These individuals have been identified as a younger generation taking the sub-culture to a different level, evolving the group into gangs or cliques. Most criminally-active Juggalos claim that their identity as a member of the Juggalo community is a lifestyle society has placed upon them.…

    • 938 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Subculture Analysis

    • 1127 Words
    • 3 Pages

    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 also have a set of characteristics that are used systematically and provide one with information. Characteristics include boundary rigidity, language/jargon, values, identifying signs, the degree of attachment and initiation rituals.…

    • 1127 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    groups is W.A.R. White Aryan Resistance. W.A.R. is a group in Arkansas fighting the government for an all white city. “Awaken White Americans or our race, heritage, history, and the future of our white children will be forever lost.”(www.airnet.net/niterider) This message was written from a Klansman Anarchist unnamed in the W.A.R. group. This quote is trying to recruit…

    • 708 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    This is England

    • 1486 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In the movie “This Is England”, Shaun, the main character, is an easily influenced twelve year old boy living in London. After his father dies in the Falkland’s war. He is then recruited by a gang of men, ranging from the ages of 16 to 30, called “skinheads”. Eager to please his only friends, he completely immerses himself in a life of bitterness, danger, racism, and drugs. Shaun’s personality is on a rollercoaster of emotions, as his troubled background continues to make his life more difficult. However, the skinheads become his family, and they take over fulfilling the role that his father is unable to.…

    • 1486 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays