Vocabulary describes subculture as: a group of people within a larger culture that differentiates itself from the larger culture to which it belongs. The larger culture can be a country, a religious set up or tribe. The Oxford dictionary also describes it as a “cultural group within a larger culture” with different sets of interests and beliefs which are often very different to those of the larger culture.
Such people may share same religious, political, sexual or scientific beliefs. Sometimes a culture may be represented in the form of where people live. For instance, we have the Canadian culture, the American culture or the Australian culture. There are so many subcultures that vary from country to country. For example, Japan has so many unique subcultures just within their country. Within these bigger cultures, there are even smaller subcultures of many forms and sizes.
Hipster, Goth, Punk, etc – each their own subculture. Some based on music, others based on fashion. From sexual orientation to political standpoints, there is a huge list!
Identifying subcultures
Distinct Characteristics: Every cultural group displays distinct characteristics, e.g. the Eskimos use blubber for fuel and hunt whales and High Society Ladies spend their time at soirees with business leaders. In other words, no two subcultures are alike. Each subculture is distinct values, behaviors, folkways and more.
Alien/Negative Lifestyles: Some subcultures are known for their often negative relations with others in the workplace. They are often described as idle, ‘parasitic’, playful or sadists, etc. They are seen as negative influences by the larger cultural groups because they don’t conform to the society, and they are not class-conscious.
Different Orientation: There are groups of sexual subcultures that don’t have same sexual life as the rest. Examples include lesbians, gays, etc. There are also sexual preferences which don’t necessarily tend to be common, such as Polyamory and Paraphilia. These sexual and gender identity-based groups have large subcultures.
Elements of Ethnocentrism or Xenocentrism: Subcultures have the tendency to believe their culture is superior over other cultures. Most of them believe their own beliefs, styles, and the way of life is better than the rest. On the other hand, there are also some cultures that display elements of xenocentrism. Xenocentrism is the tendency to believe your subculture is inferior to others.
Here is an extensive list of subcultures, varying by type!
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[…] partitions. 2014. Understanding Subcultures. [ONLINE] Available at: https://demographicpartitions.org/understanding-subcultures-identify/. [Accessed 3 March […]