How subcultures resist the mainstream

Subcultures are groups within a society that distinguish themselves from its dominant culture, develop their own norms and values, and coexist with the mainstream. The lessons answer how subcultures resist mainstream culture and help readers understand this resistance as a form of collective identification. They trace its expression through style, shared practices, and responses to social change.

2 articles, 1 video, 1 book · about 1 hr 4 min of reading and viewing

The reading path

1. Read
   

   subcultures and countercultures · Wikipedia · 20 min read

   For subcultures and countercultures, French sociologist Michel Maffesoli coined the term urban tribe or neotribalism in 1985. The term gained widespread use after the publication of his The Time of the Tribes (1988). In subcultures, attacks on goths, emos, punks, and metalheads became hate crimes recorded by Greater Manchester Police in 2013, like abuse based on religion, race, disability, sexual orientation or transgender identity. The decision followed the 2007 murder of Sophie Lancaster and beating of her boyfriend, who were attacked because they were goths.

2. Read
   

   The Unlikely Hippies of the USSR - JSTOR Daily · JSTOR Daily · 2 min read

   Soviet hippies rejected a state that enforced conformity, unlike American hippies, who rebelled against consumer culture they saw as decadent and corrupt. Industrialization, migration, and the deterioration of village life helped create a breeding ground for this counterculture.

3. Watch
   

   Queer subculture, slums and a spiritual star cult - India's creative capital Mumbai | DW Documentary · YouTube · 42 min watch

   The video follows reporter Johannes Hano through Mumbai nightlife, including queer Muslim drag artist Zeesh, everyday slum life and spiritual celebrity culture. Mumbai nightlife could hardly be more diverse, the description says.

4. Book
   Subculture: The Meaning of Style · Bookshop.org

   Subculture: The Meaning of Style focuses on subculture as a subversion of normalcy, as Dick Hebdige argues in his 1979 book. The section also traces an earlier use of the term by sociologist David Riesman, who distinguished minority groups that actively sought styles and interpreted them through subversive values from a majority that passively accepted commercially provided styles and meanings.

Book links are Bookshop.org affiliate links. Curiate may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you — Bookshop.org also gives a share to independent bookshops.