While eating breakfast at my local hide-away spot on a regular occasion, I look around me and notice that one of these things is not like the other (me!). The way that my local Parkers are dressed (I never knew a man could wear that many scarves...), and the movies and music that they're talking about - the more obscure the better, all clues to the outsider in the midst of skinny jeans, scarves, and Urban Outfitters propaganda.
While sitting there eating my "Voted SLC's Best Morning After" Michigan Hash breakfast, I was contemplating which of these many subcultures that I myself could belong into. I was always a Jock and a Nerd combo, and still find myself there. I was the letterman sporting jockette who was proud of the State Champion badges on my arm. I was also very proud of the Valedictorian cords worn on my graduation gown. But where did I fit in? And how was I viewed for living in those roles?Found in the dictionary is the definition of subculture: a cultural group within a larger culture, often having beliefs or interests at variance with those of the larger culture. Also, it involves types of clothing, music, and other visbal affectations which also are some of the same symbols which are interpreted by the dominant culture. Dick Hebidge, a cultural theorist, also includes that members of a subculture often signal their membership through distinctive symbols and styles, including fashion, mannerisms, and jargon.
Another symptom of subcultures is judgement. We all have judged someone by the clothes they were wearing and the mannerisms which they exhibit. I have been guilty of it, as I am every morning that I eat in the Park, watching the people around me.
Where do you belong?
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