Style Subcultures

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Style Subcultures Authenticity of Identity
Performance
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Goths
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Punks
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Grunger
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Style Subcultures Authenticity of Identity
Performance
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Style Subcultures Authenticity of Identity
Performance
BodyWork
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Postmodern Consumer Culture

• Brands as resources for identity construction
• The Performing Self
• Appearance, display management of impressions
• Skilful Performance?
• Authentic Performance?

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Authenticity Socio-Cultural Theories of
Consumption

• Brand Communities
• Authentic v inauthentic members
• Neo-Tribes
• Authoritative performance and display
• British Subcultural Theory
• Mods, Rockers, Punks
• Style

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The Embodied Self Style

• Style dress AND how it is worn
• Body becomes a site for identity
• Youth subcultures
• Cool body style of Mods
• Hard masculinity of Rockers
• Movement confidence in that movement were the
  key to their style
• Ways of moving, walking talking which are worn
  like a second skin on the body of the skinhead,
  punk, raver

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The Body

• Body Techniques
• mechanical, unreflexive
• Bodily Hexis
• permanent disposition
• Technologies of the Self
• transform themselves to attain a certain state
  of happiness
• BodyWork Materiality
• The embodied distinction of competent style
  performances together with fashion products make
  visible the boundaries of style subcultures

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Performance

• Taste cultures and subcultural capital
• Authentic displays of cool
• Style leaders
• Cool requires bodily expression of ironic
  detachment
• Face Work signalling and reading
• Authentic performance is transmission and
  reception of culturally appropriate actions

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Research Questions

• To what extent do style subcultures express their
  identities through consumption display of
  fashion brands?
• And also through performative acts?
• Can members identify a difference between
  authentic and inauthentic performance of identity?

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Ethnographic Methods

• 8 month study 16-19 yr old students at college in
  city
• Range of standard high street branded fashion
  shops, boutiques, sports surfing clothing, 2nd
  hand (retro), charity clothing
• Process
• Identified Style Leaders approached directly
• Snowballing through friendship networks
• 18 individuals in multiple interviews
• Further 13 in focus groups
• Data
• Observation
• Participant observation
• Individual interviews
• Focus groups
• Video diaries

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Style Repertoires Style Codes

• Material base
• Clothing and Store brands, Music bands, Leisure
  venues
• Repertoires
• Skaters, Punks, Goths, Metallers, Emo-Indie,
  Grungers
• Skaters
• Baggy Bleubot trousers, DCs, Vans, Raw sports
  shoes, Baggy Surf-store T-shirt
• Metallers
• Band T-shit
• Leather trousers and jacket
• Shops/Pubs/Clubs
• HM!
• Dancing (Moshing in the Mosh Pit)
• Pogo-ing (Goths)
• Head-banging (Metallers)
• Skanking (Punks)

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Pogoing
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Headbanging
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Skanking
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Authenticity of Style Performance

• Naturalness
• Over-performance
• Trying too hard
• Learning through trial and error
• Supporting the wrong band
• Subcultural capital
• Commitment to one micro-style

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BodyWork

• Skaters
• They kind of shuffle, like, kind of because they
  skate lotssee how theyre like, shuffling along
  with their hands in their pockets? Thats like
  the perfect, like surfer/skater boarder walk.
  Thats how they walk. They always walk as if they
  havent got anywhere to go, like theyve got no
  purpose. Theyre not walking anywhere, theyre
  just walking for funthey always walk pretty
  slowly. Like, theyre trying to look as if the
  only thing that would get them anywhere is their
  board. Like if they havent got their board then
  theres no point in going there, because its not
  fun. They slump, like theyre trying to get as
  low to the ground as possible, like they do when
  theyre skating
• Chris, Gothy Skater

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BodyWork

• Drum and Bassers
• its like they want to be skaters but they
  dont they all do pot, cos theyre always so
  stoned! Thats what I mean (speaks in monotone
  voice), I think its because of the potthey all
  go to the park and there like 50 of themthey
  all wear those baggy clothes, like Skater
  clothes, but theyre into Drum Bass, but they
  think theyre like black guys, cos theyre all
  yeah, smoked spliffs the other day Yeah it was
  well good Thats how they talk, they all think
  theyre real cool and they do the monkey walk,
  you know just like drag along their feet and
  their shoulders
• Sophie, Girlie Punk

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Conclusion

• Creative consumers
• Collective individuality
• Symbolic project of the self within a
  micro-cultural context
• Staged authenticity ? True authenticity
• Self in between
• Visual ethnography

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Visual Ethnography

• Photos taken by Researcher
• As evidence to be interpreted by researcher
• As an illustration of an insight
• As stimulus for an interview (photo-elicitation)
• Photos taken by Informant
• As evidence to be interpreted by informant
  (auto-driving)
• As evidence to be interpreted by informant and
  researcher together (co-operative inquiry)