The Subculture and Social Deviance The term of subculture seems at least confusing. It seems to point, in a pejorative way to something lower than culture, to a hybrid form similar in many respects to kitsch as a pseudo-art, of bad quality, inferior to the veritable art. In reality, the subculture, is an expression of the great cultural diversity existent in any society and which emphasizes the identity of different social groups characterized by rules, values and lifestyles, alternative or different one from the other. If we were to define culture as a lifestyle, consisting of ways to do ,to be, and to think, in a very specific way belonging to a certain social group, different from other groups. The idea of subculture, is strongly connected to the idea of social structure, which is the assembly of social positions of individuals as members of same ethnic groups religions,or professional ones. These positions imply specific ways of expressing oneself, of interpreting the world, of giving it particular cultural meanings.
This is how social structure determines the creation of different subcultures inside society. These subcultures are seen as products of some rules or alternative values as compared to those belonging to global culture, or they may be seen as a result of certain rules, values and lifestyles which are considered to be deviant or marginal as compared to the legitimate or conventional ones. Some subcultures are legitimate some are illegitimate or deviant (such as criminal subcultures,for instance).
The Term Paper on Social group
This book, Ain’t No Makin’ It, shows the lives of the youth who are living in a neighborhood of low income earners. It shows that people are not poor because they are not ready to work, but it is because of various societal structural barriers that get them entrapped in poverty. The book is about the lives of two distinct units of teenagers who live in the inner- city with one unit believing in ...
However, each subculture has its own perceptions, definitions meanings and focal areas of interest as represented by the young peoples subculture, the criminal offense subculture, the homosexual subculture, the drug dealers subculture. The young peoples subculture, for example, contains areas such as leisure, hedonism and nonconformism. Remarkable is the fact that the cultural elements which define a subculture may remain for a long time insignificant to the individual, becoming significant and important only in certain social circumstances, such as the contact with other social groups.
Young peoles subculture expresses itself as an important element of solidarity in relationships with adults. A negative reaction towards a certain subculture may reinforce by the stigmatization of its members, their feelings of adhesion. The conscientiousness of group identity may be determined by the atitudes expressed by the authorities or the public opinion, towards different preferences which turn individuals into stigmatized persons. And this happens as a consequence of social reactions and atitudes towards them in most of contemporary societies. Such stigmatization obliges the individual to associate himself to others defined by the same identity (or preferances) in order to search for support and guidance of the subculture he or she belongs to. Therefore, the association of individuals to leading similar lifestyles detemines the creation of subcultures which are defined by certain habits, expectations or interests. Now, if we were to refer to drugs- addicts, we must admitt that they may represent the most suggestive example in this respect. Drug-addicts subculture contains certain elements concerning their organization and culture, including a special slang, special artefacts, a distribution market, a price system, and even ethical principles.
All these elements offer support and identity to the drug-addict. If the individual is socilaized in such subculture he will know that any good and pleasant feeling has a normal feature and it is legitimate if compared to the values of this subculture. Therefore if the individual is not socialised he or she will interpret these feelings as a sign of psychological disorder, that he cannot control and which brings back the feelings of panic and anxiety. Taking into account these examples of subcultures, and the consistence of elements defining a certain subculture, one can notice the process of socialising through which individuals learn the significance of these elements and assimilate the consciousness of belonging to a group. So, the term of deviation applied to certain subcultures is relative, because it is merely an expression of a certain normal behaviour, according to the rules and values that define it. From a sociological point of view, the term of subculture, points to the total number of rules and values and alternative or conflictive lifestyles which define marginalized groups, whose practices or atitudes contrast strongly to those of global society.
The Essay on Identity Theory: Applications to Individual, Group, and Organizational Interventions
Group Dynamics Introduction A set of individuals in the same surrounding constitute to a group. In these groups certain norms are established which have a great influence on the ultimate behavior of individuals in the group. Norms are a set of beliefs of how individuals should relate and behave. Examples of factors that influence group members to conform to the group norms include ...
Nowadays society, may be therefore, interpreted as a global entity where these subcultures are alternative ways of existing and expressing oneself, or as a dominant entity where these subcultures are simple expressions of structural inequity. However, the society of the 20thcentury, is a pluralist society where the out-cast subcultures meet and where, unfortunately, they are often seen as solutions for living, as reactions adjusted to the problems of social groups whose opportunities and chances of professional accomplishment contrast strongly to the chances and opportunities of favored social groups..
