The term subculture not part of the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy . The notion, however, is very common in the sociology and the anthropology . The concept is used to name the group of people who share behaviors and beliefs that are different from those of the dominant culture from his community .
It could be said that subculture is a differentiated group within a culture . Its members can meet for various reasons, such as age, ethnicity, sexual identity, musical tastes or aesthetics, among others.
It is usual for a subculture to define itself by opposition to the dominant culture . There are occasions, however, when such opposition is not radical.
The members of a subculture usually share a similar appearance that identifies them, such as a certain hairstyle (the crest in the case of punks, for example) or the color of clothing (black, for Gothic or Emos). Within a subculture a dialect particular or use infrequent terms in other groups.
The appearance of a subculture is established by the existence of shared symbols . This differentiates simple groups of people who meet for common tastes of subcultures, where there is a symbolic interactionism . In the aforementioned case of the Gothic subculture, its members appeal to black clothes and white makeup to convey their skepticism and lack of hope regarding the development of humanity.
It is known as Urban Tribe Finally, to the group of people that acts as a subculture within a city.
Prejudices
Like any trend that takes people away from the path preset by the society, subcultures are a very frequent target of prejudice and discrimination. Since there are many and very diverse (as well as punk and the floggers, which do not seem to have much in common) the contempt starts from an infallible and widely used base by our species in its struggle to divide and exclude they are not normal.
This common rejection of all subcultures is followed by particular issues, sometimes related to the way of dressing, hairstyles and makeup, or lifestyle; all this, it is possible to make the clarification, based on assumptions generated in the minds of those who have never really approached individuals who are part of the groups they attack. Why is a person dressed in black and with white makeup irresponsible or disrespectful? Why should it frighten your environment? There are no sensible answers to these questions.
And this brings us to the beginning: they do not respond to rule. Human beings fear the unknown and tend to believe that we are part of a large group that makes us feel safe, ignoring the diversity present within each class, those characteristics that make us unique. Perhaps this attitude is natural in living beings, as a defense mechanism that alerts us to the presence of someone or something strange; the problem exists when, after that first meeting, we develop a hate, a persistent and harmful rejection.
We are all responsible for judgments that we emit and in the way we interact with other living beings; However, there is a very powerful organization above us, which is responsible for putting those who attempt against the monotony we call life to study: study, get married, procreate and work until they grow old to keep our offspring.
Proof of this is found in the term subculture itself: the prefix "sub-", according to the Royal Spanish Academy, indicates inferiority, being below something or someone, being secondary. Therefore, how can one pretend that the people perceive subcultures in a positive way if their name indicates that those who are not part of them enjoy a certain superiority?
