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 strucuture, 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 rul
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. 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. Some subcultures are legitimate some are illegitimate or deviant (such as criminal subcultures,for instance). 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. 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. A negative reaction towards a certain subculture may reinforce by the stigmatization of its members, their feelings of adhesion. es 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. And this happens as a consequence of social reactions and atitudes towards them in most of contemporary societies. 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. 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. The young people's subculture, for example, contains areas such as leisure, hedonism and nonconformism. Therefore, the association of individuals to leading similar lifestyles detemines the creation of subcultures which are defined by certain habits, expectations or interests. 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. Young peole's subculture expresses itself as an important element of solidarity in relationships with adults. 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.
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