The Skinheads: An English Working Class Subculture

AN ENGLISH WC SUBCULTURE OF 'SKINHEADS', WHICH APPEARED FROM 1968-70 WAS INVESTIGATED. USING A MIXTURE OF QUANTITATIVE & QUALITATIVE TECHNIQUES IT WAS ATTEMPTED TO GAIN INSIGHTS INTO THIS VIOLENT, DELINQUENT SUBCULTURE. THE VARIOUS CULTURAL SEGMENTS OF AN OVERALL YOUTH CULTURE REFLECT THE VARIOUS CLASS DIVISIONS OF THE LARGER SOCIAL STRUCTURE. GENERATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS WAS NOT DISCOVERED TO BE MORE REAL THAN THE SC SITUATION. IN ORDER TO SOLVE PROBLEMS CREATED BY STRUCTURAL CONTRADICTIONS (IE THE CHANGES IN THE ECONOMIC SITUATION WHICH FORECLOSED TRADITIONAL CRAFT INDUSTRIES & CASUALIZED LABOR), THE SKINHEADS TURNED TO A YOUTHFUL ADAPTATION OF WC CONSERVATIVE VALUES. THEY BECAME SCAPEGOATED IN THE MASS MEDIA AS DEVIANT BIGOTS, BUT IN FACT THEY MERELY REFLECTED THE RACIST & SEXIST ATTITUDES ALREADY PRESENT IN THE WIDER SOCIETY. AT AN EXISTENTIAL LEVEL THE MEMBERS USED THE IMAGERY & STYLE OF THE SKINHEAD SUBCULTURE TO DEVELOP AN IDENTITY SEPARATED FROM THE WORLD OF ADULT AUTHORITY. AA.