10 Interesting Subcultures
By Sami on September 16th, 2009
Anthropologist Dick Hebdige wrote that subcultures are identifiable through their fashions, mannerisms, and slang. They have a belief system that outsiders might not understand but is sacred in their own circles. Modern media has transformed how subcultures spread and has introduced scores of them to the general public. The following are 10 interesting subcultures which you may not have heard about yet.
1. Zapatistas
The Zapatista Army of National Liberation (Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional, EZLN) is an anti-globalization revolutionary militia that appeared in 1994 as a response to NAFTA. Most people know of them because their leader, Subcomandante Marcos, smokes a pipe while wearing a ski mask. The Zapatistas were eventually given some autonomy took over the eastern part Mexico’s poorest state, Chiapas. They’ve since developed a subculture that is an interesting amalgam of revolutionary imagery, Catholicism, and Maya-centrism. Posters of Che Guevara next to the Virgin Mary with epithets in a colloquial version of Spanish are fairly common. Subcomandante Marcos gives speeches with a rooster that he calls “el pingüino” (“the penguin”) because of its hobbling walk, which is supposed to symbolize the proletariat.
2. Bills
Spaghetti westerns about Buffalo Bill became incredibly popular with the poor youth of Léopoldville (now Kinsasha) in the late-’50s. Buffalo Bill struck a chord with the Congolese because his story was similar to tall tales about traditional hunter heroes. The most popular of these westerns was Pony Express, where Charlton Heston played Buffalo Bill. For nearly a decade, it was common to see Léopoldville youth walking around the city wearing cowboy kerchiefs, jeans, and 10 gallon hats and calling themselves “Bills”. They even developed their own language called Hindoubill, based on the misconception that the Indians in westerns were Hindus from India. Dressed up Bills started disappearing by the late-’60s after being absorbed into local gangs, but even modern gangs in Kinsasha still speak Hindoubill and brandish kerchiefs to show their allegiance.
3. Asgarda
In Histories, Herodotus discussed a war that the Greeks had with a group of woman archers who removed a breast to freely use a bow. These women were called the Amazons and were placed on boats after being defeated. They managed to escape, intermarried with the Scythians, and ended up in modern day Ukraine. The Asgarda claim to be contemporary extensions. Their origin is rooted in a recent Ukrainian movement to rediscover traditional martial arts but they splintered into an all-woman subculture that secluded in the Carpathian mountains. Asgarda practice a strict training routine that involves fist-fighting styles and medieval weaponry. Interviews with them read like issues of Wonder Woman, complete with ultra-feminist proclamations about the downfall of man’s society.
4. Rolingas
Uruguayan rock bands that pinched the sound and style of The Rolling Stones became popular in Argentina in the ’60s. They died out quickly but the bar bands they inspired in Buenos Aires cultivated a rabid following that coalesced into the Rolinga (“Rolling”) subculture. Rolingas are identifiable by their Polynesian cargo cult style deification of The Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger hair styles, and disdain for anything that isn’t Rolinga. They heavily borrow customs from soccer hooligans, so concerts are cramped affairs with chanting fans, giant flags with epithets, and the occasional streak of violence. Rolingas enjoyed a moment of popularity in 1995 when The Rolling Stones toured Argentina and invited a few Rolinga bands to open for them. It didn’t last long; a 2004 club fire caused a massive backlash towards Rolingas that pushed them back into the suburbs.
5. Burrnesha
The Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit, Albania’s code of conduct, describes women as a “sack made to endure” and gives all wealth to men. It also promotes blood feuds between men. This practice has often wiped out entire generations of men and left women with no claims over property and possessions. The Burrnesha subculture was created to solve this dilemma. Burrnesha sacrifice their femininity and live as men in Albania’s patriarchal society when no men of age are available in a family. They swear a vow of chastity before town elders, chop off their hair, and adopt male mannerisms. They are expected to drink heavily, chain smoke, and carry weapons. The subculture is slowly dying out in modern Albania as women claim more rights; only about 40 remain.
6. Raggare
Sweden is the land of Ikea and buxom blondes, right? It is also the land of the Raggare (loosely translates to “pick-up artist”), a subculture that idolizes 1950s American pop culture. Raggare listen to rockabilly, dress like James Dean from Rebel Without a Cause, and even speak Swedish with a Greaser twang. While they’re mostly seen as a noisy nuisance today, the Raggare caused a moral panic when they first appeared in the ’50s: who wouldn’t be shocked to see hundreds of young Swedes dressing and talking like the Fonz? They are best known for their large classic American cars. These can be seen lumbering around the streets of Sweden with scores of Raggare car surfing along. They also celebrate the Confederate Flag and peckerwood while being completely oblivious to the racist undertones of both.
7. Pokemones
Speaking of moral panics, the next one is a doozy. Ultraconservative Chile has recently been horrified at public orgies called ponceo. Ponceo operate like flashmobs: a Facebook bulletin or a series of tweets yields hundreds of Chilean youth in public parks. The difference is that these flashmobs involve androgynous bisexuals making out and giving each other blow jobs while Reggaeton blares in the background. The subculture that host these orgies are called Pokemones - so-called because their hairstyles resemble Pokemon characters – and are identifiable by their tight jeans, multiple piercings, brightly dyed hair, and thick eyeliner. The end result of the moral panic was people bashing Pokemones in public. The Chilean government sponsored an anti-violence campaign called “Foundation for a Better Future” as a result.
8. Goreans
If Scientology has proven anything, it is that some people will take bad science fiction too seriously. John Norman began writing sword and planet novels in the late-’60s about the medieval planet of Gor. The Gorean subculture is comprised of people claiming to live their lives by a creed laid out in Norman’s novels, where an insect race called the Priest-Kings have transplanted entire cultures to Gor. In the novels, it is populated by men who are as ripped as Conan the Barbarian and by Red Sonya-esque sex slaves, controlled by a rigid caste system. Before you get too excited, real world Goreans’ appearances tend to be disappointing. Over time, the Goreans have evolved into an entire BDSM subculture that enjoys cheesy science fiction. They are also extremely prevalent on Second Life due to their inherently nerdy nature.
9. Guro Lolitas
No one really knows why Japanese subcultures have a reputation of being slightly odder than the subcultures one would find in the rest of the world. Some argue that it is because people have to go to extremes in order to stand out in an extremely homogeneous population. But not even Japan was prepared for the Lolita subculture that took the country by storm in the ’70s. All of a sudden, thousands of young Japanese were dressing like Victorian aristocrats. It quickly reached a peak by the ’90s, and these days Lolita clothing can be found in practically every Japanese department store. So, it was only natural when Lolita subculture created its own subcultures. The most bizarre group is the Guro Lolita. Guro Lolita is devoted to dressing and acting like a broken doll. A typical Guro Lolita limps around, wears an eye patch, is covered in bandages, and blood splatters cover her clothes.
10. Wannarexics
Like all things, the pressure to be thin is taken to extremes on the internet. Pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia websites promote personified versions of the diseases named Ana (anorexia) and Mia (bulimia) in ways that mirror Greek cults. Central to these groups is the belief that anorexia and bulimia are lifestyle choices and not diseases. They are extremely wary of strangers because of the ongoing outrage surrounding their existence, and a subculture of people who are new to the groups has come into existence as a result. Wannarexics are viewed as crash dieters, and therefore less devoted to the cause, so they go to extremes to prove their worth. Wannarexics are extremely ephemeral because, unlike the larger pro-ana subculture, they are more likely to quit after hitting a target weight.
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