Style Subcultures & Authenticity of Identity Performance

1. Style Subcultures& Authenticity of Identity Performance

2. Goths

3. Punks

4. Grunger

5. Style Subcultures & Authenticity of Identity Performance

7. Style Subcultures & Authenticity of Identity Performance BodyWork

8. Postmodern Consumer Culture • Brands as resources for identity construction • The Performing Self • “Appearance, display & management of impressions” • Skilful Performance? • Authentic Performance?

9. Authenticity & Socio-Cultural Theories of Consumption • Brand Communities • Authentic v inauthentic members • Neo-Tribes • Authoritative performance and display • British Subcultural Theory • Mods, Rockers, Punks • Style

10. The Embodied Self & Style • Style = dress AND how it is worn • Body becomes a site for identity • Youth subcultures • “Cool” body style of Mods • “Hard” masculinity of Rockers • “Movement & confidence in that movement were the key to their style” • “Ways of moving, walking & talking which are worn like a second skin on the body of the skinhead, punk, raver”

11. The Body • Body Techniques • ‘mechanical, unreflexive’ • Bodily Hexis • ‘permanent disposition’ • Technologies of the Self • ‘transform themselves to attain a certain state of happiness’ • BodyWork & Materiality • The embodied distinction of competent style performances together with fashion products make visible the boundaries of style subcultures

12. Performance • Taste cultures and subcultural capital • Authentic displays of cool • Style leaders • Cool requires bodily expression of “ironic detachment” • Face Work: signalling and reading • Authentic performance is transmission and reception of culturally appropriate actions

13. Research Questions • To what extent do style subcultures express their identities through consumption & display of fashion brands? • And also through performative acts? • Can members identify a difference between authentic and inauthentic performance of identity?

14. Ethnographic Methods • 8 month study 16-19 yr old students at college in city • Range of standard high street branded fashion shops, boutiques, sports & surfing clothing, 2nd hand (retro), charity clothing • Process: • Identified Style Leaders & approached directly • Snowballing through friendship networks • 18 individuals in multiple interviews • Further 13 in focus groups • Data: • Observation • Participant observation • Individual interviews • Focus groups • Video diaries

15. Style Repertoires & Style Codes • Material base: • Clothing and Store brands, Music bands, Leisure venues • Repertoires • Skaters, Punks, Goths, Metallers, Emo-Indie, Grungers • Skaters: • Baggy Bleubot trousers, DC’s, Vans, Raw sports shoes, Baggy Surf-store T-shirt • Metallers • Band T-shit • Leather trousers and jacket • Shops/Pubs/Clubs • H&M! • Dancing (Moshing in the Mosh Pit) • Pogo-ing (Goths) • Head-banging (Metallers) • Skanking (Punks)

16. Pogoing

17. Headbanging

18. Skanking

19. Authenticity of Style Performance • Naturalness • Over-performance • Trying too hard • Learning through trial and error • Supporting the wrong band • Subcultural capital • Commitment to one micro-style

20. BodyWork • Skaters: They kind of shuffle, like, kind of because they skate lots…see how they’re like, shuffling along with their hands in their pockets? That’s like the perfect, like surfer/skater boarder walk. That’s how they walk. They always walk as if they haven’t got anywhere to go, like they’ve got no purpose. They’re not walking anywhere, they’re just walking for fun…they always walk pretty slowly. Like, they’re trying to look as if the only thing that would get them anywhere is their board. Like if they haven’t got their board then there’s no point in going there, because its not fun. They slump, like they’re trying to get as low to the ground as possible, like they do when they’re skating… Chris, Gothy Skater

21. BodyWork • Drum and Bassers: …its like they want to be skaters but they don’t… they all do pot, ‘cos they’re always so stoned! That’s what I mean (speaks in monotone voice), I think its because of the pot…they all go to the park and there’ like 50 of them…they all wear those baggy clothes, like Skater clothes, but they’re into Drum & Bass, but they think they’re like black guys, ‘cos they’re all “yeah, smoked spliffs the other day” “Yeah it was well good” That’s how they talk, they all think they’re real cool and they do the monkey walk, you know just like drag along their feet and their shoulders Sophie, Girlie Punk

22. Conclusion • Creative consumers • Collective individuality • Symbolic project of the self within a micro-cultural context • Staged authenticity  True authenticity • Self –in – between • Visual ethnography

23. Visual Ethnography • Photos taken by Researcher • As evidence to be interpreted by researcher • As an illustration of an insight • As stimulus for an interview (photo-elicitation) • Photos taken by Informant • As evidence to be interpreted by informant (auto-driving) • As evidence to be interpreted by informant and researcher together (co-operative inquiry)