Like their tribal ancestors, teenagers today learn to understand who they are by defining themselves through social

bonds and affiliations with a peer group. As they grow from child to adult, they forge a personal identity by first creating a social identity. Music tastes and appearance are the obvious ways to define oneself, but the ways in which young people talk about themselves to their peers also helps them to create a sense of self. Some teen subcultures are described below. The goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in the United Kingdom during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, a derivative of the post-punk type. The goth subculture has associated tastes in music, aesthetics, and fashion, whether or not all individuals who share those tastes are in fact members of the goth subculture. Gothic music includes a number of different styles. Common to all is a tendency towards a depressing, mystical sound and outlook. Styles of dress within the subculture range from death rock, punk, medieval, some Renaissance and Victorian style clothes, or combinations of the above, most often with black clothes, makeup and hair.

Chav: slang term used in the United Kingdom for a subcultural stereotype derived from
American Hip-hop fixated on fashions such as imitation gold jewellery and designer clothing. The defining features of the chav clothing are a baseball cap and a variety of other casual and sportswear brands. Tracksuits and hoodies are also associated with this stereotype.

Preppy, also spelled prep: The

taken on an often offensive people, "prep" more generally with the appearance and wealth. Preppies are people who schools, often boarding schools. athleticism, sociability and wealth.

more recent slang derivation prep has meaning. Especially used by young denotes superficiality and preoccupation attended elite college preparatory Preppy culture idealizes intelligence,

The punk subculture is a subculture that is based around punk rock music. It emerged from the larger rock 'n' roll scene in the mid-to-late1970s in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. Today the punk movement has spread around the globe and developed into a number of different forms. The members belonging to this movement can be recognised by their spiky hair, black clothes, chains, piercings and dark make-up. Punk culture encompasses distinct styles of music, ideology, and fashion, as well as visual art, dance, literature, and film. Punk also lays claim to a lifestyle and community. The punk movement has had a tumultuous relationship with popular culture and struggles to resist commercialization.
Teen subcultures Teacher: Mrs. Gomes 1/2

Skinheads, named for their close-cropped or shaven heads, are a working-class

subculture that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1960s, and then spread to other parts of the world. Racist attitudes have become predominant in the skinhead subculture, although some skinheads remain apolitical or aligned to the Far Left. Tattoos have been popular among many of them. Some of the symbols chosen may be a swastika, spider webs, flags etc.

Nerd: it refers to a person who

intellectual knowledge rather than as participating in organized sports activities. A nerd is often considered

passionately pursues engaging in social life, such or other mainstream social a loner by peers.

Hippie (sometimes spelled "hippy"): This movement was also called

Flower Power. Hippies rejected established institutions, criticized middle class values, opposed nuclear weapons, the Vietnam War, embraced aspects of Eastern religions, were often vegetarian and eco-friendly, promoted the use of psychedelic drugs to expand one's consciousness, and created intentional communities or communes. They usually wore long hair, colourful clothes and they spread the message Make love, not war.

Nu-metallers (boys only): They wear oversize rock-band Tshirts, three-quarter-length trousers and cant live without a skateboard. They listen to US heavy metal such as Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Blink 182.

Graffiters: These people wear baggy clothes and have quite a

sloppy look. Groups that live in industrial or poor areas may use graffiti for various purposes, especially if many groups populate one specific area or city. The main use is to mark either territory or "turf" by tagging a space such as a wall on building near or on the boundaries of a gang's turf to inform other gangs of their presence. Usually, this type of tag will have the name of the gang. They are also used to communicate with other gangs, usually to warn them of a coming assassination of a certain member, by either writing the member's street name and crossing it out, or by finding tags by the member and crossing them out. If a gang overwrites another gang's tag, it is also the symbol of a takeover of a gang's turf or a sign of aggression towards the gang. While most cities now take measures to prevent this, such as washing or erasing tags, it was much more common in the mid 1980s when crime waves ran high.

Teen subcultures Teacher: Mrs. Gomes 2/2