High School Subcultures

A high school subculture is a group of Adolescent Student s who attend High School or Secondary Education and act as a Subculture . That is, they are a subgroup of People with a distinct set of Behavior and Beliefs that differentiate them from their dominant Culture . By definition, this subculture is distinguished from its main culture at least because of the Age of its members. Specific high school subcultures may form based on their members’ Race , Ethnicity , Class , and/or Gender . Their Aesthetic , Religious , Political and/or Sexual orientation may be defining characteristics as well. Intelligence could also be a factor also. Although this term is prevalent in the United States , the History Of Subcultures In The 20th Century demonstrates this is not an isolated phenomenon.

A SPECIAL CASE OF A GENERAL THEORY

According to key theorists of subculture such as Dick Hebdige , members of a subculture will often signal their membership through a distinctive and symbolic use of Style . Therefore, the study of subculture often consists of the study of the symbolism attached to clothing, music and other visible affectations by members of the subculture, and also the ways in which these same symbols are interpreted by members of the dominant culture. If the subculture is characterized by a systematic opposition to the dominant culture, then it may be described as a Counterculture .

A particular subculture can comprise a group of High School students with identifiable and distinctive traits. Such a group also can be known as a ' Clique ' or 'clic'. High school subcultures frequently identify with a larger subculture extant in the society as a whole, although some are high school specific. Some groups associate easily, others have traditional animosities. Not all of these subcultures exist in a given high school. Regional differences and even radical differences in extant subcultures between nearby high schools exist. The name for a substantially similar subculture in two different places also is often different. Some subcultures, such as jocks and nerds, are quite old. Others, such as goths, are relatively new.

Stereotypical behavior ascribed to high school subcultures include:

associating socially with other members of the same group;

eating Lunch or spending free time together;

wearing similar clothes, although the trend within high schools may not be as noticeable, since strict uniform dress codes are implemented in many areas;

using similar Slang (or sometimes no slang.); and

participating in a specific official extracurricular activity together.

EXCLUSIVITY

Being a member of one subculture does not always prevent someone from holding membership in another subculture. For instance, a person may be in band and chorus, and be a jock as well. However, many groups are consciously exclusive. For example, the In-crowd, or popular people, would not knowingly have a member who also was in the '''rejects''' subculture. These groups typically have high amounts of mutual distrust, usually due to social ostracization of members from the other group, which often is demonstrated by being mean, name-calling, Stereotyping , and so on.

Switching from one mutually exclusive subculture to another is possible but not necessarily easy or quick to accomplish. Students who do this invite much examination and discussion, including potential ridicule, of their lives by other high school students. They may be labeled as Posers or social climbers if they try to behave differently in order to join a different group. The more drastic the change, the more such a transition would be discussed and noted.

Some subcultures are more exclusive than others, such as the jocks and preps. This reduces the likelihood of a student being able to join an exclusive group.

PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT

The developmental period of being a Youth , or Adolescence , is a time of Identity formation. It is an important developmental stage. Most psychological theories of Human Development draw from Sigmund Freud ’s theory of Psychosexual Development , Carl Jung ’s Archetype s, and in particular, Erik Erikson ’s Stages Of Psychosocial Development .

During each developmental stage, behavior changes in response to biological maturation and changes in the Social Environment . The process of entering adulthood entails many decisions both conscious and Unconscious . Thus, joining a high school subculture is a method of exploring what life would be like with a personality that included the values and common decisions that people in that subculture commonly have and make. Frequently, students join a specific subculture and they do not examine why they are there. They merely are going along with what other people expect of them. Such behavior often is characteristic of what Erickson considers to be normal development during Early Adolescence .

POLITICS AND SUCCESS IN ADULT LIFE

Many works of fiction have been made that highlight how people in a specific high school subculture 'succeed' in life after high school.

Some comments are possible looking at prominent, successful individuals and determining if their subculture membership was in any way distinctive or predictive. Some politically successful famous people (for example, President Bill Clinton ) showed their ability in high school to be very able to cross subculture boundaries, and make friends with people who have vastly different interest areas.

However, while it is possible for a person to change their life entirely upon graduation, this typically does not happen. Most people who are in a science club 'geek' subculture go on to use that interest and knowledge in their adult lives as technical professionals. Likewise, most 'in-crowd' people (who can be viewed as understanding social dynamics on a more intuitive level) go on to professions in sales, marketing, and personnel management (NOTE: anecdotal evidence, firm studies are not in evidence).

LABELS AND GROUPS

This is a list of common terms some people use to describe high school Subculture s (or what some consider subcultures). None of these terms is standard, and persons, especially those labelled with them, will often not accept the term. Many terms may be considered insults. The following terms are largely (but not only) U.S. centric.

Advanced Placement students. Are interested mainly in schoolwork and grades, and are often particularly interested in Literature , History , Politics , Mathematics and Science . Often overlap with nerds, geeks, choir, band geeks, orchestra dorks and debaters.

Airheads : Girls who wear the extremely expensive designer clothes, and the ones who are up to the minute with the latest fashions. Usually not so bright socially or intellectually. Overlaps sometimes with the ''preps.''

. Frequently overlaps with druggies, goths, and artsy.

, Drawing , Fashion , Music etc. Frequently overlaps with theatre groups.

and Progressive Rock . Like old-school video games such as Pokémon , Nintendo and Zelda . Like a cool, socially adept version of Geek .

Asian s including Indian s who are thought to be highly intelligent, and good at "Asian" sports such as Table Tennis or Cricket . Often also known as "Freshies"

, Concert Band , and/or other musical instruments. Similar parody to Orchestra Dork

Ballers :people who tend to play a lot of basketball, but never or rarely on teams.

students, Geeks , Nerd s, Alternative students, and most notably Hippie s. The term has been in use since at least the 1950s.

. Usually she is someone who is very sweet and not very threatening to the other groups. However, many "Queen-Bees" have come from this group.

Choir : Chorus students, usually filled with girls and young gay men, although many choirs have a majority of heterosexual young men singing with them too.

(a popular Haberdasher among Middle Class teens in the United States) to jocks and "jockettes" (see "Cheerleaders"). White baseball caps and Upturned Collars are a common identifying feature. Often overlaps with wannabe preppies.

Debate rs: students taking debate and sometimes forensics.

, especially Marijuana .

Dud s: also classed as "losers" who are not popular, and are not particularly good at anything (although this can never be the case).

music and/or partake in the emo subculture (dyed long hair, tight sweaters and jeans, horn-rimmed glasses); some who are simply highly emotional in character may also be labeled as emo. Frequently overlaps with alternatives, artsies, goths, nerds, and punks. Most people identified as emo are not and are most likely scene kids.

Gamers : play and are sometimes obsessed with video games and other technology, such as computers. Stereotypically they are seen as people who never leave their rooms and never go outside. Often overlap with geeks.

activities, depending on the city. In cities with little or no actual gang activity, a subculture identifying with the gangster subculture (through e.g. slang, clothing, and music) often nonetheless develops, most likely through positive depictions of gangsters as cool outlaws in the media. Frequently overlaps with druggies. May be ' Wiggar ' or ' Hard-Knock '

Gear Heads : are those who obsessively love cars, trucks, motorcycles, or anything that has to do with motors. This person is a motor vehicle or cycle enthusiast; also, an enthusiast for working on motor vehicles; a mechanic in the making. This group is almost exclusively male although females are readily accepted so long as they are really into motor vehicles. Also known as ''motorheads.''

Goth s: listen to music of the gothic genre. typically characterized by dark clothing, outlandish hair and clothing styles, many piercings, and 'dark' interests/worldview, frequently overlaps with alternative.

Hackers : Sometimes called computer geeks, these people take pride with computers and other modern technologies. Can usually overlap with geeks, gamers, and occasionally rejects and outcasts.

Hermits : Lacking membership in any group but also not actively or even passively ostracized by the general student body, Pseudo-Rejects socialize among themselves.

Hip Hoppers: students who listen to hip-hop and other forms of such rap music. These often dress like those as seen in hip-hop music videos and are sometimes highly inspired by music channels like MTV or BET .

s, Gangsta 's, and Druggie s.

and wannabe-preppies.

; traditional enemy of nerds, geeks, and nowdays homosexuals. They are traditionally Male , but as the 21st Century progresses, female Jocks have come out of the woodwork. Virtually all female athletes have older brothers, which demonstrates the importance of sibling influence.

origin and take pride in their Hispanic heritage, and the country from which they are from. They usually listen to the Reggaeton or Latin Rap . Often speak Spanish with their peers.

Loners - Usually introverts, these people have little or no friends. They like to trod along with theirselves or with their few friends, and may be seen eating lunch or on the street alone. Some are widely intelligent and have lots of interests, but others are not the smart. Usually overlaps with ''goth', ''emo'', ''gamer'', ''band geeks, ''nerd'', and ''artsy''.

, often with long hair and wearing band t-shirts and jeans. Are occasionally mistaken as goths or punks.

, Science s, Computers , and other academic arts; traditional target of jock bullying and by definition more intelligent than the majority of the student body.

Orchestra fellows: students who participate in orchestra. Frequently overlap with band geeks. Also known as ''Orch-dorks''

Otaku : Rarely Asian, love manga and/or anime. Most write or draw characters or stories in Anime style.

Outcast : Rejects, usually by choice, but not always the case.

subcultures, although they do not at all belong to that subculture. Stereotyped as clean-cut and wearing fashionable, expensive clothing inspired by that of preparatory schools. Frequently overlaps with jocks and the in-crowd.

Punk s: identifying with the punk rock subculture. Frequently overlaps with rejects or alternative.

Queen-Bee s:The queen bee is the clique's leader. Characteristics often associated to her are a pleasant appearance, charisma, skill in manipulation and monetary power. The queen bee has substantial influence and power over the clique, and is usually envied and looked upon as a role model by clique members and at times by outsiders to the clique. Her actions are closely followed and imitated, even though they may not be of a positive nature. With this, the social role of the "outcast" is defined, as individuals that the queen bee dislikes may be classified by her as such, thus encouraging clique members to victimize the outcast, in order to continue to be part of the clique or to receive praise from the queen bee. In most cliques there is, at least to some degree, a power struggle for the position of the queen bee. Hence, the clique's leader might change from time to time, for example due to a member (or non-member) exceeding the queen bee's abilities and thus attracting followers of the old clique leader. Outside influences may also act upon the social structure of the clique, such as changing interests or increasing maturity among clique members.

Racial ly-identified groups. Foreign exchange students from a common area. Language clubs, etc.

Gays and lesbian who are out of the closet and in relationships with each other. Often times there is a majority of young heterosexual women in these clubs, usually the best friends "Graces (after Will And Grace )" of young gay men.

Redneck s: students who often listen to country music, have a love of cars, talk with explicit slang, and are sometimes seen as racists. Often times they are young men who are lax, are interested in the military, have peach fuzz, wear white tank tops, and unfortunately, have rotting teeth at an early age.

Reject s: socially ostracized students.

is the a common icon among these youth.

music, often wear Vans or Converse, sometimes known to be very weird but love what they do. Sometimes overlaps with --- Rejects and Punks .

Skaters : students who are obsessed with skateboarding or other extreme sports. Often overlaps with punks and druggies.

, or have some sort of reading or social skills disorders such as Autism and Dyslexia . Also known as the ''retards''.

smokers who are often associated with Skaters or Hippies.

hopefuls, the sons of daughters of show mothers, and young, often gay, men who like Broadway Musicals .

Teenage Mother s: Pregnant teenagers. Frequently seen as outcasts by other school groups. Another stereotype is that they have really bad fathers/boyfriends. The teenage father is considered to be a spin-off of this group.

do identify with this group. Named for their dress of preppy clothing such as track jackets. Somtimes overlap with Crombies, Preps, Jocks, and Stoners.

Wigger : A wigger is usually someone who acts like a gangster, but has no, or very little connection to anti-social activities. Can overlap with Druggies and Rappers.

Note that many of the subcultures may also have a sub-subculture. Examples include Choir students who are taking Madrigal chorus and their friends.

Within each group may be several different strands, depending on the size of the group; for example, at a large school, within the set of 'jocks', there may be individual sub-subcultures of those who are Cross Country Runners , Football Player s, Volleyball players, Tennis players, Swimmers , etc.

Defunct labels

Some high school subcultures have declined and died out, although still may be found in very minute numbers.

s/early 1960s macho car/motorcycle repair subculture, stereotyped in the '' Grease '' movies. However, some small groups of similar-looking kids can be seen (such as the "Motorheads" in the movie '' Disturbing Behavior '') in some high schools. Some of these kids may also be into the Rockabilly music scene.

ish in dress.

:A type of slacker in the early 90's.

: A group of independent, revolutionary, expeiremental youths at there height during the Vietnam War. They are still around, but are usually catagorized as junkies or druggies.