KHADS ARK MAGAZINE
Preserving art to outlive us
by Teniola Adeloye
Subcultures and the self
Who am I?
This question is one every person on earth asks themselves at some point in their lives and despite what has been said I believe it is easier to define and form yourself now more than ever before. I have read several critiques on the overwhelming nature of social media and the internet with people claiming that we are a generation confused and conflicted about our identities. With a rise in the amount of subcultures we are aware of thanks to social media this could very well be true. The surge in these micro niches has catalyzed trend hopping and the commonality of one-hit wonders, with effects felt in the production of fast fashion as we wear clothes that become out of fashion in months and we mass produce musicians and celebrities that fizzle out into insignificance in weeks. As such we are unable to substantially define our genuine interests and we become conflicted with the speed of our phases leading to identity confusion.
Whilst these negatives to our modern omnipresent access to styles and music are felt we should also acknowledge the amount of good this access grants us. Once used correctly we enable ourselves to try on different hats and see what fits us best, allowing us to try things we have never seen or heard of before. For the black community, this is extremely significant as we break the boxes of limitations telling us who we can be because of the colour of our skin. With enough searching we can see ourselves in subcultures that we never considered before and find out things about ourselves,what we like and dislike, that we would otherwise have never known. Such as in the world of Rock where the African American band is made up of the Hackney brothers; Death based in Detroit is confirmed as the first punk rock band in the world. Formed in 1971 originating even before the Ramones who formed in 74. With access to this information, the genre of music the style and everything punk rock represents becomes a world that black people can feel welcomed in if not entitled to.
As young people this exploration of subcultures is vital. we spend our entire lives defining who we are but as young people, we spend all of our time trying to achieve this goal. Though you are not the clothes on your body or the music you listen to part of defining the self comes from figuring out your interests and more importantly why you are interested in them. That is why a shallow understanding of subcultures is such a significant issue. Subcultures in our contemporary society have been revamped as aesthetics, this change in title is significant as it means that instead of an in-depth understanding of the style we are exploring we get a costume-esque portrayal of them we are then allowed to scroll through 15-second videos with surface level information and decide not to actively research on our own to understand the message of the subculture. This leads us to misread the world we enter or wash out all its important messages. In turn, this prevents us from self-reflecting and further defining who we are. Subcultures such as the Riot Grrrl (an originally American underground feminist movement that rose in the 90s) with its antisexist messages, feminist manifesto, significant change in the punk scene and a new voice in the feminist movement simply became a genre of music and edgier style of dressing under the term aesthetic. All of this superficial and surface-level interest in these subcultures also internally reflects to a superficiality in ourselves as it prevents us from understanding why we like them. You like the edgier clothes of the Riot Grrrl subculture for example because you align with third-wave feminism and believe in the original concept of girl power, not only because you want to look cool and enjoy listening to Bikini Kill. This is why you need to understand the subcultures’ origins.
At times a lack of definition in the roots of a subculture is even dangerous and can lead to its manipulation. For example in the case of skinhead culture, its origins lie in the mixing point of the British working-class youth and the youth of the Windrush generation during the 60’s. As they worked together sharing styles and sounds such as reggae and ska music. Once this subculture which defined its identity as being proud of its status as a blue-collar worker spread to the north of England outside of London it was taken over by Neo-Nazi groups and became a thriving space for racism and ethno-nationalist politics. If the subculture had not been washed out as the visual aesthetic of low buzz cut hairstyles and Doc Martens, if it had held its liberating and inclusive views there would have been no room for it to be changed in such a polar direction. Today the skinheads’ true origins have been widely forgotten and in its place, the new wave of skinheads with their violent characteristics is its only identity. To combat this kind of change I implore you to spend time learning about what you like, delve into its origins and find out what you are representing when you wear a band t-shirt or Gyaru style outfit.
Once you find the roots of these subcultures you can see what you like about them. For example, if you like punks’ anarchist ideologies or the peace and love message that prevailed in the hippie culture of the 70s. You in turn begin to understand more about yourself as it enables you to see what kind of world you hope for and who you want to be in it. Once you understand these things then you can further develop yourself. You can say that you have libertarian views or that you are anti-establishment and spend time finding people with similar views, reading more about what you believe and taking part in movements to actively build the world you hope for. Whilst we go about defining ourselves it is extremely important to remember that as Whitman said we all contain multitudes.
Our access to different subcultures enables us to see multiple parts of ourselves and accept the multifaceted aspects of our identity. With access to different subcultures from Alté to Harajuku you and I can understand that it is okay to be and enjoy multiple things all at once. No longer do we feel the need to fit only one caricature or archetype. There is no status quo to stick to as we learnt in the high school musical trilogy. You can be and do what makes you happy and should love and accept all parts of yourself. It is exciting to see people find out more about themselves as they learn humans aren’t called to tick certain boxes once you realize the limitlessness of who you are then nothing is out of reach for you. This means that you can thrive in whatever aspect of yourself you want to spend time developing and that your phases instead of being seen simply as elements of your past that you grew out of, can be seen as part of your identity. An element of yourself that you no longer spend time developing one that has taught you more about who you are and who you want to be. All of this will propel you into answering the question who am I ? and will also permit you to love the answer you find at the end of your journey.
In conclusion, we have been gifted the opportunity to venture into what the world has to offer and as we become ourselves it is important that we try on different hats, that we learn why we like what we like and that we do not look back on our phases with shame or embarrassment because, without that stage in your life, you wouldn’t be who you are today. As the poet John Ashbery wrote in Some Words “Let yourself love all that you take delight in, accept yourself as a whole”.