Wulfruna

British life: diversity of subcultures and stereotypes and lots of wondering

EMO. (from emotional) is a slang term used to describe a wide range of fashion styles and attitudes somewhat affiliated with emo music and its related scenes. In recent years, as its use has come to define more than just the music, the word emo has more often been viewed as simply being short for "emotional".

The popular style of dress focuses on darker colors. Commonly seen elements include dark colored hair (often dyed either black or an unnatural dark hue), males wearing pants tailored for females, lip, eyebrow, and labret piercings, and dark make-up on males and females (most notably black eyeliner, although red eyeshadow is becoming increasingly popular). A common accessory for both males and females are glasses with a dark coloured (usually black), thick rim.
Converse All-Star style shoes are common amongst both styles of dress, as are Vans shoes.
While "emo" is often used to describe the dress and attitudes of fans of emo music, it should be noted that "emo" as a musical genre and "emo" as a slang term are largely separate. "Emo" as a musical genre long pre-dated the use of "emo" as a slang term. At the same time, most current bands labeled "emo" are done so unwillingly, and largely because they share some of the fashion trends and attitude associated with "emo" as a slang term.

Stereotype: Ich glaube Emos jeden Samstag vermehrt am Queens Square zu sehen...und sie haben so rot-schwarz gekringelte Strümpfe oder Armdinger.....irgendwie eine Untergruppe von PUNK. Ich bin ein subkulturelles Eierschwammerl auf dem Weg zur Besserung. Man muss ja nur die Augen offen halten. grrrr. Und bitte nicht zu verwechseln mit den GOTHS.

GOTH. Goth is a contemporary subculture prevalent in many countries around the globe. It began in the United Kingdom during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture is remarkable for its longevity compared with others of the same era. Its imagery and cultural proclivities show influences from nineteenth century Gothic literature, mainly by way of horror movies (particularly cinematic depictions of vampires).
The goth subculture has associated "gothic" tastes in music and fashion. Gothic music encompasses a number of different styles. Common to all is a tendency towards a “dark” sound. Styles of dress within the subculture range from death rock, punk, Victorian, androgyny, some Renaissance style clothes, combinations of the above, and/or lots of black attire, makeup and hair.

Stereotype: Ahhh, nix neues, das kennma eh schon aus Graz.

CHAV. Chav or Charv or Charva is a slang term which has been in wide use throughout the United Kingdom since 2004. It refers to a subcultural stereotype of a person with fashions such as flashy "bling" jewellery and counterfeit designer clothing, an uneducated, uncultured, and impoverished background, a tendency to congregate around places such as fast-food outlets, bus stops, or other shopping areas, and a culture of antisocial behaviour. Chavs often listen to rap and hip hop music. Response to the term has ranged from amusement to criticism that it is a new manifestation of classism.

The stereotypical chav is someone who:

wears particular clothing, such as:
Brand name athletic clothing and shoes. Stereotypically, this might include white trainers and tracksuits.
Fake designer clothing and accessories, in particular the distinctive tartan of Burberry, similar to (and perhaps derived from) the casuals of football supporters.
"Bling": that is, gaudy gold or platinum jewellery — in particular conspicuous earrings and trinkets on chains for women, and gold sovereign rings for men.
Sports caps and hoodies. Often both are worn, the hood pulled up over the baseball cap, thus obscuring the wearer's face.
Sports or jogging trousers, often tucked into white (or in fact any colour of) sports socks. These are also referred to as "tracky Bs", "trackies" or "tracky bottoms".
if female, wears thickly applied make-up, makes heavy use of fake tan, large hoop-earrings and has a hairstyle in which the hair is pulled back into a tight bun or ponytail (called a "Croydon facelift" [8] or "council-house facelift").
is associated with crass, drunken behaviour and minor criminal activities. This includes unprovoked attacks on members of the public (see happy slapping), vandalism, verbal abuse, and drug abuse (see ASBO). This delinquency may be carried out under the influence of cheap alcohol, often after the pubs have closed.
lives on housing estates and other low-income neighbourhoods, often supported by the "dole" [9] (unemployment benefit)
owns a tastelessly modified car, usually with a basic original specification, but decorated in a gaudy style. The Vauxhall Nova is one of the many small hatchbacks associated with this stereotype.[9]
takes part in under-aged drinking and sex (and, consequently, is associated with teen pregnancy).[9]
congregates and loiters in areas such as shopping centres [10] and fast food restaurants [11].
pronounces English in a style that is seen to be unsophisticated and characterised by slack diction — for example, the pronunciation of "thing" as "fing". [12]

Stereotype: sind das die, die schon so früh soooo viele Kinder haben und ständig Kaugummi kauen und die Haare sooo fest zum Pferdeschwanz gebunden haben, dass das schon weh tun muss? Gesichtet in Wolverhampton, jeeeeden Tag zu Hauf. Und die Burschen, die sich die Jogginghose in die Socken stecken....ahhh, schon gesehen an der Cote d' Azure auf Schulaustausch. Da war ich so 16, 17.

MOD. Mod (or, to use its full name, Modernism or sometimes Modism) was a lifestyle based around fashion and music that developed in London, England in the late 1950s and reached its peak in the early to mid 1960s. People who followed this lifestyle were known as Mods, and were mainly to be found in Southern England.
Mods were obsessed with clothes and music, including Black American R&B and Soul, Jamaican Ska, and Bluebeat and a select few British groups such as The Beatles, the Small Faces, the Kinks, The Spencer Davis Group and The Who.
Mods would gather at all-night clubs to show off their clothes and dance. They would typically choose motorscooters as their mode of transportation, either the Lambretta or the Vespa. These were sometimes adorned with many lights and mirrors and were intended to gain attention.

An alternative youth movement known as 'Rockers' often clashed with the Mods, leading to street battles between the two factions in seaside resorts such as Brighton and Margate. These events led to much anguished discussion about 'modern youth' in Britain during the early 1960s. The conflicts inspired Anthony Burgess's novel A Clockwork Orange in which the anti-hero is arguably a futuristic Mod. The film Blowup (1966), directed by Antonioni, both celebrates and mocks the scene. The film Quadrophenia (1979), based on the album of the same name by The Who (1973), celebrated the movement. Partly because of the success of this film, the Mod Revival occurred during the late 1970s.
One logo of the mod movement is a stylized target, based on Britain's Royal Air Force symbol.
The band The Jam were highly influenced musically and stylistically by mod culture as are more recent musicians Ocean Colour Scene who often collaborate with Paul Weller, and The Ordinary Boys.
Mods made up (and continue to make up) a large proportion of the Northern soul movement, a subculture based on obscure American soul records from the 60's and 70's.
"Mod is clean living under difficult circumstances"

Steretype: ah, bin ich ein Mod wenn ich The Who mag? das kennma auch...aus dem Fernsehen....ui, und dacht ichs mir doch, das das nach Alex in "A Clockwork Orange" klingt! *stolzbin!!!* Und gab es auch Mods in Deutschland? A la "Die Lümmel von der ersten Bank"? Chris Roberts? "Hilfe, ich liebe Zwillinge" mit Uschi Glas und Roy Black? War da irgendwas von Mod dabei? Oder ein Rocker? Hilfe! Und: gibt es heute auch noch Mods? Oder sind sie heute schon was anderes?

ROCKERS. Rocker was a term originally applied in a derogatory manner to British motorcycle riding youths in the 1960s, but was later taken by riders, and their pillions. Rockers were almost entirely defined in opposition to their famous antitheses of the same time, the Italian motorscooter riding Mods, or Modernists. Mods and Rockers rocketed to fame in 1964 by the sensationalistic media reporting of what by today's standards was very mild youth behaviour; the famous Bank Holiday clashes between both parties on the English South Coast holiday resorts of Clacton, Margate and Brighton. Before this time, young motorcyclists had not been grouped together and labelled in such a manner.

Stereotype: ja, Lederjacken mag ich auch....ob ich wohl gern in Brighton damals dabei gewesen wäre? Wahrscheinlich.....Jaaaa! Wo ist die nächste Zeitmaschine????

So. Wo gehört nun Grunge hin? Sind alle Subkulturen irgendwie an Musik geknüpft? Schön das alles so vielfältig ist. Wenn sich jeder in Ruhe lässt und alle friedlich nebeneinander leben. Fühle ich mich jetzt sicherer in diesem Land? Oder ist s mir doch zu viel? Ach ja, noch genug Zeit, um das British Life zu studieren....hoffentlich....Und: Gibts diese ganzen Subkulturen nicht eh auch in Österreich? Und: Als was komme ich bitte schön nach Österreich zurück? Immerhin hab ich schon so einiges an typisch "britischer" Kleidung im Schrank hängen....*schluck*

P.S. Für Anregungen und Richtigstellungen bin ich jederzeit offen.

posted by Claudia @ 12:18 PM