Subculture in the 21st Century

Subculture in the 21st Century is a key text for all students of sociology and cultural studies. Drawing on case studies and supported by a range of resources on its dedicated companion website, it is an introduction to the history, theory, tensions, and contemporary process that have shaped subcultures and their study.

Offering an accessible overview, it examines subcultures and subculture studies and how they have been formed and critiqued; it considers how subcultures are structured by contours of inequality through the continued relevance of gender, sexuality, race and ethnicity, and social class; and how contemporary processes, such as globalisation, ageing, and digital technology, have given us new ways of thinking about subcultures. Key topics covered include theoretical frameworks and concepts central to subcultural studies today, including social stratification, identity and authenticity, style, and resistance; critical evaluation of lifestyle, scene, and neo-tribe in post-subcultural studies; femininity and masculinity, power and identity; how sexualities have produced and impacted subcultures; what subcultural groups can offer racial minorities; class and structures of power, and resistance; subcultures through the life course; the emotionality and effects of contemporary subcultures; the relation between globalisation and subcultures; and digital media, participation, and scalability of subculture. Three detailed case studies from international contributors examine diverse subcultures, including Bronie subculture amongst adolescent and adult men, the range of masculinities within skateboarding, and the punk and electronic music scenes in Romania.

Brought to life with extracts of interviews and real-world examples and vignettes, Subculture in the 21st Century is an essential textbook for students of sociology and cultural studies as well as those interested in the study of contemporary movements in youth and popular culture.