Redefining the subcultural : The sub and the cultural

Arguing against the previous research’s presumption that the subculturalconstitutes a single set of meaning, this article addresses the simplequestion of what constitutes the subcultural? What does it mean when weaddress an object, practice, identity, or meaning structure as subcultural?Through outlining three dominant strands in regards to how subculturaldifference has been defined, the author argues that the previousresearch on subcultural theory has been preoccupied with a definitionof subcultures as being a response to external structural problems, withthe result that both the “sub” and the “cultural” become dependentvariables. Drawing from his work on punks in Sweden and Indonesia theauthor argues that although differing, the different strands in regards tosubcultural difference can nevertheless be combined into a refinementof subcultural theory that moves beyond style to how objects, actions,and identities are communicated, interpreted, and acted upon. Such arefinement, the author argues, provides for an analysis of plurality withinthe subcultural in relation to multiple structures of meaning. An increasedfocus on the prefix sub and its relation to the root cultural allows for adiscussion of how the subcultural is symbolically extended and more so,how this involves both conflict and alternative interpretations