ABSTRACT
The concept of a ‘subculture’, at its simplest, refers to the values, beliefs, attitudes and life-style of a minority (or ‘sub-’) group within society. The culture of this group will diverge from, although be related to, that of the dominant group. Although now associated in large part with the cultures of young people (mods and rockers, skinheads, punks), it may also be applied to ethnic, gender and sexual groups. The concept was in fact developed largely through work in the sociology of deviance (referring, for example, to the culture of ‘delinquents’, criminals or drug-users). An early explanation of the behaviour of working-class delinquents, saw it as youths over-conforming to the working-class values of their parents (such as toughness and masculinity, cunning as against gullibility, risk-taking), and that in over-conforming, they come to violate the dominant norms of middle-class culture (Miller 1958).
