ABSTRACT
The German far-right youth subcultural scene is at the forefront of a transformation in far-right style more generally. During the fourth wave of far-right politics in Germany, the previously uniform ‘skinhead’ style has been discarded in favor of commercial, mainstream-style styles laced with coded extremist references. Drawing on the analysis of semi-structured interviews with youth in and around the far-right scene conducted in Germany, this chapter investigates the meaning of subcultural style in the context of these broader shifts. It advances two primary arguments. First, the authors suggest style helps youth navigate two emotional impulses of adolescence: fitting in, and standing out. Second, the chapter finds that although style is central to youth as an orientation point for their own identity and their understandings of other youth, they are reluctant to attach fixed meanings to particular symbols or styles when regarding others. As a result, the chapter finds strong support for theoretical claims about the multivocality of subcultural styles and symbols in Germany and beyond.
