ABSTRACT
Themuseumcommunityhasarguablybeenreticentaboutcollecting materialculturewithdifficultorcontroversialassociations.Groupsseenas deviantremaininvisiblethroughtheirnon-representation.Discussionhere focusesontwosuchgroups:youthsubcultures,andsubcultureswithinthe lesbianandgaycommunity.Itcould,however,beextendedtomore extremearticulationsoflifestylesuchasthe'cultures'oftattooandbody piercingor'leatherfolk'-1Thischapterexaminesthechallengeofcollecting 'difficult'subjectmatterandsuggestshowcontemporarycollecting practiceswhichdoaddresssuchissuescontributetowardsdocumenting culturalrichnessanddiversity,andderivepositiveresultsformuseums themselves.
