Subcultures are made up of a group of people within a society who want to identify themselves with their own culture. Rather than conforming with society, people within subcultures wish to stand out from the crowd, often in the most extreme manner. Therefore subcultures often have their own particular fashion taste, accessories that help them stand out even more, music they can relate to etc. Some subcultures are more extreme than others and the more unique they are, the more bizarre they can be. Here are ten of the weirdest subcultures.
1. Otherkin
Image source - Voont
Otherkin is an internet based subculture that dates back to 1990. It was created for people who think they are more than just human and can be some kind of mythological creature, such as angels, demons, dragons, elves, extra-terrestrials, fairies, kitsune, lycanthropes (werewolves), and vampires. Legend has it the first resource of Otherkin was Elevenkind Digest, which was a mailing list that was created by a student at the University of Kentucky, initially for “elves and interested observers.” The subculture then grew rapidly during the 90s.
2. Norwegian Black Metal
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Another subculture that emerged during the 90s, Norwegian Black Metal has a much darker side to it. Particular interests include murder and arson, especially against churches. There is also a fondness for graveyards. What started out as small fry juvenile interest rapidly progressed into what it became – a rebellion against Christianity. Completely rejecting everything to do with mainstream society they are known to worship Norse Gods.
3. Bózózoku
Image source - Wikipedia
This Japanese subculture’s main interests seem to be motorcycles and noise. Bózózoku, which means violent running gang, first arose in the 1950s when the Japanese automobile industry grew. The main thing that seems to go on in this subculture is riding around on illegally modified motorbikes so they are noisier and playing their music quite loudly as well. Generally, they seem to like be a public nuisance. If you think they just seem to be annoying but harmless then think again. They have been known to instigate fights as an excuse to brandish their arsenal of weapons, which include wooden swords and Molotov cocktails.
4. Sukeban
Image source - Idollica
Sukeban in Japanese means femal boss. Girls who were part of Sukeban would usually dress in sailor outfits, as pictured, and then rain havoc upon the public by committing acts of violence and shoplifting. They first appeared in the 60s as the female equivalent to the male version – Bancho. The largest recorded group were known as the Kanto Women Delinquent Alliance, which was comprised of 20,000 girls. Fighting rival gangs was common as were punishments for breaking the strict rules that were enforced; the mildest form of punishment was being burnt with a cigarette while the strongest form of punishment was to be lynched!
5. Lolitas
Image source - Wikipedia
Although Lolita fashion began in the 1980s it has only recently taken off. Starting in Japan it has beun to spread around the world. The main idea for girls is to dress up in cute attire with a goth twist – think frilly tea party dresses with dyed black hair and matching black boots. There are several different variations of Lolita fashion: gothic Lolitas wear frilly black dresses; sweet Lolitas use a lot of pastels, ribbons and bows; punk Lolitas use chains and plaids combined with the frills; wa Lolitas incorporate traditional Japanese wear, such as a kimono, into their unique look. Although the themes can be altered slightly to attract a wider audience the core to this fashion is an innocent young girl look but with a naughty, suggestive edge – much like the girl in Vladimir Nabokov’s novel.
6. Goths
Image source - Wikipedia
Gothic fashion is comprised of a dark nature, mainly made up of vampiric black clothing and hair. Both males and females can adopt the look and both sexes often wear black eye-liner and matching nail varnish. The style of clothing has been adopted from the Victorian and Elizabethan era. BDSM is also featured often in this subculture.
7. Argentinean Floggers
Image source - Wikipedia
Flogger is a teenage fashion that originated in Argentina. Like teens from the U.S. they wear hoodies and Nike trainers, but with more of an emo twist, such as candy-coloured skinny jeans, large sunglasses and asymmetrical hair styles. Floggers like to take photos of themselves and post them on online sites like fotolog.com, which claims to have more than 5.5 million users from Argentina alone; Chile is the second biggest adopter of this subculture. Floggers can gain “celebrity” status in their subculture by receiving the most views on their photos and the most comments. The most famous flogger to date is Augustina Vivero who notched up over 36 million page visits to her profile and pictures in the last year.
8. Hardline
Image source - Oddee
The Hardline movement grew out of the hardcore punk scenes in the 90s. They have extreme views and beliefs such as forbidding the use of tobacco, drugs or alcohol. Hardliners (as they like to be known) adopt a strict diet and only eat foods that are vegan and relatively natural, such as eating brown rice over white. They have strong opinions on human rights issues and do not touch coffee, chocolate, sugar and most tropical fruits. The ideology behind Hardline was largely formulated by Sean Muttaqi of the band Vegan Reich.
9. Steampunk
Image source - LAweekly
Steampunk is said to have influenced, in some ways, other subcultures, such as goths, punks, cybergoths, industrial music fans, gamers, and geeks. Their style can be described as neo-Victorianism, which is an amalgamation of Victorian aesthetic principles with modern sensibilities and technologies. Steampunk has grown from a sub-genre of science fiction and speculative fiction, with elements of fantasy thrown in for good measure.
10. Ganguro
Image source - z3256390.wordpress
A very bizarre subculture that grew among Japanese girls. Ganguro is an alternative fashion look for females who usually have blonde hair and heavily fake tanned faces, and wear bright, Barbie doll pink clothing. The trend first made its appearance in the 1990s and peaked at the turn of the century. Although the look has died down a little these days it is still evident in certain areas of Japan.
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