In the ‘Family’ of the Different Others. (SubcultureIdentities: Styles, Ideologies, Prejudices)
In the ‘Family’ of the Different Others. (SubcultureIdentities: Styles, Ideologies, Prejudices)

Summary/Abstract: This paper presents a study of the formation and transformation of subcultural group identity in postsocialist Bulgaria. A number of stylistic orientations are presented (punk, hardcore, skinhead, casual), along with related ideological dispositions (‘extreme left’, ‘extreme right’, apolitical). Both paint a real picture of the development of these youth movements as being bound to a distinct class background and to a specific form of opposing the dominant culture. The maintenance of subcultural identity is related to several compulsory prerequisites: clothes, music, presence in a defined real or virtual space, and the practising of specific activities (having tattoos, attending concerts and/or football games, and participating in street protests). The current field material is based on participant observation in the groups carried out in Plovdiv between January and October 2012. In addition, the author discusses some of the prejudices connected to the distinctiveness of these subgroups, whose access to work and education is dif¬ficult. The study is part of the project ‘Youth Subcultures in Postsocialist Bulgaria’, financed by the National Science Fund’s ‘Young Scholars – 2011’ competition.

• Details
• Contents