subcultural
Within a subgroup
Subcultural describes things relating to a subculture—a group within a larger culture that has its own distinctive values, practices, or identity.
Subcultural movements like punk and goth emerged in the late twentieth century.
The term appears in sociology and cultural studies but also in casual discussion of music scenes, online communities, and niche interests.
Group-specific coded speech
- slangInformal in-group vocabulary
- jargonSpecialized professional vocabulary
- symbolsMarks conveying meaning
- ritualsCeremonial repeated practices
customs · dress code · aesthetic · fashion · tattoos · piercings · hairstyle · iconography
Below ground or countercultural
- indieProduced outside majors
- punkRaw, fast rock genre
- gothMelancholic music subculture
- grungeAccumulated dirt or filth
emo · hipster · bohemian · beatnik · mod · avant-garde · nonconformist · anarchist
State of fitting in
- tribeSocial group sharing ancestry
- kinshipState of being related
- affiliationFormal organizational connection
- solidarityUnity among allies
cohesion · self-expression · individuality · in-group · outsider · authenticity · credibility · scene
argot
Group-specific coded speech
- slangInformal in-group vocabulary
- jargonSpecialized professional vocabulary
- symbolsMarks conveying meaning
rituals · customs · dress code · aesthetic · fashion · tattoos · piercings · hairstyle · iconography · music
underground
Below ground or countercultural
grunge · emo · hipster · bohemian · beatnik · mod · avant-garde · nonconformist · anarchist · psychedelic
belonging
State of fitting in
- tribeSocial group sharing ancestry
- kinshipState of being related
- affiliationFormal organizational connection
solidarity · cohesion · self-expression · individuality · in-group · outsider · authenticity · credibility · scene · poseur
ethnography
Systematic study of peoples
- sociolinguisticsStudy of language variation
- subgroupSmaller division within larger
- cohortGroup sharing circumstances
enclave · microcosm · milieu · folkways · mores · sociology · anthropology · deviance · hegemony · liminality
subculturalmainstream
Dominant cultural current
dominant · hegemonic · normative · conventional · establishment
subculturaluniversal
Affecting all equally
cross-cultural · transcultural · widespread · global · ubiquitous
- youth subculturesYoung people's distinctive social movements