My New Subculture

I have chosen the "skateboarding" subculture. I chose this particular subculture because as I was growing up in a small town, I recognized alot of cliques and groups. I immersed myself in many of the subcultures: "partiers", "jocks", "artists", and "rockers." The fact is, although the skateboarding subculture has been around me my whole life, I never found out anything in particular about it. I knew that this group must have involved many rituals, standards and norms but I always just figured the group's members liked to skateboard; I did not analyze the subculture any further than that.

I know that skateboarding is a subculture because I did some research on the group. I found out that they are a very close-knit group (loyalty and belonging) and normally, the more talented skaters are looked up to and followed (leaders). I also found out that there are definately certain slang, gestures and rules for conduct. The dress code is important; you cannot be in a skateboard clique if you only dress in abercrombie sweaters and khakis. All of these factors together surely make up a subculture. I know that skateboarding is a subculture and I am looking forward to learning about the rituals, organization, and all other aspects of the subculture first-hand.