Subculture Slang Anime and Manga Fans chibi eyes: the characteristic, big childlike eyes used in anime majoko: a girl anime character with magical powers who must save the world Con Artists & Scammers grifter: a person who steals through deception phishing: seeking personal information by sending out emails that appear to be from legitimate companies Graffiti Writers bite: to copy another grati writer’s work burner: a stylistically impressive, brilliantly colored piece of grati, usually written in a complex pattern of interlocking letters and other visual elements toy: an inexperienced or unskilled grati writer kill: to saturate an area with one’s grati B i kers (Motorcyclists) brain bucket: a helmet ink slinger: a tattoo artist pucker factor: the degree of panic felt during a near-accident yard shark: a dog that races out to attack passing motorcyclists Skateboarders deck: a skateboard platform face plant: a face-rst crash sketchy: in reference to a trick, poorly done Subcultures often produce their own unique jargon. The words may be appropriate in those subcultures, but they have the effect of drawing a line between insiders and the rest of us. Source: Reid 2006. Photo: © RubberBall Productions RF holidays as Labor Day and Thanksgiving—not on Indian holidays such as Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. While most Indian families are home celebrating, call center employees see mostly one another. When they have the day off, no one else is free to socialize with them. As a counterculture A subculture that deliberately opposes certain aspects of the larger culture. 60 • SOC 2016 result, these employees have formed a tight-knit subculture based on hard work and a taste for Western luxury goods and leisure-time pursuits. Increasingly, they are the object of criticism from Indians who live a more conventional Indian lifestyle centered on family and holiday traditions (Kalita 2006). Countercultures Sometimes a subculture can develop that seeks to set itself up as an alternative to the dominant culture. When a subculture conspicuously and deliberately opposes certain aspects of the larger culture, it is known as a counterculture. Countercultures typically thrive among the young, who have the least investment in the existing culture. The 1960s, now often characterized by the phrase “sex and drugs and rock ‘n’ roll,” provide a classic case of an extensive counterculture. Largely composed of young people, members of this counterculture were turned off by a society they believed was too materialistic and technological. It included many political radicals and “hippies” who had “dropped out” of mainstream social institutions, but its membership was extensive and diverse. The young people expressed in their writings, speeches, and songs their visions, hopes, and dreams for a new society. As was reflected in the 1966 survey of first-year college students, these young women and men rejected the pressure to accumulate more expensive cars, larger homes, and an endless array of material goods. Instead, they expressed a desire to live in a culture based on more humanistic values, such as sharing, love, and coexistence with the environment. As a political force, they worked for peace—opposing U.S. involvement in the war in Vietnam and encouraging draft resistance—as well as racial and gender equality (T. Anderson 2007; Gitlin 1993). In the wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001, people around the United States learned of the existence of terrorist groups operating as a counterculture within their own country. Many nations have had to deal with internal counterculture groups—often rooted in long-standing national, ethnic, or political differences— whose members strongly disagree with the values and norms of the dominant culture. In most cases this does not result in violence, but in some cases, as in Northern Ireland and Israel, groups have used attacks, including suicide bombings, to make a statement, both symbolic and real, seeking to bring attention to their situation and an end to their repression (Juergensmeyer 2003). In Northern Ireland, Israel, the Palestinian territory, and other parts of the world, many generations have lived in such circumstances. But terrorist cells are not necessarily fueled only by outsiders. Frequently, people become disenchanted with the policies of their own country, and a few take very violent steps (Juergensmeyer 2003). Culture Shock Today we are more and more likely to come into contact with and even immerse ourselves in cultures unlike our own. For example, it has become increasingly common for students to study abroad. Though they may well have predeparture orientation
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