There are several cultures in the United States; there are local cultures, religious cultures, political cultures, etc. The United States also has several sub cultures and most of these are tied in some way to music. These sub cultures can have a certain manner of dress, a specific attitude, specific lifestyle, etc. For example, someone who listens to gothic metal might not be keen on wearing a medallion while drinking crystal. Another who listens to country might not appreciate punk style belts and accessories. There are several genres of music that have their own sub culture in the United States. There are also people who appreciate specific genres of music but do not live by the standards of the sub cultures. It should also be noted that there are technically sub-sub cultures in a lot of music genres but I will be talking about the basic sub cultures or else this might go on forever. In the case of this paper, I will focus on 3 very different sub cultures.
There are many aspects to the Punk sub culture. For hair, there are several styles including spikes, mohawks, and hair that is colored in unnatural and vibrant hues. For jewelry and accessories, punks wear safety pins, razors, pin-back buttons and patches. The clothes punks wear include ripped clothing held together with tape and safety pins; clothing defaced with ink or paint; leather, vinyl and rubber materials; tight jeans; brothel creeper shoes; t-shirts with “risqué messages”; rocker jackets; converse sneakers and Dr. Martens boots. Punk visual art is usually minimalist, satirical, underground and iconoclastic in styles and is often concerned with political issues. Punk style dancing includes moshing and pogo dancing (jumping up and down in the same place). The lifestyle of the Punk sub culture usually has many come into the Punk scene in high school where they remain for many years or the rest of their lives. Punks tend to believe in gender equalism although most punks are male. They are a mostly anti-racist group, although there are some who are white-supremacists (they are treated with hostility by the rest of the sub-culture). Punks are generally middle or working class; some are unemployed and rely on squatting, begging and “dumpster diving” to get by. In the history of the punk subculture, alcohol and drugs have played a large part leading to suicide and self harm. In more recent punk history, “straight edges” are punks who abstain from drugs, tobacco and alcohol. Straight edges have an “X” drawn on the back of the hand. Other sub cultures influenced by punk styles include; 2 tone, emo, goth, grunger, hardline, indie, mod revival, new wave, psychobilly and taqwacore.
Hip Hop is such a massive sub culture, it could be easily branded as a culture by itself. The clothing influenced by Hip Hop can be “street wear” or is heavily influenced by specific clothing designers (such as Baby Phat, FUBU, Ecko and Timberland boots). Hip Hop fashion is very mainstream due to the popularity of Hip Hop itself. Recently, this style of fashion has changed to a “tighter, hipster-inspired style of clothing”. This includes Nike Dunks, polo shirts (usually with a popped collar), sport coats, large and ornate belt buckles, hoodies, trucker hats, fitted caps, tighter jeans and shorter length t-shirts with shorter sleeves replacing the baggier style of dress. The baggier style is worn by men and usually includes; sagging jeans, chains, boots or sneakers, large sized t-shirts and a do-rag or bandana (sometimes topped with a fitted cap) worn on the head. When it can be afforded gold or platinum with diamond jewelry is very popular including grills, medallions, rings and watches. The lifestyle portrayed by Hip Hop music generally focuses on signs of material wealth including fancy cars, high priced liquor and clothing among other things. This does not however mean that the people who listen to Hip Hop are able to afford these high priced items. Since the mid-1990’s, Hip Hop slang has spread into many different dialects in the United States. Although many words were only briefly popular, several have stayed with the culture. Hip Hop is extremely popular in the U.S. and can be found in many European countries, Asia, the Middle East, Canada, Latin America, Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
Although technically Country music doesn’t have a specific style of dress, there are particular articles of clothing associated with Country music. These usually include big belt buckles, blue jeans, flannel shirts, cowboy boots and Stetsons (a popular brand of cowboy hat). Country music is generally popular in the southern states of the U.S. but it is also popular in many places in the north. Although Country is usually thought of as a uniquely American genre, it is also present in other countries including Germany and Australia. Although Country started in the early 1900’s, only more recent music is influenced by Rock. The Country sub culture isn’t as strong as Hip Hop and Punk may be, but it is still fairly common. Perhaps the reason it does not influence American fashion as much as Punk and Hip Hop is because some of the clothing associated with Country are things people already own. It isn’t as specific as Punk or Hip Hop clothing allowing more personality in the style of dress. Also, the Country fashion scene is far cheaper and easier to come across. People in the Country sub culture are more than likely regular people who lead ordinary lives.
Punk, Hip Hop and Country make up 3 popular music genres/sub cultures in the United States. There are several parts to these sub cultures including manner of dress, specific attitudes, specific lifestyles, etc. Some of these sub cultures are more complex than others while some might be more accepting. A lot of these musical sub cultures might be influenced by the location or circumstances of the people who partake in them, but not always. It should be remembered that although these sub cultures are as unique as the people in them, they are still part of American culture. It is diversities like these that make the United States as interesting as it is.
