Race, ethnicity, and subculture

What can subcultural groups offer racial minorities in places like Australia? This chapter first focuses on defining race as a system of classification that creates hierarchies in our society based on supposed biological differences according to skin colour, cultural background, and religion. It asks, how does this system become a structuring feature in young people’s lives? With reference to a range of examples, this chapter explores how some youth cultures are produced out of the lived experiences of being racially marginalised and the panics and policing of these emergent forms of youthful expression. There are important learnings to be gained from the multitude of responses that young people have to the detrimental effects of racism and the possibilities for a more socially just world. This chapter explores how young people produce local and global youth cultures such as hip hop to share their experiences and speak back against racism and its effects, demonstrating symbolic resistance through shared codes around streetwear, speech, and other forms of cultural expression. Focusing on Australian case studies, this chapter considers how colonialism and migration become a driving factor for minoritised young people to engage in new forms of identity-making practices and build communities that run counter to the mainstream.