The Subculture Of Skateboarding

A moral panic was created around the sport of skateboarding and the new skater subculture when they began searching for and skating in empty pools that were dried out by the severe drought in california and owned by wealthy homeowners dogtown.

The subculture of skateboarding. Skateboarding has developed as a youth subculture that emphasizes creativity and individuality. Skateboarding is not only a means of travel or even just a sport. It is an alternative to mainstream team sports which are more formally organized and largely controlled by adults. A subculture is a combination of values norms artifacts and lifestyles within a larger culture.

Vert formally known as vertical skateboarding revolutionized by the z boys consisted of skating in an empty pool which switches from horizontal to vertical surfaces launching the participant to the edges of the pool much like surfing. They can be very creative in opposing police oppression and unneeded skateboard bans. Estimates of the number of skateboarders in the united states range from 12 to 20 million. In the late 1970s and early 1980s skateboarding was strongly linked with the punk rock scene and rebellious life approach.

Architecture and the body the first academic monograph on skateboarding iain borden noted that academic and external records of skateboarding are extremely limited there have been few historical accounts of its internal practices and development still less of its wider social meanings. A skateboarder performing an aerial trick at a california skate park. As a subculture skaters value creativity risk and freedom. In skateboarding space and the city.

I will use these concepts to argue that skateboarding is a subculture in its own right. Posted on august 15 2013 by iaspm webmaster. Skaters often are similar to punk and skater punks are common. There are two types of skateboarding vert and street skating.

Skater is the subculture of many skateboarders. Skaters are opposed to police and police action however this is usually kept in the scope of keeping skaters from being hurt by police. Riding a skateboard has been associated with danger carelessness and laziness and skaters are marginalized more than people who chose to ride bicycles scooters or rollerblades. Culture as a whole is made up of many different subcultures each with their own attitudes and special behaviors penguin dictionary of sociology 2006 p 384.

The outside media characterized the skaters as criminals and hooligans who were simply trespassing and destroying people s property.