Manually developing a sense of identity

July 8, 2007 11:18 PM

What are the benefits of affiliating or identifying with a subculture/culture?

This usually happens in adolescence, but I've noticed people who all of a sudden turn goth or punk. It also happens in college, when an otherwise ordinary person becomes affiliated with a fraternity. Other people cling tightly to an ethnic group, joining ethnic clubs, and participating in their associated ethno-religious organizations.

Is there a benefit to seeking this out if you don't already have a particular social affiliation? Is it even concievable to manually sidle yourself into one rather than going about it naturally? Is the opposite even better... i.e. retaining some sort of glorious independence?

In other words, I'm considering making a list of various cultural sub-groups that I have some sort of identification with, picking the most relevant one, and committing to it for the sake of social expediency. Is this a good idea?

posted by philosophistry to human relations (28 comments total)

Some people think that humans are designed to feel most comfortable when they're part of small tribes, and that part of why so many people alienated in the modern age in Western Civilization is that we don't have that anymore.

Thus people make their own tribes. There are interest clubs. There are fraternal organizations. There are subcultures. There are religious cults. The determining characteristic of them all is that there are insiders and outsiders. And the primary emotional need they fill for their members is to provide a feeling of belonging.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 11:37 PM on July 8, 2007 [2 favorites]

By the way, nobody knows why for sure but it's an established fact that when someone has to go through some sort of unpleasant process in order to join a group, their loyalty to the group becomes much stronger.

That's why there are hazing rituals for fraternities. That's the main reason for "coming-of-age" ceremonies in many cultures of the world (e.g. Bar Mitzvah). That's the reason for "The Crucible" in the Marine Corps. It's the reason for all the silly things the Masons do.

And groups which require members to make an obvious ongoing commitment to the group, in a visual way identifiable by outsiders, also have better loyalty. That's the reason for biker "colors", or for some of the de facto dress codes among groups like the Crips and Bloods. That's the reason for the weird robes and strange hair for the Hare Krishnas -- and it's the reason for Goth clothes. It's the reason for funny hats worn sometimes by some members of certain fraternal organizations. It's the reason why some criminal gangs in southern Asia require members to get a distinctive tattoo.

Why does it happen? It seems that if the initiation ceremony is demeaning, that increases loyalty, and one possibility is that it's rationalization. If I had to do something stupid and embarassing in order to get into the group, then it must have been worth it.

And if I leave the group, I'm forced to admit that I did something stupid and embarassing for no good reason.

...or so the theory goes. But I don't think anyone's ever really confirmed it.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 11:44 PM on July 8, 2007 [1 favorite]

And if outsiders despise me because I'm wearing Goth, then it proves that they're not as good as me and the other Goths (or Hare Krishnas, or bikers, or Masons).
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 11:46 PM on July 8, 2007 [1 favorite]

If you're talking about clubs and organizations, I think it's a great idea to think about joining one. I'm not sure there's a distinction between joining one manually vs. naturally. If you want to join, you want to join, and there's work involved either way. When I was looking for a church, one didn't just fall in my lap- I had to visit a lot of places before I found a place that made me feel comfortable enough to want to go back.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 11:50 PM on July 8, 2007 [1 favorite]

Pro: There will be a class of people who will automatically offer you some level of acceptance based on your appearance/mannerisms.

Con: You will have to tolerate (at some level) a whole class of people just because they dress/act like you do.
posted by contraption at 11:52 PM on July 8, 2007

There are certain product brands which effectively become clan/cults for many (though not all) customers.

The two most notable examples of this in America today are Harley Davidson motorcycles and Apple Macintosh.

Those two are the only products I know of where many customers have gotten tattoos of the corporate logos.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 12:01 AM on July 9, 2007

Con: Worst case, there will be a class of people who will not accept you based on your appearance/mannerisms, which is why Mutton Chops are a Poor Idea.
posted by theiconoclast31 at 12:01 AM on July 9, 2007

To answer your last question first... it would depend on the size of the sub-culture you with to infiltrate (if this is the right word). From my personal experience in my local punk/hardcore/ska scene is that everyone knows everyone. Possibly because I'm in a fairly small (by world standards) city, and the members of the scene frequently see each other and shows are occasionally infrequent. Even sub-cultures have sub-cultures, there are 'punks' in general, then there are crust punks, hardcore punks, pop-punks, faux-punx, street punks, deathpunks, skapunks and so on. Getting into the first level is easy, getting down to the more refined elements can be harder though, but generally most people are accepting and would welcome you.

I've noticed that this has negative aspects to it, trying to pursue personal relationships can be difficult if everyone has a pre-conceived construction about you and you're involvment with other people in the community. As a result I know friends who have 'left the scene', and changed social groups and musical/fashion tastes entirely to avoid other members and to 'reinvent' themselves.

Where you say that it is concievable to manually enter a group without social affiliation... I'll share a little anecdotal experience. I was at a party, with 'emo kids', that is.. they all dressed in black, wore makeup and had big fringes. After talking to different groups of them, I found out a lot of them weren't into the stereotypical 'emo' music (Dashboard, FalloutBoy, MCR etc), and the only reason they knew each other, or even hung out was because they all had fringes. Had I had a fringe too, it could possibly just turn up at a party and immediately be part of the scene. There are places in town where these groups usually assemble and you can turn up as an outsider and other 'members' often approach you and introduce themselves.

How do you mean "going about it naturally"?, from my own experience I started out listening to a few ska-punk bands when I was in my early teens, went to my first show (Less than Jake) when i was about 15, then after that started going to local shows, but it probably wasnt until I was 18 or 19 that I would say I could be/would myself identify as 'punk'. I assume that is what you meant by naturally, but I'm sure it's possible to 'fake it', I find that most sub-cultural groups are craving new members and would quite readily accept a new comer without hesitation. They want to be different, but they dont want to do it alone.

The benefit from seeking out smaller sub-cultural cliques is part of 'standing out' and 'being different' (although that seems ironic that you need to go be with similar people to be different). And in reference to my above paragraph, I think the things linking members of a group to each other arent as obvious as they seem, and it's quite possibly the links are only perceived anyway.

Sorry if the structure of this answer is a little off, I mashed it together in a bit of a hurry, but I hope it helps. :-)
posted by chrisbucks at 12:03 AM on July 9, 2007 [1 favorite]

Kind of latching on to what chrisbucks was saying:

I think that each different type of group (Musical 'scene', fraternal organization, ethnocentric group), and even subdivided into different subtypes (ie: different scenes) has a different set of rigors and acceptance levels.

sorry for all of the music scene-centric scenarios, but it's what i'm used to, helping out at a venue, and all.

It's weird to see a brand new crust punk (who, by the way, you'll smell before you ever see) out and about at the local venues, just because people don't suddenly become crusties. They evolve from a less extreme form (ie: from being a gutterpunk, in turn from a punk/ska kid). Although you will still probably be accepted forthwith (as long as you don't seem like a 'poser,' which is only a problem in certian skate and music affiliated groups, and probably a telltale sign that you want to stay away from that group anyway), it will seem a little strange to your new bretherin to suddenly have this new guy pop up, who didn't move in from out of town.

It, however, is downright common for new faces who look kind of out of place to come into a more generic, middle-of-the-road punk, or hardcore, or indie rock show. The regulars (either to the scene, or like me, to the venue in general) will often try to strike up a conversation with a newcomer, as small communities are always getting larger. The exchanges (if they are new to the scene, and not from out of town) are almost always to the extent of
"what brings you here?"
"who, me"
"yeah, I don't remember seeing you around before"
"oh, well yeah, I got into *type of music, local band* via *reason*, and saw a flyer/myspace event/etc, and thought i'd check it out."
and from that point on, you're getting introduced to the guys, getting reccomended bands and shows, getting a rundown of the scenes, affiliations, etc, and you're well on your way to becoming a member of the group.


So, I suppose, to directly answer your question, don't try and homogenize yourself with the people you want to be with, and don't try to manually jam yourself in. As long as it's a good group of people, it shouldn't be too hard to get your foot in the door, as it were, and from there, you will end up homogenizing to the extent that you feel comfortable. If you want to get a mohawk and a bunch of piercings, feel free to. But realize that it's not mandatory for acceptance. There are dudes who don't look the scene at all, that are still regulars and well accepted.

So, if finding a community of people to constantly be around is what you want, go for it. Force your foot in the door, yeah (by being forthright, not by sneaky roundabout means), but let your acceptance and homogenization with the group come naturally. Try to force it and it will seem, well, forced.
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew at 12:40 AM on July 9, 2007

My guess is that one significant reason why people identify with subcultures is because they like to feel special. Belonging to a group lets you say to other people (or even just to yourself): "look at me, I belong to this group, and all those other people don't." Then you can meet with the other members of said group and talk about how great it is not to be one of those other people who don't belong to said group. This also explains why the groups that are more exclusive have more loyalty - being part of a smaller group makes you even more special. Of course, the group can't consist of just one person, because then there is no one else to tell you that you're special.

This tendency of humans to derive satisfaction from being somehow special has played out very prominently in philosophy and biology. For thousands of years we've been telling ourselves that we have special gifts, compared to other animals. At first it was said that humans have souls, while animals don't, and that makes us special. When religion gave way to more scientific ways of thinking, people started saying that we have intelligence, while animals don't. But, then scientists started observing animals more carefully and have found all sorts of intelligent behaviors in many different species (think dolphins, chimpanzees, rats, etc.). In this day and age, it's popular to claim that humans have language, while animals don't, and that makes us extra special. But, as far as I can tell, for this claim to be true, you have load the definition of "language" quite a bit.

Another example of this at work is the tendency of just about every culture to claim that it (at least in some way) is the greatest culture there has ever been. You constantly hear things like: "the guy who invented XYZ gadget came from MY country!" People take pride in such things.

Anyway, my point is simply that most people feel more satisfied with themselves if they think that they are somehow better than those around them. Belonging to a group can give one such a feeling, particularly if other members of the group constantly remind them of what makes that group wonderful, in some way.
posted by epimorph at 2:03 AM on July 9, 2007 [1 favorite]

I'm on the fence here as to whether it's a good or a bad idea.

My personal history is of having been (more or less) a goth during uni years, say from around 18 to 22. The reasons might have been partly from liking the music (which tended to also encompass all manner of indie, ska, punk, new wave etc in the clubs), enjoying the theatricality, a bit of hedonism thrown in, preferring the dark & moody aspects to plastic popular culture, and - last but not least - the fact that I thought gothic girls were pretty cute.

I still drop by a goth club every now & then (last saturday, for example) but am a bit disturbed by the people who just never seemed to get over it & who still restrict themselves to associating almost exclusively only with other goths.

Um, to get to the point:

Good things: real-life social networking (yes, everybody does know, or know of, everybody), shared interests & lifestyles, um, hawt goth girls (or boys, depending), sense of belonging - a club is more of a social occasion where you know you will meet a bunch of friends, rather than the usual crowd of strangers you might expect to find in a regular bar or club.

Bad things: gossip, insularity, lack of innovation / variation, perhaps a level of intolerance & us v them mentalities, an amount of conformism.

Overall, most of the subcultures that I think you are referring to probably define themselves through their preferred music & fashion. As long as you actually genuinely like the music, that should be enough to allow you a foot in the door. I think most are more welcoming than alienating, as long as you don't come off as too much of a poseur.
posted by UbuRoivas at 2:50 AM on July 9, 2007 [1 favorite]

I think the things linking members of a group to each other arent as obvious as they seem, and it's quite possibly the links are only perceived anyway.

I think that each different type of group (Musical 'scene', fraternal organization, ethnocentric group), and even subdivided into different subtypes (ie: different scenes) has a different set of rigors and acceptance levels.

Yeh, I think that's all pretty true as well. There are endless 'sub-categories' of goths: new romantic goths, punky goths, dykey goths, romantic goths, medieval goths, the wargaming crowd, industrials, literaries, wiccans, BDSMs & fetish goths, it goes on forever. To contradict my earlier point about insularity & groupthink, there often isn't much linking people other than a similar kind of external appearance & liking of similar kinds of music.
posted by UbuRoivas at 3:13 AM on July 9, 2007

I don't think it's a good idea to pick a sub-culture just for social expediency. Join one you truly identify with, or spend some time with each of those that you really have an interest in. Otherwise, you might look like some kind of wannabee or hanger on (inauthentic in other words). Looking back at your previous questions, you seem to be looking to find yourself (a very admirable goal, perhaps one I am on too), but I don't think submerging yourself in some sub-culture is the right way unless it is a very genuine fit. Instead spend time with sub-cultures in proportion to your actual interest.
posted by DarkForest at 4:28 AM on July 9, 2007

IMHO, no. You're limiting the real you by adding layers of a fashion. Sure takes bits of things you like, but why limit yourself?
posted by gesamtkunstwerk at 4:49 AM on July 9, 2007

You're limiting the real you by adding layers of a fashion.

Maybe, maybe not. Still ambivalent here, but one of the things about these subcultures is that adopting a slightly unusual fashion reminds you that all dress or lifestyle choices are in a sense fashion, whether conscious or not. You could easily limit yourself more by being a jeans-n-tshirt guy, because subcultures seem to me to be far more conscious of dress as performance, which allows you to step outside of this obsession with the "real you" & have some fun instead with the "unreal you", being quite tongue in cheek & self-conscious about it all the while.

In terms of stifling the "real you", one might actually be worse off in regular scenes, because self-proclaimed 'ousider' subcultures (irony noted) tend to attract all kinds of weirdos & misfits who are probably going to be more accepting of eccentricities than your average joe. Add to that a kind of extended family vibe, and you can be more free to have some fun with drag, fetish gear, mohawks, whatever tickles your fancy, in a quite sheltered & safe environment.

That very shelter & safety is one of the things I find a bit contradictory & pathetic about such scenes, but if you feel like exploring different personas etc & generally carrying on as if nobody is watching, then you're more likely to feel empowered & supported in a freak subculture than down at the local sports bar.
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:32 AM on July 9, 2007

This discussion gives me an interesting bit of personal self-revelation. Because I expected really strong knee-jerk reactions like, "OMG u poser!" when really, people join churches all the time. I meet gothy-looking people who don't know as much about the music as I do.

I think I'm allergic to groups in a way other people are not. I think part of it is a defense mechanism built from being multiracial. Another is not finding a suitable group growing up. The Filipinos in my High School were into gangs and modding cars. The Indians were very dark-skinned, and so visually I just looked out of place with them. The computer geeks were more interested in watching porn at 4AM at dirty LAN parties, rather than capitalizing on the business opportunities during the dot-com boom.

I met an Indian girl once, and I told her my mixed race, and she told me, "Oh, that's neat. You're unique," but she said it in a way that made me think she was trying to cheer me up. But I hadn't really considered being excluded as a negative. But I now think I might've compensated by being really self-reliant and elitist. However, it seems most people (myself included), very much get by without any particular sort of affiliation.
posted by philosophistry at 6:16 AM on July 9, 2007 [1 favorite]

Steven C. Den Beste: [Apple and Harley-Davidson] are the only products I know of where many customers have gotten tattoos of the corporate logos.

Add Atari to that list. I'm not sure if they count as corporate logos, but some music software fans seem happy enough to adopt product icons. Here's one for Reason and another for Reaktor.

I would submit that tattoos band names/logos are relevant here, too. They denote a seriousness of commitment to a genre/brand/lifestyle. It's also fair to note that not belonging to some group or other is nearly impossible. Trying to be as normal as possible indicates a clear identification with the dominant culture, whatever that is at the moment. In fact, as far as I can tell, that continuing effort at normalcy is the defining characteristic of people who identify with the status quo.

philosophistry: Is it even concievable to manually sidle yourself into one [. . .]

Sure, it's possible. You may well be perceived as a poseur for some time (because that's essentially what you are until you've been doing something long enough that it seems natural to others).

philosophistry: Is this a good idea?

I don't think so. If you're drawn to various activities that have some sort of group attached to them (and that, I think, is what should drive your decision), why would you want to pare them down? Be interested in what you're interested in. You gain more by variety, IMHO, than by a singular focus.
posted by wheat at 6:48 AM on July 9, 2007

I think I'm allergic to groups in a way other people are not.

I can sympathize with this. I have a very similar situation which is either great or lousy depending on my mood at the time. I move through a lot of different sorts of groups without really solidly fitting in to any one of them and I have a list sort of like you do [too into nature for the geek types, too techie for the anarchists, too scruffy for the ladies' group, to straight for the Burning Man crowd, etc.] On the other hand, and this is a big other hand: I think my problem is that I just don't have that feeling, the feeling I think some people have when they belong places.

Put another way, I used to be more into recreational drugs than I am now [too much work ethic for the recreational druggies] and one of the things that I remember really liking about them was that they removed that feeling of not fitting in. Knowing that helped me realize that a lot of the weird "I don't belong here" awkwardness was more in my own head and less about any characteristic that I though I did or did not have when lookin at any one group. That helped me get over it or at least use it to assess certain situations more usefully.

That said, there is a sense within groups that there are people who are WAY into whatever the group is into, many in the middle, and some who are more fringe dwellers. Depends on the group, but in a lot of cases it's useful for a group to have true believers but also envoys and emissaries to other groups. So I can help the librarians be more techie by my geek affiliations, help the anarchists realize all computers aren't evil, teach the ladies group how to change their oil (I'm overgeneralizing to make a point here) and that, for me, that's my role. This may not be your role if you aren't social or don't feel that you pass information around, but it's one way to look at it.

The thing about that role is that there's not exactly a group of us to belong to. Seth Godin calls us sneezers, Malcolm Gladwell calls us connectors, I see it as some sort of modern-day bard thing. I've always seen MeFi as a group of people sort of like that, passing on little news from their groups to those of us in other groups.

This gets away somewhat from your point about yourself and I'd suggest it really depends what you want. Do you feel disconnected? If so, you can likely push aside your sense of not belonging and just ... belong. Except for really socially conscious and status aware groups, it's not that hard to just go to the parties, talk to the people, offer what you have, take what they're offering and go forward that way. If this sort of thing leaves you with the fidgets, then you should also be comfortable fitting however you fit.

And, as I've said elsewhere, depending on your personality, you may find that you're just not a group type. Some people are more pack animal puppy-pile types and some are not. The weird thing, of course, is that the non group types don't really congregate in places and invite you to their parties but they're out there as well. The big problem to be solved is you having some level of satisfaction with your choices and path.
posted by jessamyn at 7:12 AM on July 9, 2007 [8 favorites]

Your question brought to mind the article The Power of the Mustard Seed: Why strict churches are strong by Judith Shulevitz. It is about a particular kind of group, a church, but I think that it is relevant to what you are asking about: the benefits of belonging to a subculture. An excerpt:

"What does the pious person get in return for all of his or her time and effort? A church full of passionate members; a community of people deeply involved in one another's lives and more willing than most to come to one another's aid; a peer group of knowledgeable souls who speak the same language (or languages), are moved by the same texts, and cherish the same dreams."

The article also addresses some of the downsides. I think that belonging to a group is like anything else: a trade-off that works well for some people and not so well for others. I wouldn't dive in head first if I were you, but maybe take a toe dip. Of course, I am not a joiner, and I miss out on some of the stuff that being part of a group brings, so I may not be the best person to ask.
posted by ND¢ at 7:22 AM on July 9, 2007 [1 favorite]

Is it even concievable to manually sidle yourself into one rather than going about it naturally?

Erm, I actually did this a few years ago, and here's what I think in retrospect:

1) I feel embarassed, because it wasn't really me.

2) I feel allergic to groups a lot of the time too, and this did not help me. I thought that joining one that appreciated similar things would allow me to find some really special people that I shared a lot more with, but it didn't. And the collective negative traits of the group I joined eventually sent me running off in another direction when I couldn't take anymore.

3) I don't really feel like I belong much of anywhere most of the time, and joining a group didn't change that. I was amongst a bunch of people who dressed like me, but I didn't feel any different.

4) A lot of scenes like this are really incestuous, and it takes a certain kind of person to be able to enjoy an environment where everyone's dated/slept with everyone else, everyone talks about everyone else all the time, and acceptable interests to discuss or participate in are limited from the get-go. It's very specific and very...utilitarian, and insular; I feel like you either fit into that without consideration, or realizing those things makes you question just how much you want to "belong".

Is the opposite even better... i.e. retaining some sort of glorious independence?

Yes.
posted by zebra3 at 8:45 AM on July 9, 2007 [1 favorite]

manually sidle yourself into one rather than going about it naturally?

I highly doubt most people join these kinds of groups in an ariticial or manual way. They're drawn to them for some reason and want to join. All these motivations are quite natural. Just because you can pick a goth out of a crowd doesnt mean its some social fabrication. Its a group just as real and natural as Christians or guys who really like computers.

I've never been able to natually slide into a group outside of high school. Working adults really need to pick and choose who they socialize with because of the lack of free time. Weighing the pros and cons of joining a social group is as natural and ancient as tossing a spear at a rival tribe.
posted by damn dirty ape at 10:48 AM on July 9, 2007

In the short term, it is good to join scenes - new things to do, new people, access to new potential mates. They eventually become oppressive and this is why you rarely see older people in them.

Scenes breakdown when they become impractical - people don't like wearing all black when it is 40 degrees, its hard to drink coffee all night and work the next day, a few people will move, a few people in the scene will pair off and marry, people will get careers which burn too many cycles for other activities, some will begin to dislike the drugs, sometimes the quality of music will decline etc etc. This happens always.

The trick: be a person not an individual. Sorry to be cryptic but I don't have the vocabulary to expand, and you probably know what I mean.
posted by Deep Dish at 12:22 PM on July 9, 2007

I highly doubt most people join these kinds of groups in an ariticial or manual way. They're drawn to them for some reason and want to join. All these motivations are quite natural. Just because you can pick a goth out of a crowd doesnt mean its some social fabrication. Its a group just as real and natural as Christians or guys who really like computers.

Bingo. I'm a metalhead, and I tend to dress "metal". I wear band shirts and army pants most days, with a patch jacket if it's cold. I only started wearing that stuff years after I started being into metal, though, and at this point, I'm just as much a metalhead when I'm in khakis and a work shirt. I kind of can't not be, because after 20 years, the music and its accompanying ethos is a big part of who I am. To me, it's always been that way to some extent, even before I first heard the music: "drawn to them for some reason and want to join" describes my introduction to heavy metal quite well. I had (and still have) a powerful sense of understanding that I don't often find elsewhere. Holy shit, someone else sees the world much as I do.

At any rate, group membership comes down to finding what already fits you. If you join a group like this for nothing but social expediency, I don't think you'll be happy with it unless you subsequently become truly passionate about whatever it is that's the focus of the scene. Try some things and see what you think, but remember: if it doesn't bring you joy, it's not worth the trouble.
posted by vorfeed at 1:55 PM on July 9, 2007

Reading Steven's list, I see the glaring omission of business suits.

I highly doubt most people join these kinds of groups in an ariticial or manual way.

If people see advantage in it, they will work at being a part of it. Consider all the questions about impostor syndrome, public speaking, and even finding dates - one of the best answers is invariably "pretend". Pretend enough, and eventually it will be you. And, people do that all the time.

There is a great series on CBC's Ideas called Extremism, which covers some of the general territory (email me if you'd like to know more about it).
posted by Chuckles at 2:23 PM on July 9, 2007

I think it might be useful if we knew what kind of group / affiliation you were thinking of. I've treated the entire question so far as relating to 'youth' subcultures: skaters, metalheads, hiphop, goth, punk, etc.

It's probably a slightly different thing if you are talking about ethnic / religious groups, as these may in a way be more 'natural'. They may also involve less of an outward show, so you needn't deal with all the hand-wringing over "is this costume really me?" Also, If you have a particular, non-anglo ethnic background, as I do, then it might make sense to foster links to your family/cultural history. That's just another possible facet that can add a layer of richness to your life.

I've said a bit in favour of time spent in a subculture, but overall I prefer jessamyn's "bard" approach, altho I normally term it a chameleon style. Ideally, you should try & be able to relate to all kinds of people across all spectrums & social groups. Having said that, a period of time in a subcultural hothouse might be beneficial in encouraging your own brand of weirdness to develop.
posted by UbuRoivas at 3:03 PM on July 9, 2007

By the way, nobody knows why for sure but it's an established fact that when someone has to go through some sort of unpleasant process in order to join a group, their loyalty to the group becomes much stronger.

...

But I don't think anyone's ever really confirmed it.

Actually there's a fair bit of scientific literature looking at initiation rites and how stress changes neurophysiology etc. The effects Steven outlined are pretty well confirmed and have a physiological basis. The research goes back to the seminal imprinting experiments done by Pavlov with his dogs. There's an apparently true story about how the basement the dogs lived in flooded and they all nearly drowned. Afterwards it was found that all the previous imprinting had been wiped, then when the dogs were retrained the new imprinting stuck way stronger than before. This is classic initiation process. More recent work has included brain scans to show what is actually going on in the brain during these kinds of events. I haven't researched or read about this work myself, but have talked with a couple of physiology professors who have so I assume they weren't making stuff up. Group behaviour and empathy and belonging also has a bunch of neurophysiology and similar research associated (e.g. mirror neurons) and it's all a rather interesting field of study.

Basic physiological mechanisms are certainly part of our behaviour but humans are too complex to pin everything down to one thing. So changes wrought in the brain by stress or by peer pressure or by group behaviour or whatever are valid and part of it, but the cultural and societal implications are probably just as strong/important and all the interesting information brought up by everyone else's comments is also valid and maybe more relevant.

Being part of a subculture gives a feeling of belonging. There are a lot of benefits to that, both biologically and personally. Personally I enjoy knowing that identifying with a group is at least partially programmed into me and I like understanding the physiology and evolutionary implications, but then the group I most identify with/spend time with is other geeky scientists like me so YMMV.
posted by shelleycat at 5:25 PM on July 9, 2007

I think you'll get the most milage out of trying out all the groups you feel some affinity with and sticking with the ones you feel best in/with. Go to shows/meetings/events/forums/chatrooms/whatevs, make some friends. See what turns up.

If you're interested in delving more into the thinkin' side of this, I can't recommend Subculture: The Meaning of Style by Dick Hebdige enough. It's short, not particularly wanky and is generally smart and engaging.
posted by wemayfreeze at 5:53 PM on July 9, 2007

Yes - Hebdige. Great point. Studied this in a Sociology class (Classes & Cultures?) at the same time as doing the goth thing. Added a nice level of meta-understanding - an element of cynical distance? - to the whole thing.
posted by UbuRoivas at 6:06 PM on July 9, 2007