What Does Subculture Mean?

Subculture in anthropology means the shared beliefs and customs of a smaller group with a bigger more dominant culture. Alternatively it may be defined as a social entity within a national culture that has distinct patterns of beliefs and behaviour. In Biology subculture means a population of micro organisms when a microbe colony in such a population is allowed to reproduce freely and is transferred to a blank growth medium.

A subculture may distinguish itself either religiously, aesthetically, occupationally, politically or sexually or a combination of all these aspects. A sub cultural capital is defined as commodities or cultural knowledge obtained by members of a particular subculture which raises their status and enables them to distinguish themselves from other groups. There are many subcultures in existence today like the gay subculture, the punk subculture, the hip hop subculture, the youth subculture, the vampire subculture and the cyber subculture.

In the study of biology the term subculture can refer to a microbiological culture that is made by the transferring of micro-organisms from a previous culture for a fresh growth medium. This method is used for the extension of life of a particular strain of a micro-organism where the tendency of degeneration in older cultures or fresh cultures is made with the material that has been obtained from a previous one.

In sociology subculture is understood as a set of people who all behave in a different way and have differentiating beliefs that distinguish them from a much larger culture.

In simpler meaning subcultures are groups of individuals who in various ways present themselves as opposition to the mainstream trends or against the mainstream culture.

A small group of indivuduals that share a particular believes, norms, attitudes and practices within a dominant group. Such group of people-"sub culture" is doing so by not being against the culture of the dominant group.