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shaven heads, are members of a subculture that originated in Britain in the 1960s. Skinheads were closely tied to the Rude boy of the West Indies and the Mods of the UK.
Skinhead culture may be catogorized within four main factions:
It's a common myth that the skinhead cult originated in Jamaica because of their early cultural affiliation with the Jamaican rude boy subculture in Britain at the time. This however is not true, as the skinhead cult evolved from white dock worker youth, who rolled their pants for obvious purposes and shaved their heads for prevention of lice. The style consisted of short, cropped hair, straight-leg denim jeans with the cuffs rolled up, black military style boots, and braces (suspenders) and embraced the musical genre of ska. Skinheads are a product of Mods, a subculture of youth noted for their consumerism and affection for style, music and scooters. Around 1965 a group of "hard" or "gang" mods, who could be identified by their shorter hair and working-class image, emerged from the larger mod scene. This resulted in a schism that produced "peacock mods" (The Who, The Kinks) and skinheads, commonly known by that name by around 1968 (other early nicknames include "lemons" and "suits" among others). Early followers were mainly interested in and influenced by Jamaican Reggae and Ska music (aka, The Spirit of 69), Jamaican Rude Boy culture and a dislike of those perceived as the 'ruling classes'. They had an extreme dislike for the government and many larger businesses as both appeared to misrepresent the working class and their wishes.
Skinhead culture exploded in the year 1969, after which the original skinheads slowly dropped into new categories, including the self-explanatory "Suede-head" (defined by the ability to manipulate one's hair with a comb) and the next-stage group, the "Smoothies" (often up to shoulder-length hairstyles). Both groups existed as lapse versions of skinheads, whose fashions regressed to their mod roots, introducing the more common wearing of brogues (originally an identifier once boots became too conspicuous) as well and the slacks-with-a-sweater look. Here was a far cry from the singly blue-jeaned and typically boot-toed skins of the past.
During the mid-1970s in the UK, the skinhead movement was reborn in an unexpected way. With the introduction of Punk Rock to the public, kids were looking for the next great shock-rockers. Skinheads with shorter hair, less emphasis on style and cleanliness, and a new sound grew and grabbed the attention of the media as a result of repeated incidents of hooliganism during football (soccer), often to the point of rioting, between skinheads and members of the so-called ruling class. So-called "Punk skins" also gained a great deal of media attention after they were recruited by the anti-immigration political group, the National Front who used the skinheads' reputation for violence to intimidate opposition. Most skinheads deny that their group was recruited to engage in racist and criminal activity by this organization, claiming that the National Front recruited street youth, shaved their heads to give them the appearance of skinheads, and paid them to bully, threaten and even enact violence upon immigrant workers.
The negative press generated concerning skinheads caused a decrease in their numbers. American skinheads received the same spin as their British counterparts. Fueled by sensationalist television, skinheads were inaccurately stereotyped a mindless, violent, and racist. As a response to this negative stereotype, the 1980s saw the birth of the SHARP movement in New York. The group claims to be opposed all forms of bigotry. In addition, Anti-Racist Action, a militant anti-racist organization, has its roots in skinhead culture.
The Third Wave of ska brought a resurgence in skinhead subculture in the early 1990s, and the popularity of the group continues to grow. Today, skinheads can be found in all of North America and Europe as well as in places such as Japan and Mexico.
There are a number of different "types" of skinhead, who divide themselves and their allegiances across political and racial lines, resulting in three primary catagories.
There are a number of minor sects within these which are worth mentioning, the Reds (communists), Anarchists, Mods, white pride, and Teddy Boys, Red Skins, Hippies
Skinheads are highly visible in public to both allies and enemies, due to their style. In terms of clothing:
Tops:
Footwear:
Hats: Bowlers, pork pie, and scullies
Braces: No more than ¾ inch in width
Hair:
While the majority of skinheads ignore markings by lace, brace and less commonly flight jacket colors, some do consider them useful labels. These identifiers were largely regional and often have different and even opposite meanings in different areas. The list below should be considered "generic". While there was significance placed upon this once upon a time, the "braces and laces game" has fallen largely into disuse ("laces and braces don't make you racist").
Music plays an important role in any youth subculture and skinheads are no exception. Originally, the group was closely associated with the ska and reggae music of Desmond Dekker and Laurel Aitken before forming their own flavors of the style with bands like Symarip, Joe the Boss, and Judge Dread.
In the '70s and early '80s, a variant on streetpunk, Oi! became accepted enthusiastically by skinheads and punks, and Oi! continues to be one of the most popular genres among skinheads.
The most Popular music for the late 70's Skinhead was Two-Tone - The Coventry based record label that featured The Specials/ Madness/ Selecter/ etc. Two-Tone was the musical integration of Ska/ Rocksteady and the spirit of Punk music. The Label was initially very successful scoring many Top Twenty Hits and eventually a number one. During this time 1979 - 1981 Skinheads were a common sight on the UK highstreets.
Aside from the main two, other types of music are popular among skinheads, namely Northern Soul, Rocksteady, streetpunk, mod rock and, in America especially, Hardcore.
Bonehead - the word is used by the non racial skinheads for the nazis.
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