An occasional writer's journal

It is amusing to hear middle-aged television presenters predicting what youth countercultures might emerge from the deepest economic recession since the bleak 1970s when punk exploded.

Teenage subcultures defined by music and fashion codes were emerging and evolving throughout the second half of the 20th century, from the teddy boys of the 1950s to the goths of the 1980s, but today’s urban tribes are more difficult to distinguish.

An emo moment

Cultural identity in the UK is defined by spending power and ownership or access to social networking gadgetry like the latest iPhone. There is little evidence of a cultural revolt among young people whose preferences for certain forms of popular music no longer divide them visually into distinct social groups.

The development of tomorrow’s subcultures will inevitably depend on the use of social networks like Facebook and My Space which bring together young people who would otherwise be alienated by a lack of income and shared amenities.

Unfortunately many young people in the UK have abandoned creativity in favour of finding acceptance in US-style gangs, where leadership and loyalty are expressed in the carrying of guns or knives regardless of the inevitable violence forced by peer pressure.

By contrast, the Japanese students I taught in Britain during my training as a teacher of English as a second language were so stylised that they were difficult to distinguish from the anime cartoon characters that adorned their bags and stationery. All were relatively wealthy with the means to express their creativity with expensive hairstyles and exclusive designer leisurewear.

It is curious that in Argentina, a country still emerging from the worst  economic collapse in its history, young people have developed exciting new fashion codes as a shared social statement that tempers much of the aggression they might feel at being socially excluded.

Many of the tribes defined by their common dress code or a shared taste in music, such as the “floggers“, “emos“, “cumbieros” or “posh“, can often be found hanging around city shopping malls or public parks. Their colourful fashion codes reflect the limitless imaging potential of the virtual online world they also share. Even traditional rock fans, such as the lookalike followers of The Ramones or The Rolling Stones, called ramoneros and stones or rollingas respectively, are now largely dependent on social  networking.

The floggers are a distinctly Argentine group of teenagers united by the look of glam rock and the sounds of electro or techno dance. The name comes from foto (photo) and Fotolog, the social networking site that serves as a meeting place and showcase for photos that are invariably self-portraits.

The idea is to sign your friend’s fotolog and garner popularity with every new visit and signature on your own web page. Floggers with blurred gender divisions typically wear baggy V-neck fluorescent T-shirts, tight-fitting coloured jeans called chupines and bright canvas trainers or skate shoes. Their distinctive haircuts have a long sweeping fringe covering one or both eyes, its effect exaggerated in motion by a manic dance style.

Another popular group are the cumbieros whose name comes from cumbia music, which evolved from songs of social protest. Its topics are related to drugs, crime, poverty, social class and exclusion. Lyrics are typically aggressive and anti-police.

Nidia Cechetto, an English teacher in provincial Buenos Aires, explains in her blog that the differences between the urban tribes are subtle. The group floggers cumbieros, for example, see the world in the way the cumbieros do, but have their own fotolog and spend long hours in the cybercafes of Buenos Aires.

“Another group are the emos,” said Nidia. “Their members are shy and sensitive teenagers. They have dyed black hair brushed over one side of the face in order to protect themselves from the world which is considered a difficult and cruel place to live in. They dress in black clothes and listen to sentimental music. Another remarkable group are the posh or chetos. The posh are trendy people. Their look is very important for them. They only wear designer clothes. Their favourite music is techno.”

Floggers pose in a Buenos Aires shopping mall

The beginning of 2009 saw an increase in sporadic violence between urban tribes and a spate of assaults reported, particularly against floggers. The largely unregulated nature of social networking has encouraged a glorification of self-image and notoriety with hate messages frequently posted on rival blogs. One young man was murdered in the city of Mendoza simply because he resembled a flogger.

Floggers and emos have been targeted partly because of their stylised androgyny. The emos have been even described as a sinister cult because of isolated cases of suicide and persecution of young devotees. A few brave floggers have bravely emerged from their bedrooms and favourite cybercafes to explain through the mainstream media how they simply enjoy sharing photos and commentaries. They have organised occasional “fiestas” in public, meeting in the swankiest shopping malls to compare their hairstyles or clothing to the bemusement of passers by.

Click for retro!

It is in many ways impossible to compare the youth groups of the developing world with the rock- and reggae-influenced subcultures of Britain or the United States. One wonders if a network of individuals whose main activity is taking photos of themselves can even be described as a social group.