Subculture Task

 

Bodgies and Widgies

This subculture was active in a period which was filled with fear. The community did not think of these young people as a normal feature of society. The subculture ‘Greaser’was formed in the United States in the period after the Second World War. The youth of the population at the time were still looking for excitement and something to prove their strength. They rode bikes to annoy others. The rockers had also been influenced to a certain degree by the Greasers and Bodgies. According to the views of some people, Australian youth culture began immediately after the war. This was around the time when the first group of Bodgies disappeared. The second group began around 1954 and lasted until 1959. It ended due to the work of the police, increase of youth groups, and major change in the media, especially the newspapers and radio stations. The two different cultures had been merged together by the press. The name of the second subculture itself came to be known as ‘juvenile delinquent’. Bodgie was a Darlinghurst slang word meaning spurious. The term ‘Widgie’ is from wigeon. This may have come from ‘pigeon’. (Dr Keith Moore, 2004)The country of origin for Bodgies and Widgies is Australia, with most of the aspects copied from other countries. This subculture was the origin for others which would develop in later decades.

The characteristics of the second group includetheir clothing which includes moccasins and American drape suits complete with pegged trousers which replaced the attire of blue jeans and leather American Airline jackets orzoot suits of the first group. Fashion was always American. Mass-produced clothing was also common. Leather jackets, white tee-shirts and denim jeans were worn by those who could afford bikes. The female style included flared skirts with petticoats, high heels, white blouses, and denim jeans. Hairstyles included Elvis Presley style and flat-top style. (Jon Stratton, 1992) Movies were not that important for this culture. Several clothing styles were adopted by this culture in its lifetime. Swing music was danced and listened to in the beginning, but rock’n’roll became important from around 1956. Violence and other bad behaviour was extremely common in the late years, and primarily involved gangs.

At the time, mainstream society culture was the conservative middle class culture. The link between greasers and Bodgiesand criminal activity was strengthened through the media and popular movies. Crime comics, films, radio, and the later television shows accenting violence were some of the causes for the youth to become violent. Juvenile delinquency was also thought to be caused by the absence of the father or mother in the child’s early years.The rock music of the later years was not well regarded by the population.

The‘greaser’subculture is very global. Although the greased hair may not be seen everywhere, the basic concepts exist everywhere. In Britain, the popular vehicle was motorcycles rather than other types of vehicles. This may also be related to the rockers culture. The Japanese Bōsōzoku used gang activities as a way to express dissatisfaction with society. The Bodgies and Widgies were never able to associate themselves with Australian fashion or music. They were always using competition with the Americans or incorporation of American culture to raise their status in society.The use of mass produced clothing stated this. Bodgies had Australian roots but evolved with American culture.

References

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 2016 Bodgies and Widgies,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodgies_and_Widgies(accessed 27/05/2016)

Dr Keith Moore 2004, Bodgies, widgies and moral panic in Australia 1955 – 1959, http://eprints.qut.edu.au/633/1/moore_keith.pdf (accessed 27/05/2016)

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 2016 Greaser (subculture), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greaser_(subculture) (accessed 27/05/2016)

Stratton, J 1992,The Young Ones,Black Swan Press, Perth.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 2016 Rocker, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocker_(subculture) (accessed 27/05/2016)

Noah Nishihara Home Group T09