Never Met a Skinhead

I've always considered Philadelphia an eclectic city. I've seen its variety of cultures and subcultures as a broad view into the many people who live in our country. And yet in what I've always felt was totality, I've found vast holes. Perhaps, it's the demographic, perhaps the region, but after reading about Skinheads I had a brief epiphany, that despite the metropolitan status, Philadelphia is a parochial and even limited city in the subcultures that occupy it.

I've never really met a skinhead. I've met plenty of punks, graffiti artists, rappers, b-boys, train hoppers, and hippies, but no skinheads. This brings to mind a question, what develops a subculture like skinheads and prevents it from developing in a city like Philadelphia? Of course the textbook looks to points of strain and status. And traditionally, skin heads have developed out of working class communities trying to elevate their style and cope with the monotony of laborious and unyielding lives. Okay, so what is Philly lacking? There are large parts of this city that are home to disgruntled, working class whites. And yet, the youth from those neighborhoods sport glossy shoes, baller shorts, fitted caps and shirts honoring the various sports teams of the city. Where did we go so wrong? 

In contemporary America, the last vestiges of the skinhead movement appear mostly in areas such as the south or more commonly the prison system. These areas are far more rural, and while they may oppose the alternative presence of skinheads, their small size might also encourage a particular need to stand out and rebel. Alienation also has very different consequences in small communities, where the result of being outcast can have dire mental and even physical effects. Historically, skin heads have also developed out of cultures that saw far more heterogeneity. In this climate, the feeling for individualism leads to a more aggressive tactic in style and action.

Philadelphia simply cannot fill this void. In a city where 60 percent of the population is African American, a white reactionary movement seems tumultuous at best. And while punk mirrors aspects of skin head culture, it lacks a racist past, and has been adopted by many middle class adolescents as well. There are of course other elements that resulted in the infertility of a skin head movement in Philadelphia, and at the end of the day I just may have been hanging out in the wrong places to meet local skinheads, but it does seem the disgruntled youth of our city have overlooked the minimalist charm of shaved head.