The Politics of the Subculture Career: Skaters De-Criminalize The West LA Courthouse

• In Event: Sub-Cultures and Self-Care

Abstract

Street skateboarders creatively interpret architectural forms as sites to perform tricks. Their tricks are documented and disseminated to a global subculture via subculture media. Skaters do this to improve their reputations and from these published feats, money and other rewards follow.
It is tempting to interpret skateboarders’ use of public space as small acts of spatial transformation with potential political resistance, as many scholars have done. I will show that the politics of subculture come less from the spectacular activity that skaters engage in, and more from the community and solidarity that comes from sharing a passion with like-minded others.
Skaters are policed out of public spaces and consistently told that their activity is destructive. This has created strong bonds of social cohesion and these bonds, combined with a deft use of social media, have translated into small but significant collective actions, resulting in the legalization of an iconic skate spot.

Author

• Gregory J. Snyder, Baruch College, City University of New York