Ethnographic Study of the Skateboarding Culture - Essay Example

ANTHROPOLOGY Ethnographic Study of the Skateboarding Culture Ethnographygives the description of a culture and provides an understanding of that particular culture from the perspective of an insider. Through observation, we will make inferences on how skateboarders act, speak or think within their cultural set up. It also includes the way they behave as a group and how they identify themselves as a unit. Understanding of their culture is important for adults, politicians and scholars who wish to build stronger relationships with the youth that take part in skating. In this ethnographic study, the culture of skateboarding is described through observing skateboarders in action. The findings suggest ideas of concern for safety, acceptance, progression, self-expression of style and energy & drive. Introduction To be a skateboarder means that you have to engage in the actual act of skateboarding. This means that just having a skateboard or skateboarding thrice in year does not make you a skateboarder because you have to be skateboarding regularly for you to be one. You have to be involved in the activity and be passionate about it. The purpose of this study is to provide an ethnographic description of the language, behavior, values and beliefs of the skateboarders in order to understand their cultural orientation as a group (Németh 2006). Through the observation of cultural artifacts and styles of communication, the culture of competitive skateboarding is described and all the generalizations encompassed in skateboarding discussed. Using the small sample of skateboarders, data will be collected and analyzed in order to draw conclusions about the culture of skateboarding ethnographically. Methodology Ten skateparks located in Gateshead and other towns in Tyne and Wear County were selected for the purpose of this study. A one-week long observation was conducted during the month of October 2011by two independent researchers. The population used for this study consists of both professional and non-professional skateboarders, hence the need to group them into the following categories: vert skaters, street skaters and big air skaters. For the purpose of the study the street skaters are those that skate predominantly on streets and other public places where concrete and obstacles provide them with a good playground. The vert skaters are those that prefer skating on a half-pipe made of concrete or wood shaped like half pipe cut through the diameter. Lastly, the big air skaters are the most experienced group and represent the newest genre. They prefer a mega-ramp that rises as high as 15 or 20 feet above them and often take the most difficult tasks. These are three different groups of skaters with different levels of experience and preferences. However, through identifying the similarities that exist between them, the characteristics of the skateboarding culture can be brought out. Data collection was done through an ethnographic analysis noting different characteristics such as behaviors, unspoken language and cultural artifacts like body art, dress and hair (Weller 2006). These different characteristics are observed and recorded for the purpose of the study and the data analyzed in order to infer the cultural characteristics of the skateboarders ethnographically. This study indicates that the skateboarders are more interested in having fun and connecting with the audience more than they are with winning duels among their peers. They skate for fun because skateboarding is part of their lifestyle and they just enjoy doing it. Qualitative research often has its own inherent biases particularly because the researcher is the instrument and observes things the way they appear to him. His point of view, personal background and interests often become part of the analysis and this has a negative effect on the results. The researcher is also a skateboarder and has been in the business for many years but still has not established the characteristics of skateboarding culture. This is why this ethnographic study is being done. Erasing bias is therefore not easy as it is a mediating factor that may interfere with the results thus lowering the levels of precision. Additionally, validity has also been compromised through the use of a single source of data. Interpretability of the data and internal validity was improved through repeating the observations with the same participants but this was not enough in eliminating such flaws (Weller 2006). This therefore calls for further research in order to confirm the generalizabilty or the external validity of the findings. Discussion This ethnographic study is about the study of human differences based on the identification of similarities. Through studying the similarities between these different participants, I was able to identify the differences between them and used that information to draw meaning and connect them to the outsiders like myself. In order to identify the similarities and differences among the participants, I paid much attention to the patterns and rich points exhibited by certain type of people at specific times. I noticed that the skaters responded differently to the same situations and culture was a major factor here. Special attention was paid to the interactions and communication with the crowd. Through a thorough analysis of participant interaction, characteristics and crowd responses, explanations for the increase in participation in skateboarding were determined. The data gathered from the study was recorded and analyzed for the observed response actions and patterns. The analysis revealed several the themes of concern for safety, acceptance, progression, self-expression of style, energy and drive. The demographic characteristics revealed low levels of diversity among the professional skateboarders that took part in the study competition. Among the thirty participants, 10% were female and the rest male. Going by ethnicity, 73% were of the Caucasian ethnicity, 16% Hispanic and the rest were of African descent. Age varied from early teens to late thirties and has some correlation to the theme of our study. Young skaters prefer street skating while the older and experienced ones prefer vert and big air disciplines. (This is documented in table 1). The participants embraced each other as a sign of encouragement and appreciation to their colleagues of all ages, ethnicity, gender and discipline, implying that associations were not limited to any specific area. The skateboarder’s love each other and support each other regardless of who wins in a competition, they also put on safety equipment at all times for their wellness (Németh 2006). The theme of progression was more dominant than the others as all the skateboarder’s appeared to be keen on learning new techniques in order to be able to perform better in the future. Table 1 SKATER DISCIPLINE GENDER OBSERVED ETHNICITY OBSERVED AGE 1 Street Female Caucasian Teens 2 Street Female Caucasian Teens 3 Street Female Hispanic Teens 4 Street Male Caucasian Twenties 5 Street Male Caucasian Early Teens 6 Street Male Hispanic Twenties 7 Street Male Caucasian Late 20’s 8 Street Male Hispanic Late 20’s 9 Street Male Caucasian Late Teens 10 Street Male Caucasian Twenties 11 Street Male Caucasian Twenties 12 Street Male African Twenties 13 Street Male Caucasian Twenties 14 Vert Male Caucasian Twenties 15 Vert Male Caucasian Twenties 16 Vert Male Hispanic Twenties 17 Big Air Male Caucasian Twenties 18 Big Air Male Caucasian Twenties 19 Big Air Male African Thirties 20 Big Air Male Caucasian Thirties 21 Big Air Male Caucasian Thirties 22 Big Air Male Caucasian Thirties 23 Big Air Male Caucasian Thirties 24 Big Air Male Caucasian Late Thirties 25 Big Air Male Caucasian Thirties 26 Big Air Male Hispanic Late Twenties 27 Big Air Male Caucasian Late Twenties 28 Big Air Male Caucasian Twenties 29 Big Air Male Caucasian Late Twenties 30 Big Air Male Caucasian Late Twenties Table 2. SKATER NUMBER UNIQUE BEHAVIORS 4 Break dancing before competition 5 Smiling 6 Fans enjoying the run 9 Family supported participant by wearing shirts spelling out last name 10 Moved around the course, spectators applauded, many spectators filming the run 14 High-five with fellow competitor 15 Smiled happy 16 Received congratulatory slap and hugged competitors on deck, started dancing to the music, showed medal to group of reporters following competition, hugged female reporter 17 Described Big Air Mega Ramp, suggests hes lost money by betting on these competitions, but laughs as if hes joking, 18 Gave advice to "hang on, youve got 4 tries, thats it," joked with camera 19 Moving things forward 21 Describes this as "history in the making" "gladiator skateboarders" 22 Making of "super heroes" today 23 Indicated he was "gearing up for getting slammed" 24 "Awesome," "sick" suggests athletes must have guts to try this 25 Held small child on the medal stand and waived to crowd after winning gold medal, appeared very happy 26 Nervous, anxious look on face prior to taking jump 29 Skate competitors shown watching, enjoying competition 30 Smiled, happy, camera pan of crowd revealed jammed parking lot full of people cheering and applauding Conclusion This study has revealed that skaters are not rebels or social deviants, as they are normally perceived by the society. They are often banned from certain areas because of this perception and this limits their freedom. The female skateboarders describe it as comfortable, empowering, adventurers and fun. The males also say the same as everyone seems to be happy with skateboarding because of their love for it. Skateboarders should not be judged harshly as the case is because they have a good organizational culture. The culture empowers them into being responsible adults because it encourages cooperation and support for each other regardless of the differences based on age, race or sexual orientation. Bibliography Németh, Jeremy. “Conflict, Exclusion, Relocation: Skateboarding and Public Space.” Journal of Urban Design 11, no. 3 (2006): 297 – 318. Weller, Susie. “Skateboarding Alone? Making Social Capital Discourse Relevant to Teenagers’ Lives.” Journal of Youth Studies 9, no. 5 (2006): 557 – 574. Read More