The Subculture of Bisexuals in the Youth - Coursework Example

?Subculture Introduction This paper is about the subculture of bisexuals in the youth. It consists of people who are attracted to other people regardless of gender amongst the youths. According to Tischler (64), subculture refers to the distinctive lifestyle, values, norms, and beliefs of a certain segment of the population within a society. In this case, bisexuals among the youths are distinct not only in behavior but also in going against the norms as far as relationships are concerned. Subcultures might be distinct by ethnic, occupational, religion, politics, social class, and behavior (Tischler 70). I choose bisexuals in the youth based on its distribution and effect to the youths and the society. In my exploration, I plan to evaluate issues that make this group so distinct to qualify as a subculture, what distinguishes it from other subcultures, and how this subculture has influenced the lifestyle of the youths. The most interesting thing about bisexual is the differences in behavior it shows from that of the society where it is found. One among many has been changing at a very big rate and thus the way it was some years back is not the way it is and is not the way we expect it to be in future. This subculture can be further subdivided into social classes, gender groups, and different age groups. Argument We have two components of a culture, which is reflected in each subculture; the material culture, and the nonmaterial culture. Material subculture consists of all of the human technology like machines, media, products, and services that assist members of a subculture in exploiting and modifying the environment they live in (Tischler 54). Nonmaterial subculture on the other hand consists of symbols, language, values, and norms used by the members of a sub cultural group (Kendall 65). Both material and nonmaterial subculture combines to determine the lifestyle of the members of the group. Bisexuals as part of a culture, youth culture, fall in the mentioned components. For example, their relationships having been based on love between it sex has to be built on something. Some of the main pillars in this case are sharing of material things like gifts to communicate what the partner want from the other. Their mannerism and symbols used as expressions of love stands out in this group, hence the reason for it to qualify as a subculture. It is important to note the kind of relationship existing among the bisexual are depended on favors as a way of satisfying their urge for sexual satisfaction. This is not the case in the opposite sex relationships among the youths. What may be meaningful to a relationship between members of the opposite sex mean less to bisexual (Kendall 65). For example the kind of gifts exchanged in bisexuals may differ with what the opposite sex relationship will exchange. For example, to express love for each other, they share visible object like the heart to symbolize love, a dove to symbolize peace, a siren to symbolize emergency and gestures as a symbolic form of communication. To them physical attraction based on dressing or type of car driven are immaterial since what matters is the relationship between them regardless of the entire group (youths) definition. According to Kendall (66), language is a set of symbols that expresses ideas and enables people to think and communicate with one another. Communications methods of expressing ones feelings are important in every subculture. However, I find Bisexuals unique in the way they express themselves among the youths. To them, non-verbal language like winking and snapping of fingers works best. This is because in most cases, they are not always free to express themselves freely in public without facing critics from the bigger culture of youths. They also fear long-term consequences like prosecution in the countries where same sex relationships are not permitted. Values are other thing that distinguishes a culture from other cultures. It sets a subculture at a distinct point where the involved members can be associated. They are also unique in each subculture like in these case bisexuals among the youths. According to Tischler (57), values are cultural general orientations towards life and its notion of what is good or bad or even what is desirable and undesirable. For example, in this case, bisexual relationships among the youths are criticized in many places. To many people, it is abominable to even belong to such a group. However, this is different with bisexuals among the youths. To them, doing what is comfortable for them takes the centre stage. Their values are based on individualism, achievement and success, activity and work, science and technology, progress and material comfort, efficient and practicality, Equity, morality and humanitarianism, freedom and liberty and racial and group superiority (Kendall 71). In most cases, majority of the people in this subculture do not respect the opinions of the society. They are so individualistic to care about what is good for others. To them, what fits them does not have to fit the rest of the community. Though they may be justified by the fact that, human rights allow freedom of choice and expression, their distinctive still makes them look lost in the current society and time. Analysis The symbols, language, values, and norms practiced by the bisexuals among the youths differ greatly with those of other members of their respective societies. Due to their attraction to both genders, these people find themselves preferring to use different symbols that are have a different meaning in their society. A good example is that you can find a person winking or whistling to a person of the same sex. While such a language in the general culture of the youths may mean teasing somebody, with bisexuals it means one admires the other. Their language cease from being general to being seductive when communicating to people across the gender divide Bisexuals among the youths have different values that cannot be ignored. For example, hugging each other among the youths may express appreciation or reunion. But this is not the case with bisexuals. Majority of them hug with an intention of expressing passion and affection for each other. While heterosexuals among the youths may value kissing in public as a value of expressing their love for each other, bisexuals opt for things like squeezing each other’s hands. The norms of this group of people are far much different from the norms of the culture where they are found. To them dating people of different sex is acceptable and also having strong relationship with people across genders is highly accepted. These distinguishing characteristics make this group a subculture within another culture. Such characteristics set bisexuals unique from every other subculture among the youths Conclusion In conclusion as my study shows, this subculture is very different from other subcultures in the youth society. To minimize misunderstandings and struggles with coping with such subcultures, the general youth culture should accept its existence and appreciate its effects on youths. In the case of any differences in the bigger culture, bisexuals should be left to express themselves freely, which will in turn reduce the impact bisexuals has on the entire youth culture. Work cited Kendall, Diana. Sociology in Our Times. Mason: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print. Tischler, Henry, L. Introduction to Sociology. Mason: Cengage Learning, 2010. Print. Read More