According to our textbook, subcultures are a category of people who share distinguishing attributes, beliefs, values, and/or norms that set them apart in some significant manner from the dominant culture. Until experiencing a sociology class, I was not sure what a subculture was, or that they even existed. By using cultural relativism, which is the belief that the customs of any culture must be viewed and analyzed by the culture’s own standards, I now understand that graffiti writers are not just a bunch of teenage dirt bags vandalizing private property, but they have a bigger end goal. Originating about thirty years ago, graffiti writers are now a worldwide subculture that was originally started in New York. They have their own criteria …show more content…
Graffiti writing takes a different approach. Instead of starting with a college degree, graffiti writers first come up with their own tag. In other words, they come up with their own logo that is unique to them. Writers make these tags visible to get their name out there, to be known, to get exposure to this creative industry. In a way, it can be compared to buying a billboard and advertising a new business (Graffiti Writers). With graffiti writing also comes some risks. They have to intricately plan out how they will shape their letters, how they will color and shade them, and even the way they write their name. Just like art that you would see in a typical museum, graffiti writer art can be harshly criticized and judge. Not only can they be judged, but when it comes to illegal graffiti writing, it raises some issues with norms and laws. Even thought there is an option for legal graffiti writing in a gallery, a majority of writers hold an illegal career. They see the work that is already illegally painted somewhere and they are inspired by that work (Graffiti Writers). In our culture, a majority of the population would not dare paint art on something that does not belong to them. Not only that, but trespassing on private property and vandalizing it is a pretty big law in the United States. That is a big reason that graffiti writing is seen as a subculture. They have their own norms, their own laws, and their own values that we cannot see from our point of