The Short History of Greaser Subculture

Behind the hair gel and Harleys stood the greasers. And no, this is not a fan club for Grease, the musical. Greaser subculture was an American zeitgeist for 1950’s youth. Leather-clad working class teenagers, also known as “hoods”, made their mark on American culture. Greasers where actually one of the first types of street gangs. The subculture inspired a style and social commentary among American youth that was brought to mainstream media and became a caricature for rebels all over the country. Greasers allowed the youth of the 50’s to look past America’s superficiality and rely on budding individuality.

The greaser subculture became prominent in the late 1940’s and 1950’s. The word was used to describe blue-collar teenagers by their peers. The subculture was surrounded by poverty-stricken and crime-ridden neighborhoods and held a non-conformist attitude to social norms of the time.

The term “greaser” has numerous definitions in relation to it use in the subculture. The most substantive definition came from the Greaser Act of 1855. Also known as the Vagrancy Act, this law was an anti-Mexican law. According to Wikipedia, the law states "all persons who are commonly known as 'Greasers' or the issue of Spanish and Indian blood... and who go armed and are not peaceable and quiet persons."(3). The term greaser was originally used as a derogatory term against Mexicans who would grease the hinges of shopping carts.

The greaser subculture of the 1950s used this as a form of rebellion, since a good portion of teenagers among greaser gangs where Hispanic. The superficial term for greaser originated from the slicked back hair that these teenagers would usually show off. These looks would be created using pomades and gels. Notable celebrities of the subculture were James Dean and Marlon Brando. Their film appearances in Rebel Without a Cause and The Wild One, respectively, furthered the style’s glamour.

Now that we know the origin of this subculture, I want to contrast how we will fit Greasers into modern day society. A new age model should reflect the injustices that occur in societies today, but more on that later. ;)

And away we go, Rockabeau

Sources

Retrowaste: http://www.retrowaste.com/1950s/fashion-in-the-1950s/1950s-greasers-styles-trends-history-pictures/ 

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greaser_(subculture):

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greaser_Act

Weebly: http://thegreasersubculture.weebly.com/background-information.html