Individual has several personalities that correspond to enlarging circles of group relationship. An individual think, act, and feel depending on the family, nationality, and personal attributes gained from different social setups, which he/she has a positive association. People try to gain self esteem by differentiating their group in a positive manner as opposed to the comparison to out-group members.
Group relationships establish self categorization and facilitate options that favor the in-group at the expense of those outside the group (Fellmann, Getis and Getis 2008). A person has self concepts that result from the membership and a sense of belonging to a particular social group. This result in discrimination based on whether a person is in-group member or out-group. The in-group is an association of members with similar cultural practices while the out-groups members practice different cultures.
A subculture is a group of individuals who forms a group with distinct characters from the larger culture, which differentiates them from the other members of the large culture (Trice, 1993). They have some visible affection such as music and clothing that differ from the dominant culture.
The members of subculture use symbols and other gestures to pass information to other members. It is hard to identify members of a subculture because the dominant culture can adapt their styles. The dominant culture adapts to these sub-cultural traits for business purposes feeling that they are more fashionable than the rest.
I was introduced to a subculture where most of my friends and age mates belong. This subculture sings praise and worship songs in a unique way. The in-group members ensure unison in their melodies and strive to achieve excellence in gospel music. During practice, we ensure that there is total co-ordination between the vocals and instruments played. The most unique feature of our subculture is that in our singing, we combine dances and voice, which must rhyme with the instruments played.
This in-group has various values that hold the members together. The first is the degree to which a person associates him/herself to the group feeling from within that group membership is an aspect of members’ self-concept. The pursuit for positive characterization is found when members identify themselves as a group rather than as an individual.
The other value is relation to the level unto, which the standing contexts provide bases for groups’ comparison (Fellmann, Getis and Getis2008). The group members come up with ways to compare themselves with out-groups to yield some unique differences that give them identity. This results in the possibility of displaying favoritism when an in-group is amid of self definition giving comparison to the out-group.
There are several activities that in-group members engage in leaving out the outsiders. The members organize economic activities that earn them some money.
The come up with projects, which involve social funds, but the profit are exclusively for the youths. They elderly are involved to fund these projects, although the benefits that accrue to them are indirect. The in-group members ensure that they have government support by registering their groups so that they can benefit from the funds set aside for youth projects (Kaplan & Lööw, 2002).
Some of the benefits that have accrued to in-group members include; utilization of less energy as compared to the energy members use when working individually. In group members receive some favors that are not enjoyed by outsiders. Another benefit is that individual’s self esteem is built due to the sense of belonging that comes as a result of associating with a group. When self esteem is developed the productivity of the group is increased, which is beneficial not only to in-group members, but to the entire society.
In conclusion, each culture has subgroups with members who find identity through them. These sub culture groups benefit individuals and society at large. The extent to which these in-groups are formed should be reasonable to avoid discrimination and biasness in provision of essential services.
References
Fellmann, J., Getis, A., & Getis, J. (2008). Human Geography: Landscapes of Human Activities. 10th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 10.
Kaplan, J., & Lööw, H. (2002). The cultic milieu: Oppositional subcultures in an age of globalization. Walnut Creek, Oxford: AltaMira Press.
Trice, H. M. (1993). Occupational subcultures in the workplace. Ithaca, NY: ILR Press.