Subculture, Style and Enjoyment of a Thing

Gaming is a subculture, a basket of subcultures really. Using the Dick Hebdige definition of culture from his book Subculture: The Meaning of Style, culture is a "coded exchange of reciprocal messages." Style is how that culture expresses itself, defined as a "signifying practice." The problem we have in gaming culture is a question of authenticity.

When those who believe they are part of the subculture experience someone outside the culture signifying, we have the potential to run into conflict, especially when that person doesn't match the usual encoding for that culture, usually because they are female or a person of color.

Geek culture is overwhelming white male, as we know (which is thankfully changing). As a store owner with female employees, I know they are regularly challenged on their cultural authenticity, their signifying questioned because of their gender. The messaging reciprocity isn't accepted because of unfortunate stereotypes.

The thing to remember about subculture, is it's an adopted culture. There doesn't need to be accusations of cultural appropriation, a term used to describe those who adopt cultural signifiers as style, without belonging to the culture itself. Cultural appropriation has a political component, as in the cultures being appropriated have a history of marginalization. Appropriating a marginalized culture is a kind of theft. However, as much as geek culture is marginalized by conventional society, it hardly rises to the level of say African American culture or the travails of the LGBT community. Geek culture can drop the militancy.

Geek culture does not need special protection or organizations to preserve its roots from conquering cultures. What it does need is a little more understanding of how people engage in subculture. In short, geek culture needs to chill out and allow engagement at a level comfortable for the signifier. You can legitimately like a thing without going deep into the tradition. The Internet allows deep immersion into subcultures, with nearly no limits to its depth.

There needs to be respect for those who dwell at all the depths of the subculture, an openness that allows each of us to learn from each other, rather than ego driven genitalia measurement that often accompanies signifying conversations.

At its root, geek culture is youth culture, and youth culture is about how one defines oneself. Defining oneself is often in opposition to the Other. A sign of maturity, a sign that geek culture can grow up, is dropping the opposition, signifying to root out the Other. The high priests can engage and embrace their brethren, even if the adherent only goes to church on Sunday.