History UsefulNotes / Skinheads

Skinheads first truly emerged in British culture in the '60s, following the long post-war economic boom. They were working class youth who made use of their money by buying clothes that reflected their lifestyles (straight-leg jeans, work boots, braces [suspenders], and occasionally suits) and going to dance halls to enjoy styles such as ska and rocksteady. They were technically [[ScooterRidingMod mods]] (more famously known for their upper-class, more refined image), but broke off from the other mods around the late '50s and became their own subculture, eventually becoming known as skinheads around the late '60s.

Ah, skinheads. Right up there next to UsefulNotes/{{feminis|m}}ts when it comes to subcultures people are most likely to have the wrong ideas about. Quick answer: yes, there are Nazis among them, but they're not ''all'' Nazis, and a good number of them are [[BerserkButton likely to strongly disagree with such an assertion]].[[note]]It's also worth pointing out that [[BaldHeadOfToughness the skinhead look]] has fallen out of fashion with white supremacists and neo-Nazis in recent years, done partly to avoid the immediate association with white supremacy as a strategic decision to blend into and infiltrate mainstream society, but also as a natural consequence of many switching over to the undercut hairstyle now called "Hitler Youth" that was popular with German men during Hitler's rule of Germany. For example, the vast majority of the marchers in the infamous 2017 Charlottesville alt-right rally were not skinheads. Meanwhile, a new wave of non- or anti-racist oi bands like The Chisel and Conservative Military Image has both made the skinhead look more acceptable in the scene and also introduced it to Gen Z, providing a way for the culture to move on from its past association with racism.[[/note]]

These days, the skinhead subculture isn't as large as it was, but it still pervades among working class Brits as well as working class Americans and Australians. However, the stigma remains hard to avoid. It's a little bit easier in Britain, where while skinheads still bear racist associations, there are also vocal and active skinhead groups that speak out against racism, which kind of blunts the stigma (hell, skinheads are something of a fetish amongst European gay men). America kind of developed the skinhead subculture "second hand," however while skins did make their way over from the first days on, and while the [=SHARPs=] came together in New York City, skinheads aren't really well understood as a subculture outside of the punk/hardcore/street subcultures assembly. As a result, "skinhead" and "Nazi" are practically synonymous in American media. This is possibly because, in the United States, there has yet to be a single skinhead movement or subculture which has received any media attention at all for being anything ''other'' than a pack of neo-Nazi scumbags. SHARP might have got its start in New York City, but by this point it may as well not exist in the US. Nowadays, "bonehead", or less commonly, "hammerskin" is the proper nomenclature for white supremacist/National Socialist skins, and it's often not hard to tell the two apart based on how long their hair is (skinheads usually buzz theirs, boneheads usually shave it off completely) or - of all things - what color their boot laces are (racist skinheads prefer white or red laces, almost always laced in a straight bar fashion).

Ah, skinheads. Right up there next to UsefulNotes/{{feminis|m}}ts when it comes to subcultures people are most likely to have the wrong ideas about. Quick answer: yes, there are Nazis among them, but they're not ''all'' Nazis, and a good number of them are [[BerserkButton likely to strongly disagree with such an assertion]].[[note]]It's also worth pointing out that [[BaldHeadOfToughness the skinhead look]] has fallen out of fashion with white supremacists and neo-Nazis in recent years, done partly to avoid the immediate association with white supremacy as a strategic decision to blend into and infiltrate mainstream society, but also as a natural consequence of many switching over to the undercut hairstyle now called "Hitler Youth" that was popular with German men during Hitler's rule of Germany. For example, the vast majority of the marchers in the infamous 2017 Charlottesville alt-right rally were not skinheads.[[/note]]

These days, the skinhead subculture isn't as large as it was, but it still pervades among working class Brits as well as working class Americans and Australians. It's just that the stigma is hard to avoid. It's a little bit easier in Britain, where while skinheads still bear racist associations, there are also vocal and active skinhead groups that speak out against racism, which kind of blunts the stigma (hell, skinheads are something of a fetish amongst European gay men). America kind of developed the skinhead subculture "second hand," however while skins did make their way over from the first days on, and while the [=SHARPs=] came together in New York City, skinheads aren't really well understood as a subculture outside of the punk/hardcore/street subcultures assembly. As a result, "skinhead" and "Nazi" are practically synonymous in American media. This is possibly because, in the United States, there has yet to be a single skinhead movement or subculture which has received any media attention at all for being anything ''other'' than a pack of neo-Nazi scumbags. SHARP might have got its start in New York City, but by this point it may as well not exist in the US. Nowadays, "bonehead", or less commonly, "hammerskin" is the proper nomenclature for white supremacist/National Socialist skins, and it's often not hard to tell the two apart based on how long their hair is (skinheads usually buzz theirs, boneheads usually shave it off completely) or - of all things - what color their boot laces are (racist skinheads prefer white or red laces, almost always laced in a straight bar fashion).

The original movement still exists and has spread to cities on all continents, but because of the Aryans, they don't refer to themselves as 'skinheads' anymore. They are the longest-lived subculture currently existing, probably due to remaining under the mainstream radar, which they're content to continue doing. The Aryans simply co-opted a few costume elements, and care less about preserving the movement than their own high profile.

[[caption-width-right:350: [[{{Music/Gwar}} How's Geraldo's nose? Still broken?]]]]

[[foldecontrol]]

[[AC:ComicBooks]]

* In the now-forgotten British 70s comic ''ComicBook/{{Action}}!'', the titular character from the football storyline ''Lookout for Lefty!'' has a fiercely aggressive and proud skinhead girlfriend, showcasing the original non-Neo-Nazi form of the subculture.

[[AC:Comic Strips]]

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* The British film ''Film/ThisIsEngland'' focuses on a young boy who ends up befriending a group of mostly apolitical skins (one of them actually being black) during the days of Thatcher's England. When the group's leader returns from prison having joined the National Front, it messily splits into apolitical and white supremacist factions.

* ''Film/RomperStomper'' is a 1992 Australian film written and directed by Geoffrey Wright and starring Russell Crowe. The film follows the exploits and downfall of a neo-Nazi skinhead group in blue-collar suburban Melbourne.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* "Bigmac" from Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Literature/JohnnyMaxwellTrilogy'' is mentioned to be a skinhead. No Nazi, however, more following the example of his elder brother.
** Although he does wear swastikas, as revealed in the third book. However, he has only the vaguest idea what they represent, or why wearing them when you've time traveled back to 1943 is a bad idea.

* In the book ''Literature/BridgetJonesDiary'', Bridget and her friends haven't heard from their gay friend Tom for a while and are worried he must've gotten attacked by some bigots and skinhead types. She also mentions that Tom had friends in the non-racist and queer-friendly rival group of the National Front. Thankfully Tom is safe albeit with some cosmetic surgery done to his nose.
* Barry Kent of the ''Literature/AdrianMole'' books is one in the early books. He is racist at first, but in the second book becomes an anti-racist after a politician from the Send 'Em Back Where They Came From Party comes around to the school looking for support to deport everyone not of Anglo-Saxon blood. Kent threatens him with bodily harm and joins Rock Against Racism.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* A major feature on British cop shows, as you would expect. Especially in period dramas: On ''[[Series/LifeOnMars2006 Life on Mars]]'' they were [[StupidCrooks inept clowns]] (not even the real killers, just a red herring).
-->'''Gene''': The NF are far too stupid for that. That lot could stick a shotgun up me arse, pull the trigger two times and still miss.
** ''Series/InspectorGeorgeGently'' portrays them slightly more sympathetically.
-->'''John''': It's getting to where I don't even understand the crimes anymore.\\
'''Gently''': They told ''my'' generation, 'keep your nose clean, work hard.' Young people today know that's a lie. What if these toe rags are the future, John? What then?
* ''Series/DixonOfDockGreen'' had an early screen appearance by a classic, sixties-style version. The “boot boy” in question was an apolitical teenager with no real characteristics beyond being somewhat aggressive and not over-bright; he was eventually beaten up (offscreen) and found lying on his parents’ back doorstep.
* In ''Series/DoctorWho'', the show struggled with a [[{{Badbutt}} middle class BBC approach]] to young thugs. (See [[{{Recap/DoctorWhoS25E3SilverNemesis}} "Silver Nemesis"]], a Seventh Doctor serial.)
** In the revival series, the costume theme for each Doctor is (by admission of WordOfGod) based on a British subculture. Both the Ninth Doctor and the Twelfth Doctor were modeled after different kinds of skinhead - the Twelfth the more classic, 1960s-style kind, with close-cropped but not shaved hair, brogues with Doc Marten's-like soles and a Crombie coat; and the Ninth the 00s, LGBT skinhead kind with a crew cut, more conventional Doc Martens and lots of beat-up leather.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Skinheads appear in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' as a small-time gang. They're a mixture of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardcore_skinhead hardcore skinheads]] (as Liberty City is a FictionalCounterpart of New York City and NY has maintained a hardcore scene since the 80s) and early UK skinheads (as they incorporate Jamaican/Rasta symbolism in their outfits and have a good relationship with the [[TheYardies Hillside Posse]]).

[[AC:WebComics]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

[[caption-width-right:200: [[{{Music/Gwar}} How's Geraldo's nose? Still broken?]]]]

Ah, skinheads. Right up there next to UsefulNotes/{{feminis|m}}ts when it comes to subcultures people are most likely to have the wrong ideas about. Quick answer: yes, there are Nazis among them, but they're not ''all'' Nazis, and a good number of them are [[BerserkButton likely to strongly disagree with such an assertion]].[[note]]It's also worth pointing out that [[BaldHeadOfToughness the skinhead look]] has fallen out of fashion with white supremacists and neo-Nazis in recent years, done partly to avoid the immediate association with white supremacy as a strategic decision to blend into and infiltrate mainstream society, but also in favor of adopting the version of the undercut hairstyle called now "Hitler Youth" that was popular with German men during Hitler's rule of Germany. For example, the vast majority of the marchers in the infamous 2017 Charlottesville alt-right rally were not skinheads.[[/note]]

Ah, skinheads. Right up there next to UsefulNotes/{{feminis|m}}ts when it comes to subcultures people are most likely to have the wrong ideas about. Quick answer: yes, there are Nazis among them, but they're not ''all'' Nazis, and a good number of them are [[BerserkButton likely to strongly disagree with such an assertion]].[[note]]It's also worth pointing out that the skinhead look has fallen out of fashion with white supremacists and neo-Nazis in recent years, at least partly because sometime in the early 2000's many of them made a strategic decision to blend into and infiltrate mainstream society. For example, the vast majority of the marchers in the infamous 2017 Charlottesville alt-right rally were not skinheads.[[/note]]