Английская Википедия:Greaser (subculture)

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North American greaser of Quebec, Canada, c. 1960

Greasers are a youth subculture that emerged in the 1950s and early 1960s from predominantly working class and lower-class teenagers and young adults in the United States and Canada. The subculture remained prominent into the mid-1960s and was particularly embraced by certain ethnic groups in urban areas, particularly Italian Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Latin Americans.

History

Etymology

The etymology for the term greaser is unknown.Шаблон:Rp.By the time of the Civil War, the words "greaser" and "greaseball" were understood to carry racist and segregationist meanings.Шаблон:Rp It is speculated that the word originated in the late 19th century in the United States as a derogatory label for poor laborers, specifically those of Italian, Greek or Mexican descent.Шаблон:Sfn The similar term "greaseball" is a slur for individuals of Italian or Greek descent, though to a lesser extent it has also been used more generally to refer to all Mediterranean, Latino, or Hispanic people. "Greaser" was later used to reference automotive mechanics.

Within Greater Baltimore during the 1950s and early 1960s, greasers were colloquially referred to as drapes and drapettes.

It was not used in writing to refer to the American subculture of the mid-20th century until the mid-1960s, though in this sense it still evoked a pejorative ethnic connotation and a relation to machine work.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Efn The name was also applied to members of the subculture partly because of their characteristic greased-back hair.Шаблон:Sfn

Origins of the subculture and rise to popularity

The greaser subculture may have emerged in the post–World War II era among the motorcycle clubs and street gangs of the late 1940s in the United States, though it was certainly established by the 1950s, when it was increasingly adopted by ethnic urban youth.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Efn The original greasers (often coming from “ethnic” backgrounds) were aligned by a feeling of working class and lower class disillusionment with American popular culture either through a lack of economic opportunity in spite of the post-war boom or a marginalization enacted by the general domestic shift towards homogeneity in the 1950s.Шаблон:Sfn Most were male, usually ethnic or white working-class outsiders, and were often interested in hot rod culture or motorcycling.Шаблон:Sfn A handful of middle-class youth were drawn to the subculture for its rebellious attitude.Шаблон:Sfn

The weak structural foundation of the greasers can be attributed to the subculture's origins in working-class youth possessing few economic resources with which to participate in American consumerism.Шаблон:Sfn Greasers, unlike motorcyclists, did not explicitly have their own interest clubs or publications. As such, there was no business marketing geared specifically towards the group.Шаблон:Sfn Their choice in clothing was largely drawn from a common understanding of the empowering aesthetic of working-class attire, rather than a cohesive association with similarly dressed individuals.Шаблон:Sfn Many greasers were in motorcycle clubs or in street gangs—and conversely, some gang members and bikers dressed like greasers—though such membership was not necessarily an inherent principle of the subculture.Шаблон:Sfn

Ethnically, original greasers were composed mostly of Italian Americans in the Northeast and Mexican American Chicanos in the Southwest. Since both of these groups were mostly olive skinned, the "greaser" label assumed a quasi-racial status that implied an urban, ethnic, lower-class masculinity and delinquency. This development led to an ambiguity in the racial distinction between poor Italian Americans and Puerto Ricans in New York City during the 1950s and 1960s.Шаблон:Sfn Greasers were also perceived as being predisposed to perpetrating sexual violence, evoking fear in middle-class males but also titillation in middle-class females.Шаблон:Sfn

Decline and modern incarnations

Though the television show American Bandstand helped to "sanitize" the negative image of greasers in the 1960s and 1970s, sexual promiscuity was still seen as a key component of the modern character.Шаблон:Sfn By the mid-1970s, the greaser image had become a quintessential part of 1950s nostalgia and cultural revival.Шаблон:Sfn

Culture

Fashion

The most notable physical characteristic of greasers was the greased-back hairstyles they fashioned for themselves through use of hair products such as pomade or petroleum jelly, which necessitated frequent combing and reshaping to maintain.Шаблон:Sfn Males sported coiffures adopted from early rock 'n' roll and rockabilly performers such as Elvis Presley, among them the Folsom, Pompadour, Elephant's trunk, and Duck's ass, while females commonly backcombed, coiffed, or teased their hair.Шаблон:Sfn

Male greasers typically wore loose work pants such as cotton twill trousers, common among the working class; dark slacks, or dark blue Levi's jeans, widely popular among all American youth in the 1950s. The latter were often cuffed over black or brown leather boots,Шаблон:Sfn including steel-toed boots, engineer or Harness boots, combat boots, work boots, and (especially in the Southwest) cowboy boots. Other footwear choices included Chuck Taylor All-Stars, pointed Italian dress shoes, brothel creepers, and winklepickers.Шаблон:Sfn Male shirts were typically solid black or white T-shirts, ringer T-shirts,Шаблон:Efn Italian knit collared shirts, unbuttoned shirts with sleeveless undershirts underneath, or sometimes just sleeveless undershirts or tank tops (which would have been retailed as underwear). Choices of outerwear included denim or leather jackets (including Perfecto motorcycle jackets). Female greaser dress included leather jackets and risque clothing, such as tight and cropped capris and pedal pushers (broadly popular during the time period).Шаблон:Sfn

Music tastes

In the early 1950s, there was significant greaser interest in doo-wop, a genre of African-American music from the industrial cities of the Northeast that had disseminated to mainstream American music through Italian American performers.Шаблон:Sfn Greasers were heavily associated with the culture surrounding rock n' roll, a musical genre that had induced feelings of a moral panic among older middle-class generations during the mid-to-late 1950s, to whom greasers epitomized the connection between rock music and juvenile delinquency professed by several important social and cultural observers of the time.Шаблон:Sfn

Portrayal in media and popular culture

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Greaser revival look in 1974

• The first cinematic representation of the greaser subculture was the 1953 film The Wild One.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Rp
• The music group Sha-Na-Na, formed in the late 1960s, models their onstage presence on New York City greasers (the band members themselves were mostly Ivy Leaguers).
• The 1967 critically-acclaimed young adult novel The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton told the story of a gang of greasers, and was controversial upon release due to its depiction of gang violence. The film adaptation of The Outsiders was released in 1983 and directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
• The 1971 American musical and subsequent 1978 film Grease centers around greasers.
• The 1973 film American Graffiti by George Lucas has a greaser with the character of John Milner.
• Character Fonzie from the American TV show Happy Days is a stereotypical greaser who was frequently seen on his motorcycle, wore a leather jacket, and typified the essence of cool, in contrast to his circle of friends.
• Characters Leonard "Lenny" Kosnowski and Andrew "Squiggy" Squiggman from the American sitcom Laverne & Shirley, a spin-off of Happy Days.
• The 1990 John Waters film Cry-Baby is a camp reminiscence of Baltimore greasers during the 1950s.
• The 2006 video game Bully featured a social hierarchy that included a greaser clique.
• The 2008 Steven Spielberg and George Lucas film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has the character of Mutt Williams who is portrayed a greaser.
• In many Stephen King stories, members of the subculture are portrayed as bullies or psychopaths brandishing switchblades, such as in "Sometimes They Come Back" (1975).

Similar subcultures

• Rockers, in the United Kingdom
• Teddy Boy, a contemporary but different subculture in the United Kingdom
• Nozem, in the Netherlands
• Raggare, in Sweden
• Råner, in Norway
• Bodgies and widgies, in Australia and New Zealand
• Bōsōzoku, in Japan
• Halbstarke, in Germany, Austria and Switzerland
• Guido, similarly associated with Italian-Americans and featuring similar clothing signifiers
• Gadesh, in Baku, Azerbaijan

References

• Шаблон:Cite book
• Шаблон:Cite book
• Шаблон:Cite book
• Шаблон:Cite book
• Шаблон:Cite web
• Шаблон:Cite book