Motorcycle Subculture

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As the process of socialization was rather easy and enjoyable, my experiences before formally initiating the process of socialization were far from it. When I initially decided to pursue learning to ride a motorcycle and made my family aware of it, I was received with immediate rejection as my parents did not want me to ride a motorcycle whatsoever. Their reasoning was mainly because of the possible dangers that can arise when driving a motorcycle and how there is minimal safety in comparison to driving a car. Of course I disagreed with them, and with logical reasoning I was able to persuade them to let me ride a motorcycle. My pursuit of riding a motorcycle in my parents’ eyes was a sign of informal deviance, where I was not being obedient (complying to their authority) and decided to violate a norm and pursue a behavior that is contrary to their typical customs and being different. With this informal deviance, I was labeled with the stigma as a son who didn’t respect his parents. From a functionalist perspective, specifically Hirschi’s Social Control Theory, my deviant behavior is an indicator of weak bonds with my family since social bonds ultimately influence us to conform. But on the other hand, from the symbolic interactionist perspective, specifically James Q. Wilson’s Broken Window Theory, my deviant behavior is occurring because I’m in a disorganized environment, if I was in an environment that had social cues of no deviance being present at all, I wouldn’t pursue such behavior. Lastly, from the Conflict theory perspective, my deviant behavior is an indication of my parents who are “in power” defining deviance to suit their own needs. Since my deviant behavior in this case is highly subjective (level of deviance associated with motorcycle riding versus murder or drug use) the theory that best illustrates my situation is rather unclear.

Ultimately, deciding to pursue riding a motorcycle has been a wonderful decision. I am now part of a large subculture that looks out for one another and has their own unique way of behaving and I was able to fulfill my desire to have a unique and fun hobby. Although my behavior was temporarily labeled as deviant from my parents, even they have come to understand my pursuit of this hobby from my own perspective and position in society.