Greaser (subculture)

For other uses, see Greaser (disambiguation).

For the British motorcycling subculture of the 1960s, see Rocker (subculture).

North American greaser of Quebec, Canada, c. 1960

History

Etymology of the term "greaser"

The word "greaser" originated in the 19th century in the United States as a derogatory label for poor laborers, specifically those of Mexican or Italian descent. The term was later used to refer to mechanics. 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 connotation and a relation to machine work. The name was applied to members of the subculture because of their characteristic greased-back hair.

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 gangs of the late 1940s, though it was certainly established by the 1950s. The original greasers were aligned by a feeling of 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. Most were male, usually ethnic and working class, and held interest in hotrod culture or motorcycling. A handful of middle-class youth were drawn to the subculture for its rebellious attitude.

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. 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. Their choice in clothing was largely drawn from a common understanding of the empowering aesthetic of working-class attire, rather than cohesive association with similarly dressed individuals. Some 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. Regardless, greasers were often associated with and assumed by the mainstream public to be members of street gangs (often ethnic-based gangs) or motorcycle gangs.

Ethnically, original greasers were composed mostly of Italian Americans in the Northeast and Chicanos in the Southwest. Since both of these peoples 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 in the 1950s and 1960s. Greasers were also perceived as being predisposed to perpetrating sexual violence, stoking fear among middle-class males and a degree of arousal among middle-class females.

Decline and modern incarnations

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

Fashion, style, and culture

File:Young greaser.jpg

Young greaser in the Southeastern United States, 1956

The most notable physical characteristic of greasers was the greased hairstyles they fashioned through the use of hair products such as pomade or petroleum jelly, which necessitated frequent combing and reshaping to maintain. 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 or teased their hair.

Male greasers typically wore loose cotton twill trousers, common among the working class, or dark blue Levi's jeans, widely popular among all American youth in the 1950s. The latter were often cuffed over ankle-high black or brown leather boots, including cowboy, steel-toed engineer, or harness styles. Other footwear choices included Chuck Taylor All-Stars and brothel creepers. Male tops were typically solid black or white T-shirts, ringer T-shirts, or sometimes 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).

Music tastes

In the early 1950s, there was significant greaser interest in doo-wop, a black genre of music from the industrial cities of the Northeast that had disseminated to mainstream American music through Italian American performers. 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.

Portrayal in media and popular culture

File:LA teens.jpg

Greaser revival look in 1974

The first cinematic representation of the greaser subculture was the 1953 film The Wild One.

Greasers are central characters in the 1960 film The Beatniks (which, despite the hasty renaming from its original title Sideburns and Sympathy, has nothing to do with beatniks), The phenomenon was given a more farcical treatment in the 1971 stage musical Grease (along with its 1978 film adaptation and 1982 sequel Grease 2), which drew its name from the subculture and was based on real-life Chicago Polish greasers in the late 1950s. The band Sha-Na-Na models their on-stage presence on New York City greasers (the band members themselves were mostly Ivy Leaguers).

See also

• Teddy Boy, a contemporary subculture in the United Kingdom
• Nozem, a similar subculture in the Netherlands