NATURISTS, punks, gamers and modern-day witches - the UK's subculture scene is thriving with 56% of the population involved in a subculture according to new research by leading research and planning agency The Nursery.
Conducted online during lockdown, the research asked 1,800 UK adults a series of questions designed to reveal the depth, variety and motivations of subcultures in the UK.
Going beyond the mainstream, the study is a rare glimpse into an often secret and misunderstood world.
Gaming is the UK’s biggest and most popular subculture that has seen a massive surge during lockdown with women accounting for 50% of the new adopters.
Already a £5.7bn market in the UK – one-in-eight identify as being part of a gaming subculture – and they’re in good company.
Snoop Dogg, Lady Ga Ga, Jack Black and Daniel Craig are just a handful of A-lister’s who have revealed a penchant for gaming and its popularity shows no signs of slowing down. 18% of those surveyed saying that they have taken up gaming since lockdown began with two-thirds stating that they will keep it up.
Role-play gaming is also gaining momentum (10th most popular subculture in the UK) as is Cosplay – which attracts a younger female following.
Modern-day witchcraft (Wicca) is gaining momentum in the UK with 3% of those surveyed identifying as being part of the pagan subculture.
Attracted to its embracing of feminism, spirituality, mindfulness and environmentalism - modern-day witchcraft is attracting a growing following of mainly younger women.
As a sector, religion and spirituality (not including mainstream religions) account for almost one-fifth (18%) of all subcultures in the UK.
Straight Edge, Satanism and Non-monogamy are on the subculture fringes but are growing in numbers.
Born out of hardcore Punk in the early 80s (7th on our list of top 10 UK subcultures) - Straight Edge was a radical response to the drug and alcohol use associated with Punk – with Straight Edge Punks choosing to abstain from booze, drugs and tobacco.
Over the past four decades it’s morphed into different forms with today’s substance-free younger generation keeping it alive by ‘claiming edge’.
Satanism is a religious subculture that, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t believe in hell or heaven – but is rather a ‘church’ of atheists who are gaining numbers globally due to its non-judgemental, liberal stance.
Non-monogamy is also a growing subculture (and part of the non-formative sexual practices umbrella group) that includes swingers, people in open relationships and those that are polyamorous.
As a sector, non-normative sexual practices account for 8% of all subcultures in the UK.
And the motivation for being part of a subculture?
'Belonging' is the main driver (44%) followed by 'the opportunity to be creative' (41%) and 'meeting new people' (40%).
Top 10 subcultures in the UK: • Gaming • Religious groups (not mainstream religions) • Hippy • Spirituality • Political movements • Restrictive diets (e.g. paleo, vegan etc) • Punk • Bikers • Goth • Role-play gaming Top 5 ‘fringe’ UK subcultures: • Steampunk • Off-grid living • Straight Edge • Incel • Non-monogamy
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