Research Paper
MeeM
articles.doc1-
Thompson, William, ‘Don’t Call Me ‘‘Biker Chick’’: Women Motorcyclists Redefining Deviant Identity’, Deviant Behavior, 2012, 33: 58–71. Print
Thompson, a professor in sociology and criminal justice and an author of a number of books has offered very clear insights into how the society perceives the bikers culture and the reaction from the bikers themselves. In this article, Thompson shows that the media has successfully been able to stereotype the bikers and the women in this league as feminists and sex objects. Their roles in the sect has been viewed in a demeaning perspective. However, as Thompson shows in this article, most women who engage in this sport have a deviant mentality that is designed to change the way the society perceives them. They want to ride their own bikes or others’ just to experience the thrill associated with the same and prove that they can also be able to dispel the pressures associated with negativity associated with bikers. According to these ‘deviant chicks’, riding of motorcycles is largely taking root among the modern society and as thus, it should not be stereotyped or limited to the Biker’s culture.
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Thompson, William, ‘Pseudo-deviance and the ‘‘new biker’’ subculture: hogs, blogs, leathers, and lattes’, Deviant Behavior, 2009, 30: 89-114. Print
In his second article, Thompson has also gone deeper in making the people understand that the culture of bikers is slowly being eroded by a new breed of ‘bikers’. The new form of bikers involve people who do biking just for the thrill of it. Thompson shows that even though the ‘new bikers’ demonstrate qualities that are distinctly different from the other ‘outlawed bikers’ there are certain characteristics which have persisted. Riding in throngs, defiant attitudes and a noted lack of concern about what people perceive of them are among those persistent characteristics. However, the new bikers go around having their business mainly because of the fun they derive from the same. They do not have any close cultural affiliations and norms that guide them. Thompson notes that even if these two cultures may seem similar, the ‘new bikers’ do not exhibit the intricate details that the other ‘outlawed bikers’ have. He shows that the society should be able to treat these people differently contrary to the common perception by the media that all bikers are outlaws and outcasts in the society.
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Austin, D. Mark, Gagne Patricia, Orend Angela. Commodification and popular imagery of the biker in American culture: the journal of popular culture. 2010. Vol. 43(5). Pp.942-963
Available at:
The authors of this journal are writers of popular cultures. In this article they have written about the commodification of the biker culture in America. The bikers’ culture has an economic aspect. This article is relevant to this topic because it addresses the economic aspect of the bikers’ culture. The authors describe the commodification of motorbike culture and how it is trending. The culture has attracted investors who would wish to benefit from motorbikes because it has become very popular in America.
This article is useful to this topic because it shows that biker culture is varied and that one aspect of the culture is that it has evolved and it is being used for economic purposes. Biker culture refers to motorcycle clubs or gangs. These are groups of people who love motorbikes. These groups are normally linked with types of motorbikes that they have, riding and regional clubs. When dealing with motorcycle riders, it is very difficult to pin down one particular culture. They are varied and they include motorbike enthusiasts, motorbike ministries and lifestyle motorcyclists’ culture. Motorbike enthusiasts include the manufacturers of riding clubs, regional clubs, rights organization and sports clubs. The manufacturers of these clubs value motorbikes and always join hands to come up with one type of motorcycles that they will use for their club. They are the investors in motorbikes and they feel that they need to gain economically from motorbikes. They provide the initial capital for the clubs and support them with the aim of gaining financially. The enthusiasts always have great passion for riding and the whole culture of motorbikes. However, they do not participate in races but rather, they organize the races. They always see them through so that the races become a success.
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Barker, Thomas. Crimes of the Big Four Motorcycle Gangs. Journal of criminal justice. 2009. Vol. 37(2). Pp. 174-179
Available at:
< http://econpapers.repec.org/article/eeejcjust/v_3a37_3ay_3a_3ai_3a2_3ap_3a174-179.htm >
The author of this article talks about the main gangs in motorbike culture. This article is relevant to the topic because he is able to identify two groups of motorbike riders. The conventional and deviant groups are the two motorbike groups. He notes that the conventional groups are not involved in criminal activities
This article is helpful to this topic because it tries to differentiate the two groups of motorbike riders. Motorbike clubs, which are conventional, help to improve the standards and safety of riders. They advocate for the use of helmets to avoid serious injuries or even death during accidents. Regional clubs of bikers are those that are found in a specific region because riders from that region want to have a sense of belonging. The ministries are more of a combination between the enthusiasts and lifestyle motorcyclists. They include associations and riding clubs that are usually spread all over the country. These are the groups of riders who come together to spread the culture of motorbike’s. They also handle the affairs of motorbikes on behalf the riders. They are usually the voice of the riders. However, the ministries are varied. Riders who support safety on the roads form these groups. They are bike riders who use the riding as a recreational activity. The associations make them to have control and educate other riders on how to be safe on the roads. They also organize races and participate in them. They usually come together from a particular region to form regional groups. These conventional groups do not engage in any criminal activity. This is because they only use motorbikes as recreational tools. They have other jobs that they do. However, there are other groups who engage in criminal activities. They normally form gangs. The main gangs in America are “Bandidos”, “Hells angels” and the “Pagans”. They are all motorbike clubs with international connections. They are mostly involved in criminal activities.
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Hopper, Colombus.B, Moore, Johnny. Hell on Wheels: The outlaw motorcycle gangs. Journal of American culture. Vol.6(2). 2004. Pp. 58-64
Available at:
< http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1542-734X.1983.0602_58.x/abstract >
These two authors write about the motorbike culture. Their major focus is on motorbike gangs. They describe motorbike groups and their objectives. This article is relevant to this paper because the two authors talk about the outlaw gangs in motorbike culture. They describe in detail about these outlaw gangs.
This article is helpful to this topic because it relates motorbike culture with outlaw gangs. In motorbike culture, there are those who are called outlaw riders. These are normally offenders because they do not observe the rules set on roads. The outlaws usually form gangs and cause a lot of mayhem on roads. This is because they believe that they are the road warriors. Most of the time , the outlaws always find themselves being arrested by the police for violation of traffic rules and other offences on the road. The outlaws are considered to be illegal gangs. This is because they engage in criminal activities, ranging from robbery to selling drugs. These outlaw gangs use women to camouflage their activities. This is because they are less likely to be suspected to be criminals as compared to men. The outlaw gangs are usually spread all over the country. The gangs have their rules which every member has to follow. The organization of these groups is that they are always affiliated to a mother gang. The mother gangs are the ones, which give rise to the other smaller outlaw gangs. The mother gangs usually govern these small gangs. Therefore, the small outlaw gangs must follow the strict traditions of the mother gang. Their activities mainly revolve around crime and drug selling.
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Rogers, Jim. Investment Bikers: On the road with Jim Rogers. Kirkus reviews. 1994. Vol.1 (12). Pp. 120- 130
Rogers, a retired millionaire from Wall Street at the age of 37, set off to tour the world with his motorcycle. He is an enthusiast who wants to view the economic situation around the world in reference to motorbikes. Rogers’ article is relevant with the theme bikers’ culture. This is because he is a motorcycle enthusiast and tours the world with his motorbike.
Rogers’ article shows that biker culture is varied and that one aspect of the culture is being a motorbike enthusiast. Biker culture refers to motorcycle clubs or gangs. These are groups of people who love motorbikes. These groups are normally linked with types of motorbikes that they have, riding and regional clubs. When dealing with motorcycle riders, it is very difficult to pin down one particular culture. They are varied and they include motorbike enthusiasts, motorbike ministries and lifestyle motorcyclists’ culture. Motorbike enthusiasts include the manufacturers of riding clubs, regional clubs, rights organization and sports clubs. The manufacturers of these clubs value motorbikes and always join hands to come up with one type of motorcycles that they will use for their club. They are the investors in motorbikes and they feel that they need to gain economically from motorbikes. They provide the initial capital for the clubs and support them with the aim of gaining financially. The enthusiasts always have great passion for riding and the whole culture of motorbikes. However, they do not participate in races but rather, they organize the races. They always see them through so that the races become a success.
