Introduction

Essay Excerpt

The well hard Skinheads were the precise opposite of the flower-powered Hippies in both style and attitude. Instead of a cacophony of colour, ethnic jewellery and fly about hair they presented themselves to the world in a cool functional minimalism which Le Corbusier couldn’t have faulted. Instead of the Hippies’ often fluffy philosophy of ‘love & peace’, the Skins were right in your face and never fearful of confrontation. In their steel-toed DMs they certainly looked like they were purpose built for aggression and when genuine instances of ‘Hippy-bashing’, ‘Queer-bashing’ and ‘Paki[stani]-bashing’ were reported it was hard for the British public to give the Skinheads the benefit of the doubt and consider the possibility that not all members of this new tribe were as aggressive as they looked.