SUBCULTURES IN TAIWAN

​另类文化在台湾

Sabrina Dang

汤雅文

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What?

For my final project I want to explore certain youth subcultures in Taiwan to understand how people my age express their individuality here. The subcultures I plan to explore are: street dance, alternative/underground music, niche fashion (like goth, punk, street wear) and vintage clothing. Subcultures are defined as less mainstream movements that bring a smaller group of people together, and I think they are very important for building communities which usually wouldn’t have large support networks. 

在台湾我想探索 (tan4 suo3 - explore) 台湾的另类 (ling4 lei4 - alternative) 文化, 比如 (bi3 ru2 - for example)，街舞 (jie1 wu3 - street dance)，另类的音乐，时尚 (shi2 shang4 - fashion), 还老式衣服。我觉得另类文化不但很有意思，而且最重要。

Where, When, Who, Why? 

For street dance, I plan to go to the Metro Street Dance Competition which is taking place July 27 and 28 at Metro Da’an Park Station Plaza. I myself am part of the waacking and voguing dance community in Vancouver. Those styles of dance have played an important role in bringing people together, especially from marginalised and LGBTQ+ backgrounds, which is why I am very curious to see what the culture is like in Taipei; what kinds of people does street dance unite here, and how does it help people build a sense of solidarity and community? Is street dance in Taipei just as popular with the LGBTQ+ community? 

我会去Metro Street Dance Festival下个星期六和星期日看街舞的比赛 (bi3 sai4 - competition）。 在温哥华我常常去跳舞，我觉得在温哥华的街舞文化为LGBTQ+人最重要，所以我想学台湾的街舞文化怎么样。

For underground music, I plan to go to less mainstream clubs like un:understand or attend a concert at The Wall. There is a concert at The Wall on July 24th that is marketed as “house music for introverts”. I think underground music is very related to street dancing, so these topics might overlap, but nonetheless I think it will be interesting to meet people my age at these less popular clubs and learn what draws them to certain types of music and venues. 

我会去没有名的迪厅 (di2 ting1 - nightclub)，听听另类的音乐，问人们为什么他们喜欢那音乐。七月二十四日在The Wall有音乐会，我买了照片。我也想做很多朋友！ :) 

For niche fashion, I will go back to Wufenpu and talk to the owner of a shop called “Yamigang” who is very nice; he gave me his business card! The store sells very original and unique punk/goth fashion with Japanese anime influence. It is rare to find stores like that in Vancouver; usually in Canada if you want to buy niche fashion, you need to shop online. I would like to learn more about how common it is for people to wear niche fashion in Taiwan, if it is more socially acceptable, and what factors make it more accessible here. I think fashion plays a very important role in helping people express their individuality. 

上个星期六我去五分埔看了很多有意思的衣服。在YAMIGANG商店我认识一位售货员，他给我他的名片 (ming2 pian4 - business card)， 所以我会来他的商店问他在台湾的另类时尚怎么样？在加拿大买很有意思的衣服很麻烦。我想学为什么在台湾买另类的衣服比在加拿大容易多了。

Finally, to explore the vintage clothing culture in Taiwan, I plan to attend Soap’s Vintage Fair which is happening on July 20th. Not only is vintage clothing a great opportunity for unique self expression, but it is also better for the environment, and I know that Taiwan cares about environmental conservation and reducing waste. In Vancouver, vintage clothing stores are very popular; I would like to know what vintage stores are like in Taiwan. Is there a specific area with lots of vintage stores like in Vancouver? What motivates people to buy vintage clothes here? 

七月二十日我想去Soap‘s Vintage Fair，是老式衣服的大会。老式衣服不但真别致 (bie2 zhi4 - unique)，而且很绿色 (lu4 se4 - environmental friendly)。在温哥华老式商店很多，在台北一样吗？我想知道为什么台湾人喜欢老式衣服。

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