Bodhi Dog Toys At Unica Home Does your dog need a touch of zen? These clever dog toys come in designs like a lotus blossom, a koi fish, and bamboo. Check out the site for more funny dog toys. These range from $8.50-$15

Mod Mouse & Mat At BB Shopping I love the design of this! Whomever did it is mighty clever! The price is great enough for the mouse alone! Those clever brits... £9.99

Apostrophe chair & ottoman At Urbn If you're looking for new furniture for your home that isn't cluttered looking, I think this may be a good option for you...for a price. Although it's not cheap, just think about how long you'll own it! $250

Machine Age Bedspread At Urbn Having a bedspread like this can give a completely different feel to your room. Spend a little bit of money and get a world of difference! $32

Mod Peeptoes At Asia Jam I just discovered this site and they have so much cute stuff! I love these little black and white peep toe heels. They have a lot going for them, low heel, cute details, peep toes...Wonderful! $26

Herringbone Skirt At Urbn Urban Outfitters usually carries stuff that's way too expensive and not very nice looking...I do love this skirt though! I always look for cute skirts like this - great for a more casual mini-skirt look, since it doesn't sit at the waist. Team this up with short sleeved sweaters or knit tops. $19.99

Metro 7 Mary Janes At Walmart Okay, okay...hear me out first. I randomly stumbled across these online, and was quite surprised to see that freaking walmart is selling something so cute. Crazy, isn't it? I rarely go there, but I may just to check these out. They're adorable! and only $17

Coral A-line Skirt At Plasticland I just recently started a new job, and I have to dress business casual now...which means a lot of skirts. Wearing tight pencil skirts all day can really start to suck after a while, so I've been wearing a lot of a-line skirts. Comfy, but still not over the top. I like this one a lot. I don't own it, but I'll definitely look into it! $42

Chili Pepper Jacket At Plasticland Falling into the trap of a black jacket is so easy...Don't do it! Just because it's cold outside doesn't mean you have to dress in a mundane manner. Try to get something OTHER than black this year, like this bright red jacket! $102

Steady Cardigan At Angry, Young, and Poor It's getting colder once again, and I know most of the country is starting to bundle up. You can still be cute while staying warm, and this cardigan by Steady is absolutely adorable. Comes in pink and black. $31

Spanx Reversible Tights At Spanx I haven't tried spanx, but I've heard nothing but rave reviews about them. I thought that these were pretty cool (I like things that do double duty) and since it'll be colder out soon, some of you may need these! if you get them, comment on here and let me know how they work! $32

The Thriftshopper Is a great site that you can plug in your zip code and get thrift store reviews for your area! It also has stores' hours, and locations. Outside of that feature, the site has tons of great news. Great if you're traveling and need to find where to go in that area.

Vintage prints At Pymca Pymca gallery has put up prints of some photos in their gallery. Although these are not cheap, I do think that high quality large prints make a huge statement in a room. Definitely worth it! Check out their gallery for more! Starting at £80.00.

Rocksteady Shirt At Toni Tye Photographer Toni Tye has put some of her photos of the height of the two tone era online. These photos are FANTASTIC. Behind the scenes of the fans, the musicians, the shows...Shows a great glimpse of an era gone by.

Sharp men's clothing At Brit Gear Brit Gear has all the traditional men's wear one could ever want - tonic suits, harringtons, crombies, hats, ben sherman, fred perry, and more. These guys know how to stay sharp, head on over and check out their stock!

I just moved into a new place last month and it's ALL tile. Tile isn't necessarily bad, but I do like having a little cushion for my feet! While looking for an affordable, attractive area rug, I kept coming up with items that were way out of budget or butt-ugly. So, I sat down and thought about what I could do. I didn't want wool, cause my dog finds wool delicious. I did want something modern looking, simple, and easy to clean...What was I to do?! I came up with this little idea after seeing something that inspired me on HGTV. You can put so many spins on this! * if you want a specific color, you can get white rugs and dye them cheaply with rit dye. * You can experiment with different shaped rugs - circles sewn together would be so 60's. * You can use multiple colored rugs for a louder look... The possibilities are endless!

Step One First, I bought two rugs at Ikea that were actually in the bathroom section. They're $9.99 each, nubby texture, and they have a sticky bottom, so they won't slip on tile! Perfect! These come in several colors, too!

Step Two I took some random embroidery thread (I used white, it doesn't show through) and threaded it through a needle. Then, I simply whipstitched the rugs together. You could make an area rug or a runner out of these types of rugs. Make sure to knot your knots tightly!

TA-DA!!!!! Flip it over, shake it out, even iron the seam if you'd like. Once you shake it out and wear it in a bit more, the seam won't be as noticeable. You've got an area rug for $20!

Pegged Mod Trouser At EC Star Another great guy's item from EC star. They've had some great pieces come out lately, so you guys may want to check on other stuff that they're doing! $56

Solid Mod Jacket (aka, a harrington) At EC Star EC star has their version of a harrington in three colors. Ya know, I actually really like these. They seem a little bit more tailored and it's great to see something with more detailing than other harringtons I see over and over. $50

British Military Cardigan Sweater At Sportsman's Guide I know some guys who aren't into cardigans at all, but it's good to have a little variety, right? This one is military issue, so you know it'll last for forever. $14.97

Selecta Shirt At Crates & Apparel Another cool shirt from Crate & Apparel - simple "selecta" shirt with some records. You know, maroon on guys is very under rated. $15

Fresh Jive Lee Perry Shirt At The Giant Peach My friend Jacob gave me a heads up to this awesome shirt. Thanks, Jacob! You can never go wrong with a giant lee perry!! $24

Tweed Scally Cap At Lids Who knew that lids carried nice hats? I just thought it was for baseball hats and whatnot. I don't know if their stores carry hats like this, but it won't hurt to try. $28.79

Ben Sherman Gingham Top At Style Rocket I know you guys have trouble finding nice, classic ben shermans these days, so I'm trying my hardest to find good ones for you! Style Rocket has quite a few - but this classic red one stood out. It's a little expensive, but it'll be well worth it! $59

Trixie Trouser At EC Star I haven't tried these on, but they look like a great pair of classic pegged trousers. You ladies know how hard it is to find a decent pair, right? If any of you has a pair of these, let me know how they fit! $42

Party Dress At EC Star It's so hard finding a neutral, non-crazy looking party dress that is versatile enough for several occasions. I think that this is one of those dresses - a bolero, a cardigan, or different heels can all give this dress a different look, which is wonderful. $40

Geo Coat At EC Star Another great coat - mod inspired coat by EC star comes in three different colors. Green & Cream, Monochromatic reds, and classic black and white. On sale now for $80

Houndstooth Coat At Fred Flare Winter is on it's way again - this coat reminds me of a Ben Sherman coat I missed out on last season, but I may have another chance with this one this year! A very flattering cut and it's only $95

Hush Hush, Sweet Garter At Hips & Curves You can never have too many garters...trust me! I don't wear a pencil skirt without one of these because they're so multi functional - hold up your stockings, flatten out your bits, and if you tuck your shirt into it, you won't get that weird tucked in shirt thing that makes you look pregnant or bloated. A lot for a little $28.75

Soda Loafers At Cutesy Girl These are listed as currently out of stock, but I'll list them anyway in case if they come in stock soon. Simple little casual loafers, great for work or casual shows.

Classified Skim Flats At Cutesy Girl Another cute pair from cutesy girl - Summer is on it's way out, so you may want to buy these soon so you can wear them this season! Check out the other colors available, too! $5.99

Michael Antonio Scramble Wedges At Cutesy Girl Cutesy girl sounds sickeningly sweet, but they have a great variety of shoes that are sorted by color, size, style, designer...These are more or so on the expensive side of the stock, but they're very cute. $41.99

Isaac Mizrahi Trapunto Dress At Target Isaac Mizrahi has started doing a line of bridal wear only available online at Target. There is surprisingly a TON of gorgeous, affordable stuff on there! This little party dress comes in a couple of colors, and there are others that have similar cuts available as well. Check out this line, I think you'll be surprised! $34.99

Alia Trench At Karmaloop Fall is right around the corner, and those days are going to start getting chilly! If you're in the market for a light jacket, now's a great time to look before everyone heads to the stores at the same time and snatches up all the good ones! This cute little mac has classic, timeless styling and comes in a neutral navy, so it should go with just about everything! $45

Blik Decals At Blik If you live in a rental, chances are, you can't paint. You're stuck in a ho-hum white box. May as well be in a mental institution, right? Wrong! Blik has a vast array of these awesome decals that are completely removable. Prices, colors, and designs vary! $18.99

Kartell Cabinets At Unica Home Classic 60's style storage cabinets but remade! No more searching! These come in red, white, and silver. Just having these alone can take a regular room and give it an authentic 60's feel.

Fender all-in-one keychain At Think Geek Fender has what will be every guitar players best friend - a keychain that is also a tuner AND a bottle opener. The best multi tasker EVER. $6.99-$9.99

Mario Effects Keychains At Think Geek HOORAY STUFF THAT ANNOYS PEOPLE BUT ENTERTAINS YOU! I'm a firm believer that life needs more sound effects. I had a "wah wah" bugle on my phone and a slide whistle in my purse in case if anything happened...no joke...I think I need these to round out my annoying sound effects. I think you do, too. $4.99

Arrow Coat Hangers At Night Lab Don't let your guests be confused as to where to hang their belongings...the arrow points right to it. Oversized and unique, these are freaking awesome and unexpected. $12

Suitcase record player At Fred Flare I hear so many people who are getting into collecting records say that they want an affordable turntable. It's always good to have something that doesn't take up too much space, won't set you back much....and something that has style! This has one it all. $99

Dog Keyboard Rest At Fred Flare This is way toooooo freaking cute. I don't know about you guys, but I use my dog to rest my feet on, my head on...she's a great pillow! Why not have a little fake one to rest your wrists on while typing away? Give your real dog a break! $16

The past year or so of my life has found me in some interesting financial pickles. Although these have not been very fun, I’ve taken the opportunities to become more creative with what little I have, and how to stretch it even further than I was before. After many harsh realizations of how little money I really do have, I was shocked into a budget. This was hard, but now I’m realizing that it’s for the best, and I’m way ahead of most people my age financially, even though I’m making way less than them.

I was quite accustomed to splitting the bills with my ex-boyfriend…however, when things went sour, and we broke up, I was the one who ended up keeping the apartment while he left. This doubled my financial burden every month, and this was a major shock to me. I was still spending as though I only had to pay half of what I actually was. Stupid, stupid, stupid me. This was a hard lesson learned in itself – not only about relationships, but with my own personal finances. I am thankful, though, as it’s forced me to be more creative and to take new financial routes and risks.

SAVING

Regardless of how much money you make, start saving now! Whether you make minimum wage or $30/hr, saving is the smartest thing you can do with your money. Try to find a high yield savings account or a money market account with a high APY (annual percentage yield). If you put $5 or $50 in it a month, it’s something. This will accrue interest, and grow over time. Your money is making money for you. I started out with a few hundred dollars less than a year ago, and I have $20 taken out of my account automatically every single month. I don’t even notice. It does it underneath my nose. Now, I’ve gained nearly $200 since then from the bits of $20 and interest. How cool is that? I can raise the amount taken out or make individual deposits. If I ever get money for an occasion, I deposit it in my bank account, and then transfer it to my money market account. This is excess money that I know I’ll do something stupid with, so I’m putting it to good use instead of buying a records or dinner out. I’ll be very glad I have this money set aside in case of an emergency, or possibly later on when I’m looking to retire or something. I don’t plan on touching it. Take my advice on this – you’ll be happy you did. Starting a nest egg as soon as possible is the best thing you can do for yourself later on. I know many of our parents do not have much savings, and it’s sad that people are retiring later and later in life. Do you want to work until you’re 80? I don’t think so.

WHAT ARE YOU SPENDING?

When I realized I was living outside of my means, I started a strict budget. I started this by saving my receipts and realizing what I was spending my money on. My grocery bills were equal to what I was spending on clothes. My ebay bills were even higher. I was spending more on records than food. Yikes! So, to keep myself in check, I started using expensr, an online money management tool that makes keeping track of your spending painless. At the end of each week, I take all my saved receipts and plug them into this to see how much I’m spending each month compared to my paychecks. This has worked quite well to make sure I’m living within my means.

It’s so easy to swipe a card and not think about it. If you want a more extreme budget, stop using your debit card. Set an amount for how much you want to spend for a week or month. Take that out of the ATM in cash, and only spend cash. Forking over cash and seeing how much you have left is a physical reminder to stay within your means.

LIVING SITUATION

When you split utilities, it’s not a huge deal. However, when you live alone, you have to be a bit more conscious, as a $150 electric bill SUCKS. So, I started looking into how I could save on utilities and my living situation.

Be more environmentally friendly. It’s simple, good for the environment, and cheaper for you.

Places like Ikea and some hardware stores have options to lower your utilities. Although they may be a tad more expensive, they’ll save you more than you’re spending. I’m a big fan of Ikea’s light bulbs. Although they’re not as bright as conventional light bulbs, they last years, and really do make a difference on your bill.

• Try going for energy star appliances if you’re in the market.
• Lower the temperature on your fridge & freezer.
• Adjust the temperature on your thermostat, especially when you’re not home (or turn it off completely when you’re not home). In the summer, I keep mine at 79*f at almost all times. If I get warm, I turn on the fan. The A/C sucks up a TON of energy, and I want cool air in the room I’m in, not all over the house.
• Run energy-sucking appliances outside of peak hours. Write down peak hours per season on a sticky note and stick them to these appliances as a reminder. Do your laundry during non-peak hours. Do it back to back. Dryers are more efficient when ran back to back, as they don’t have to heat up to a certain temperature over and over.
• Maintain your electronics and appliances. Clean them out, fix them, get them checked up on. This will save you money down the line, and will keep them more energy efficient.
• Unplug things!! Everything that's plugged into an active outlet is taking up a little bit of electricity. Electronics are huge culprits. Do you really need 50 LED clocks going in your house at once? Think about it - you're paying for that little clock to glow all day. It's not necessary. Even things that aren’t physically showing they’re sucking energy are. Put things in power strips, and have them attached to on/off switches to a room. This will save you tons, and it’s easier to turn everything off when you leave the room.
• Put your computer on sleep mode. This is very easy, and can save you about $30 on your electric bill – and save your computer! All you have to do (if you’re running windows) is go into control panel, click “Display”, and go on the “Screen Saver” tab. There should be a monitor area, click the “power” button. On the “power schemes” tab, there’s a field to put your system on standby. I have mine to go to standby after 15 minutes. You can also manually put your system on standby by clicking “turn off computer” on your start menu and clicking “standby”. This doesn’t affect your computer at all, but it saves a TON of energy and wear on your computer.
• Use fans and space heaters instead of kicking on the A/C or heater. You really don’t need the whole house to be one temperature. Also, if you’re putting them on when you’re sleeping, or you’re on a tight budget, get one with a timer on it.

Also, if you’re in the market of moving, try to find a place that includes extras, such as utilities, internet, cable, whatever. This can cut off a tremendous amount of your utilities. Say you spend $100 on your electric. Get a place that includes utilities, that’s like saving $1200 a year, if not more. If your rent is about $700 a month, that’s nearly two months free rent. See where I’m going? These places are out there, you just have to look hard. It’s really worth it in the long run. Try looking for guest houses in peoples’ back yards (which can be rather nice!) or duplexes on craigslist. Let everyone you know that you’re looking for someplace new. You may come up in conversation and they’ll find a place for you!

BEING SMART

Nothing is more empowering than learning something new each day. I don’t care how long you’ve been in school – learn something new each day. Being smart about living your life and how to get things done is priceless. If you do things correctly the first time, that technically saves you money, as “time is money”.

Lately, I’ve been really getting into blogs that have tidbits of very useful information. A few of my favorites are Lifehacker, The Consumerist, Design*Sponge, Ikea Hacker, Not Martha, and occasionally, Jezebel. There are blogs about EVERYTHING out there if you just look. I’m discovering new ones all the time. I must tell you – I’ve learned a lot about saving money, achieving goals, managing my day job, and just general things to make life easier for me. Give ‘em a try. I have them assigned on days on my firefox’s morning coffee plugin (another great little thing that I learned about from a blog!)

Another piece of advice I have is GO TO SCHOOL. Going to school will earn you more money in the long run, and with the way the job market in the United States is going, you’ll pretty much have to have a degree to get a decent job by the time you’re middle aged. Going to school will open new experiences, new people, and new opportunities (ahem, dream job through your internship?) to you. I was only meaning to take off a year between high school and college, but here it is three years later and I’m in the middle of getting my FAFSA processed. Look for loans, grants, and financial aid. There IS a way out there you can manage it – just look into it and DO IT. It’ll be worth it in the long run. High school graduates – DON’T WAIT!! It’s harder to get back than you think.

Do your research – on everything. With the blessing of sweet lady internet, you can know everything about anything you want. I always do my research on things before jumping into them…Anything I’ll be buying, anywhere I’ll be going, I scour the internet for the best deals on flights, recommendations on jobs, places to go, restaurants to go to, coupons for everything….it’s so easy, it just takes you a little time. Going into any sort of situation with some prior knowledge doesn’t hurt. Going into a store with a ton of coupons certainly never hurt your wallet.

LEISURE

If you’re one to travel, sign up for your favorite airline’s frequent flyer program. It may take a while to get something, but it’s worth it. There’s also all sorts of places online where you can earn free rewards by taking surveys (e-rewards and e-miles). It’s that easy. Also, there actually ARE decent credit cards out there that earn you miles. American Express has a great one. Check it out.

Also, if you're under the age of 25 or a student, check out STA travel. STA travel is awesome - I went in and booked, chatted with the agent, was generally friendly and he gave me a HARDCORE hookup and saved me over $120!!!!

If you patronize any mom & pop shop or any sort of artisan (like a tattoo artist), spread the word about them. Take their business cards. Let them know you support them and love what they do, and you’ll be a faithful patron of theirs. I let record shops, little clothing stores, and tattoo artists know that I fully support them. I do take their business cards and hand them out to people all the time. They notice this – trust me. I get discounts like mad from some places. My tattoo artist appreciated me recommending people, so he gave me great prices on my work. Record stores appreciate me sending people their way. I get a little discount here and there (and some stuff set aside). Little clothing stores let me know they’re putting in an order, and ask if I’d like anything in particular (at wholesale price). Be nice. Be supportive. Be their own personal sales rep. You’ll reap the benefits, and be promoting small business owners, which is great, especially if you like to “stick it to the man”.

If you have a pet – I only suggest taking them to the vet for their annual and if health issues arise. For shots and everything, there are clinics at petco and petsmart where you can get shots for less than half the price than at the vet. I wish I had known this when I got Bella – I was paying nearly $100 a month when she was a puppy taking her for her shots at the vet every month!

Also, with your pets – do preventative maintenance. Get heartguard and frontline. These will protect your pet and keep from unneeded heartache and vet bills. Also, I suggest taking a look at your pet food. What are the main ingredients? Most foods have lots of carbohydrates as their main ingredient. Most animals cannot be healthy off of that. I HIGHLY recommend trying out Nutro and Dick Patten’s pet foods. They may be more expensive, but you’ll definitely see a happier, healthier pet who loves mealtime. Take care of your animals!

SHOPPING

This is going to sound crazy…but this is my new favorite thing:

CVS takes returns on EVERYTHING. I love it. I no longer shop in fear that foundation won’t match, that face wash will sting, that deodorant will smell funky and I’ll lose my hard earned dollar. Their policy is that if you’re not happy, you can return it. Have your receipt, (you’re saving your receipts, no?) and it’ll go faster. There are a few other stores out there that do this as well – such as Ulta. Shop at these stores, and don’t add to your massively growing collection of shampoos under your sink.

Speaking of shampoos…and lotions and other girly stuff. How much do you really have? Probably way more than you need. Use all of what you have before you buy more. Wasting is like throwing away money. Would you throw away a $5 bill? Of course not! Use what you have, and then buy some. I’m still chipping away at my Bath & Body works collection that I accumulated from their last giant sale when lotions were $1. I regret buying all that. It’ll take me ages to use that much lotion.

Don’t get more than you need. It may be a better deal to buy a gallon of Listerine…but seriously…be honest with yourself! Yeah, you’ll use it…but it’ll take you three years. Giant bottles may be a great deal, but buy within your means.

Staying within your means applies to many things with shopping. Some things may seem like a better deal, but please, ask yourself – “Do I really need this much/many?”. Get singles on photos. Buy singular or 3 packs of undies. Buy only a 10 pack of pens. Buy a 500 sheet pack of paper (instead of the giant boxes). You may use all of it, but how long will it take? If it’s food or beauty supplies (as in, buy one get one free), it may go bad. Keep that in mind.

BEAUTY

I think the secret to living on the cheap with beauty (aside from the returning tip above) is keeping low maintenance. Try Veet (at your own risk, only get sensitive formulas) so you only have to shave once every ten days. Get long lasting lipstick. If you use tanner, get the gradual lotion (basically streak free and moisturizes!). Just keep it simple. I’m sure you don’t want to be wasting time getting ready or shaving or anything when you could be doing better things. Plus, I guess guys find chicks who spend three hours getting ready to be high maintenance kinda annoying and unattractive.

So, with all that said, these have been some of the lessons I’ve learned on trying to live a low maintenance, cheaper life. I hope these tips have helped you!

With subcultures mainly being a boy's game, I've always looked closely to the few females involved as a support group. You would think that with females being about one to every three men (if not less) in subcultures, they would be tight and appreciative to their sisters involved in the game.

Sadly, this is not a reality.

It seems that in the years I've been involved in this subculture, I've seen women become more or so "frienemies" rather than a stable support system to eachother. This deeply saddens me, as I too have seen this first hand. I guess I am perpetually naive to this, or just hopelessly optimistic to find nice women who are looking for sisterhood through music. I am not saying all females are like this, but there are quite a few out there who are.

What causes this? Why does it happen? Who are these females? I'm going to go forward and explain my views and opinions on this subject. These are strictly my opinions based on my own personal experiences so you are more than welcome to disagree.

Although a lot of teens come into a subculture looking to rebel and be non-conformist, they are just joining another form of conformity and rules. These "tribes" have their own sets of rules and dress within themselves. There are usually unspoken rules of how to act, and who holds what seniority. This does vary from subculture to subculture, but they all have the basic skeleton from subculture to subculture.

Those whom have been "in" for the longest usually have the utmost respect, and typically, they feel they have the right to put those younger and less senior "members" in their place. Women have a similar yet very different set of rules. Women cut each other down almost endlessly.

Womens rules in these youth cults are those in the same to men, however, I feel that they are much more harsh. Typically, it all starts out with how you got in. Usually, it's one of the two - you got in on your own will or from your boyfriend. If you got in from your boyfriend, the rest of the local scene usually knows, as you showed up on the arm of Johnny Subculture at a random gig. If this is the case, respect for you is typically next to nothing - even if you truly do become part of the subculture in the long run - guy or not. You'll almost always be known as so-n-so's girlfriend or ex-girlfriend. Men do not have this problem. They do not have to deal with derogatory names such as"oi toy", "scene whore", or something similar to that. This sexism runs rampant from both males and females. This in itself starts vicious cycle of women's roles in youth cults.

Youth cult or not, women tend to run in cliques and groups of friends in which they trust those few friends and hardly anyone else. I often hear young women from every cultural, social, and ethnic background say, "women are such bitches, I can't stand them!"

Although they've made a few friends, what prevents their clique from being "bitches" to each other? Again, youth cult or not - women tear each other down and can be harshly judgmental to each other to their faces or behind their backs. The sport of tearing down other females isn't a pretty one, but it is often played. In my personal opinion, I honestly think women who tear others down for no apparent reason is just a verbal venting of their own short comings and insecurities. To me, those who bash on other people who have not done anything to them are just insecure cowards trying to build themselves up by tearing others down. In the subcultural view, I often think that this happens because some women are not 100% comfortable with themselves and the role they play within a subculture. They often come off as they have the world to prove to others. The "pros" of the bashing game for one whom plays is typically to brag about how many girls they've driven away. This, I think, is a result of the need to be an alpha female.

Socially speaking, a woman with lots of male attention is considered highly desirable - appearances aside. If a female in a niche culture is surrounded mainly by men, logically, she should have plenty of potential mates and attention - boosting her ego, esteem, and popularity amongst males. This makes her an alpha female. Competition gets ripped down without a second thought. Typically, she will do just about anything to keep this status.

This is highly detrimental to the female side of a subculture. Hazing and driving new kids out leaves the scene stagnant and does not allow it to grow or evolve. With the same girls constantly around, this leaves slim options for the males who want to date within the scene. If these girls are single, they will be surrounded mostly by men, and probably have their internal feelings of alpha females pumped up, and will not want new females coming around. Another reason why this can be extremely harmful is that if people within a local scene date amongst each other. With only a few females around dating the men in the subculture, this will typically cause drama. Say, if there were only 6 males and 2 females in a local scene, this would definitely cause trouble. Also, if a female dates amongst the local scene quite often, this can lead her back to being accused of being an "oi toy" or a "scene whore". Even if she didn't get in because of a boyfriend, she can be accused of these things, and her intentions within a subculture can be questioned just because of her dating habits. Most women outside of subcultures don't get called such names when dating around. The dating world for females within subcultural boundries can be dangerous, dramatic, and disheartening. The need to prove that she is genuine and an individual while dating a man in a subculture can cause many issues within herself and her relationship.

I have honestly never understood the "hazing" into a subculture. When I think "hazing", I think of some dumb frat guys putting a new house member through humiliation. What's the point? Isn't that the sort of mentality we wanted to get away from when we chose to stray from the norms of mainstream society? Why do you want to scare away potential new members of a bands, future dj's, or life-long friends? Shame on anyone who participates in these pointless and degrading tactics - male or female.

Having a healthy, thriving subculture relies on having new blood coming in, and often. Driving new people away, believe it or not, has a domino effect within your local town.

First off, driving people away by not accepting them in the local scene or stating that they need to be hazed in makes you come off like a total jerk. Where ever they're from, they'll tell their friend back home (or non subculture friends that are local), "Yeah, I came here and they expected me to do this, that, and the other to hang out with them. Yeah, I know, ridiculous." Honestly, these games make participants look like total childish buffoons and make said person ashamed to be involved in a subculture. Also, this makes you look like an awful example of a subculture. If you're playing these sorts of childish games, you should honestly do some questioning of your personality and how you treat others in general. As harsh as it may sound, I believe it's true. This could also spread around to other places and give your town a poor representation.

Second, the less people you have in your town, the less often bands will come around. Say a fantastic band comes through your town once, but no one shows up. The impression your town will lay on them is that your town is not a money maker. Most bands don't even get guarantees on the road and solely rely on merch sales to keep their tour afloat and stomachs filled with food. If your town has no one going to shows, they'll skip over your town in future tours. Make sense? So, driving fresh blood out of your scene may also eventually drive out touring bands you want to see.

Another thing I've never understood is why older members within a subculture are so demeaning to younger kids. They, too, were once that age. I'm sure they didn't pop outta mama's womb in full subcultural attire with a stellar record collection. They, too had to go through the ins and outs of growing up and discovering who they are, and Im sure they had some embarrassing records in their collection at one point. Being condescending to these kids is downright hypocritical. If they were treated like that when they were younger, they should be empathetic. Treating new kids like they were treated is wrong, and those two wrongs definitely do not make a right. If you truly love a subculture and music, you want it to grow, evolve, and last against the tests of time. Sharing your love of all these things with younger kids who really don't know where to look helps the subculture grow and forms the brotherly and sisterly bond that is so highly idealized. What is the point of hoarding information?

Rarely do you see younger kids coming around these days who are taken in by older members of a subculture with open arms. If just that were to happen, if people could just get off their mighty high horses...they'd see that most slowly dying subcultures would gain new life. Sure, you may think that these kids are dumb and hopeless, but SO WERE YOU! Don't haze them, don't demean them - just be a positive influence. Being an older "brother" or "sister" can be very rewarding!

Younger girls especially need this positive influence to help prevent them falling into all the sexism and gender roles that subcultures dole out. They need to know that it IS okay to be in a subculture and not be sleeping with someone, or constantly causing drama. They need to know that you can be yourself with outside interests from a subculture. Girls in their teens especially need guidance to help their self esteem, identity, and peer pressure issues. I would assume that most of these girls' parents don't quite understand why they are expressing their femininity in a boy's game. My mother thought I was mental. If I had a female to look up to at that age, those years would've been a lot easier.

I hope things change in the future. I would love to see more women reaching out and cultivating a sense of sisterhood amongst themselves instead of breeding jealousy, cattiness, competition, and two-faced behavior. Negative behavior such as the types I've discussed (from males or females) is detrimental to any subculture. Period. It prevents the cultures and scenes from evolving. Why act in such a manner? No one will benefit from it. Acting with class, dignity and grace will never go out of style and will never be looked down upon. Be secure with your place in the sun and don't concern yourself with anyone else's. Honesty, no one has the authority or right to drive someone out of a subculture - seniority or not.

To those whom have a sense of entitlement - think twice first. Your actions will speak louder than your words.

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