What is a Skinhead?

Editor's note--This factsheet describes neo-Nazi skinheads. There are numerous individuals and groups also using the tag of "skinheads" who are not involved in white supremacist or otherwise authoritarian and elitist activities.

The Skinheads are an authoritarian youth movement which sanctifies violence as means to achieve political domination. Their political objectives are a jumble of slogans: defending the “white race” and building white pride. They are open in their expressions of anti-black, anti-gay, anti-Jewish, anti-Hispanic, anti-Asian, and anti-immigrant attitudes. Their name originally came from their shaved heads, though many are now letting their hair grow out to decrease their visibility. Their typical clothing has also been a distinctive part of their identity consisting of T-shirts, jeans, suspenders, leather jackets, and white-laced Doc Marten work boots. Their boot laces, as well as suspenders, are often used as signals, with red laces signifying that the wearer has drawn blood in “the race war.” Tattoos are also part of Skinhead appearance; and most adorn their bodies with tattoos of white power slogans and symbols such as swastikas. Nazi regalia such as the Iron Cross and the SS badge are also part of their distinctive costuming.

How did the Skinheads come about?
The Skinheads have their origin in the various youth subcultures in England beginning during the post-WWII era. The first wave of what we today recognize as Skins polarized themselves in the 1970s against the various youth counterculture movements of the day. The Skins themselves were working class, patriotic, and highly aggressive, while their main targets, their long-haired Hippie, counterculture age mates, were often from more privileged backgrounds, and advocated a mellow detachment from society. In this period, the Skinheads began fighting with the police and engaging in “Paki bashing” and “queer bashing” which were essentially attacks on any male who looked “odd.” (“Pakis” refer to immigrants from Pakistan; “queer” to gay men.) It was also in this period that the Skinhead look was achieved: shaved head, boots, etc.

The second wave of the Skinhead movement took shape in the 1980s.This was the period in which Ian Stuart founded the neo-Nazi organization called the British National Front. He became the lead singer in the band called Skrewdriver. The music of Skrewdriver, and other bands that followed, along with the organizational skills of people like Stuart, contributed to the growth of a distinctive Skinhead subculture in the early 1980s.They identified with the ideology of Nazism and white power. Their shaved heads, T-shirts, boots, tattoos, and aggressiveness comprised a visible and confrontational style. It was this second wave that was to cross the Atlantic to the United States.

Stuart began producing a fanzine entitled Blood and Honour which was distributed to white supremacist groups in the United States. Among its influential readers was Tom Metzger. a former KKK leader and founder of White Aryan Resistance (WAR). Metzger saw this youth movement as the potential “front line warriors” of a revolutionary right and began to recruit and support the American groups which were growing.

Links to Older White Supremacist Groups
Group linkages, often operate through key individuals who can go back and forth between groups. Tom Metzger and his son, John Metzger. were one such link. They provided free racist and neo- Nazi literature to Skinhead gangs. Another WAR contact provided paramilitary training during the late 1980s. Aside from the WAR, Skins have marched with the KKK in demonstrations and have been called upon to act as security guards at white supremacist rallies including the Aryan Nations and the World Church of the Creator.

Number of Skinheads
Estimates of the size of the Skinhead movement are made periodically by the Anti-Defamation League and by Klanwatch. Estimates (1998) are that there are approximately 3,500 Skinheads spread across 40 states. (Unfortunately, neither group publishes their methodology for these estimates, and establishing the size of right-wing groups in general is difficult.) There may be as many as 160 Skinhead gangs in the United States. Most of them are small groups, though many are associated with gang federations. The Hammerskin Nation, Fourth Reich, and the Northern Hammerskins are the larger federations. Individual membership and the number of gangs seem to have declined during the 1990s, however, there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that they may have increased in the northwest.

Skinheads have been active in 40 states. The states with the greatest number of Skinheads are New Jersey, Texas, Oregon, California, Florida, Michigan, and Virginia. Globally, Skinheads are active in 33 countries. These include (in order of their estimated size) Germany, Hungary, Czech Republic, United States, Poland, United Kingdom, Brazil, Italy, and Sweden with smaller numbers elsewhere in Europe and Canada.

Who becomes a Skinhead?
The evidence is highly limited. Skinheads, mostly male, range in age from 13 to 27 though most are in their late teens. Although their origins and initial growth in the U.S. was working class, they come from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds. Some reports indicate that Skinhead activity in urban areas is now more common in middle class neighborhoods than it is in working class or lower income areas.

There is conflicting evidence on whether or not most Skinheads came from dysfunctional families. Many report an authoritarian father and many were raised by a single parent. One study indicates a high school graduation rate of 81% with over half enrolling in college. The majority in Mark Hamm's study (American Skinheads, 1993) were employed, with many working and going to school at the same time. Nearly all of them anticipated being part of the workforce with over half planning on a white collar professional job.

How are Skinheads recruited?
While recruitment to most social movements is face-to-face, the key dimension is how potential recruits make the initial contacts. The most powerful mode of recruitment for Skinheads is music. Many young people are originally attracted through concerts and music fests. The most influential Skinhead band was Skrewdriver from Great Britain whose lead vocalist Ian Stuart, was instrumental in spreading the neo-Nazi Skinhead message and organizing many youth into gangs. Skrewdriver songs such as “White Power" and “Nigger Nigger” made their way to the U.S. in 1986. Neo-Nazi bands are main attractions at annual “Hate Fests” held around the country often on Hitler's birthday. Among some better known groups are Das Reich, Aggravated Assault, Beserker, Centurion, and Rahowa. (Rahowa stands for “racial holy war.”) A million dollar recording and distribution network has grown up around these bands enabling them to distribute their CDs and tapes with great ease. The major distributor, Resistance Records, is now owned and operated by William Pierce's National Alliance, a major distributor of right-wing, neo-Nazi propaganda.

Another influential mode of recruitment and propaganda are “zines,” which are Skinhead publications that address aspects of their culture. These are often distributed at high schools.

Technology has not passed by the Skinheads. They have invaded cyberspace and actively promote their ideas through computer bulletin boards, internet newsgroups, and linked web pages. As of January 1996, Klanwatch had counted 273 bulletin boards, 50 newsgroups, and 70 web pages carrying neo-Nazi, white supremacist materials. While only a small number of these are specifically Skinhead operations, their incredible accessibility makes them prime recruitment sites for young people.

Are the Skinheads declining?
While the size of the Skinhead movement has fluctuated since its inception, they currently are in decline. There are several reasons for this. One key reason has been the decline of the older white supremacist organizations which have recruited, educated, and supported Skinheads.

Skinhead organizational structures are unstable; they seem to have high rates of turnover, internal conflicts, and dissolution. Perhaps most important is that Skinheads don?t stay young forever, and the youth culture is a youth culture. As they progress through life cycle changes, just like the rest of us, they go to work, perhaps marry and have children, and possibly join other organizations that fit with their belief system and life cycle. Finally, there has been a decline in the American youth population, a decline which corresponds with the decline in the violent crime rate. If Skinheads are viewed as both part of the larger youth culture and a violent society, then the Skinhead decline may be a reflection of the decline in these sectors. Conversely, we may expect an increase in youth-oriented authoritarian, racist, and violent activities as the youth population begins its predicted growth around the turn of the century.

This Factsheet on Ethnoviolence is Number 3 in a series. Copyright 2000 by The Prejudice Institute. We encourage quotation and reprinting, provided that The Prejudice Institute is cited. We request a copy of such use.

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