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Exploring Communities
The culture of sneakers has emerged in recent years as a popular part of streetwear fashion. Sneaker lovers, popularly known as sneakerheads, invest significant amounts of money collecting many pairs of shoes every week. The sneakerhead community encompasses people connected through their largest interest in sneakers and the exclusive language they use in written discourses when communicating with each other (Matthews et al. 1). Since childhood, I developed a strong liking for rare pairs of shoes, which pushed me to be part of the sneaker enthusiasts. The sneakerhead community utilizes literacies such as written genres, short messages across social media platforms, blogs, and tweets to communicate relevant information to each other. The extensive use of convectional language to communicate facilitates people’s interaction within the group based on their literacy levels on sneaker knowledge and practice.
Members of the sneakerhead community views collection of shoes as an art requiring specific skills. To become a member, one has to have a high liking and appreciation for shoes (Lindner 234). At the primary level, one engages with a person who has high knowledge of sneaker collection. This aims to learn the conventional language used in this domain and allow a gradual integration into the community. Notably, this reflects on this discourse’s primary purpose: to establish a sense of identity within a group (Gee 8). For a sneakerhead, a master is a person who has gained a lot of skills through long time engagement in the sneaker collection business. Therefore, a new member may join a master and become an ‘apprentice’ to learn the art and language of the community. Once one has gained adequate knowledge, the apprenticeship goes away, and the master links one to ‘connects’ where you begin to collect, buy and sell sneakers.
For a sneakerhead, the amount of power and wealth they got is expressed in terms of the shoe collections they possess. While some are loyal to one brand of sneakers, others collect rare sneakers from various brands. The more shoes one has, the more their wealth and the higher their status in the sneakerhead community. It follows that status is an important component in the sneakerhead community. With a high status, one becomes more powerful and succeeds more when trying to sell or buy a pair of shoes (Lindner 234). The skills for collecting various types of sneakers and stocking them as part of one’s collection is a recognized art of literacy in the sneakerhead community. Besides, some sneakerheads go the extra mile and learn to repair and refurbishing damaged sneaker. This qualifies them as masters of the art in the community.
Sneakerheads communicate using a shoe language that can only be understood once they have fully been acculturated into the community. This language is complicated because it relates to the ideas behind a shoe (Pierre et al.). For instance, a colorway is used to describe the colors appearing on a shoe and the different designs. A typical sneakerheads’ communication will integrate various terms revolving around information about shoes, the material used to construct them, how available it is, and the value attached to it (Matthews et al. 7). Once a person is a member of the sneakerhead group, they will understand the language and read the blogs with relevant information to the community.
Additionally, the sneakerhead community depends on a series of communicative conventions that are organized to facilitate the effective delivery of information especially using online platforms. Most of the sneakerhead community members interact on the online platforms upon establishing similar grounds of interaction; the love for sneakers (Lindner 236). There are also written genres of advertisements, forums in the social media platforms, and the famous Facebook ‘Buy/Sell/Trade’ pages. Additionally, some of the ‘powerful’ dealers of sneakers nickname their products to generate a discussion, increasing the popularity of their products. In these social media platforms, sneakerheads employ extensive use of slang when engaging in business online or advertising a new shoe model (Keskintepe). Therefore, it follows that for one to become acquitted with the context, they have to be acculturated into the community (Pierre et al.) This qualifies this as a dominant discourse since it brings interested people together to acquire social goods associated with prestige (Gee 8). Notably, there have been instances where sneakerheads queue in the doors of a company such as Nike, waiting to release a brand. These can be termed as literacy events where the community’s lucky members become the first ones to purchase a pair of shoes, thus increasing their status. Sometimes, these lucky individuals opt to sell the shoes at a higher price, because the number of manufactured ones is too low for everyone to acquire. In such a case, one must be well-versed in the language of communication to be aware of release dates and other important aspects of the community (Keskintepe). To become literate in the sneakerhead community, websites such as KicksonFire.com provide information regarding the newest sneakers and the resell prices once they are released. Another one, such as sneakers.com, interprets the language used by sneakerheads, making it easier for new members to understand and integrate into the community.
Most non-members of the community believe that being a sneakerhead is all about buying shoes to tread and form some ‘swag.’ Again, the media often present sneakerheads as people interested in money alone or that sneakerhead is only a thing for teenagers. However, being in the group debunks these myths. Being a sneakerhead engages people from various age groups interested in the status of having a collection of rare sneakers of various brands (Matthews et al. 3). Before joining the group, I was in for the idea that sneakerheads are all about profit. However, this changed when I encountered posts of resellers wishing to exchange a specific type of sneakers for another exclusive one missing from their collection. This revealed there being more to sneakers than money alone.
Literacy to a sneakerhead means being informed about the specific terms associated with the trade of sneakers. Entry into the group entails going through an apprenticeship program and interaction with a master who helps a new member navigate through the language utilized in this community (Pierre et al.). Being a community member helped develop a more informed perspective of this community and debunk most of the myths that I held. The special language used by sneakerheads fulfills the group’s communicative needs because it can only be understood by members of the group (Matthews et al. 9). Sneakers heads communicate through platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and the sneakerhead discourse convention. In these platforms and blogs and their websites, they utilize special language that is only understood by members of the community.
An experience in this community debunked most of the myths I held about sneakerheads. In any community, literacy develops through the practice of socialization and interaction. With time, a person develops the skills and knowledge required to fit into this community. for the sneakerhead community, those with extensive knowledge on shoes, release dates, and a definitive collection qualifies as a master of the art. Therefore, in this case, literacy appears as a product of social practice through which, a person gradually becomes absorbed into the community. it is not all about the profit. Rather, it is about the appreciation for shoes and readiness to learn the relevant skills to belong to the community.
Glossary
Connects– refers to new customers with which apprentices are referred to as their first source of sneakers.
This term is important to any sneaker enthusiast because it reflects on the first people from whom they acquired their first pair of the collection.
Colorway– the color patterns visible on a sneaker.
A sneak head will commonly use this definition to describe a shoe. Therefore, a new member will have to understand its meaning before interacting with others.
Master– a sneaker enthusiast who knows different types of sneakers. They also have skills in collecting, buying, and selling sneakers.
A master is an important aspect of the sneak heads because they have loads of information concerning sneakers.
Aftermarket– is the platform where shoes are sold after their original use after refabricating.
This term is important for sneaker lovers because they describe the age and description of a pair of shoes. One has to be able to pick out this term and know the type of shoes they will find in aftermarkets.
Reseller: a person or a company that buys newly released sneakers intending to sell them at higher prices rather than use them.
As outright as it may be, a reseller is a common term that identifies a sneaker lover as a person collecting sneakers for profit.
Deadstock: means new sneakers that are available for sale at a discount.
Most of the new entrants into the community consider collecting shoes at a discount. Therefore, knowledge of this term helps them be ready to buy them upon any advertisement.
Fugazi: sneakers that are damaged beyond repair.
This is an important term used by community members to discourage others from buying a certain pair of sneakers.
Quick strikes: and edition of sneakers, which are limited and dropped without announcement dates.
Lovers of sneakers are on stand by for any rare pair of shoes which is manufactured. This term is used to alert people to be on the look-out if a new pair of sneakers is released.
Works Cited
Gee, James Paul. “Literacy, discourse, and linguistics: Introduction.” Journal of education 171.1 (1989): 5-17.
Lindner, Christoph. “The oblique art of shoes: popular culture, aesthetic pleasure, and the humanities.” Journal for cultural research 19.3 (2015): 233-247.
Matthews, Delisia, Qiana Cryer-Coupet, and Nimet Degirmencioglu. “I wear, therefore I am: investigating sneakerhead culture, social identity, and brand preference among men.” Fashion and Textiles 8.1 (2021): 1-13.
Pierre, Jeffrey, and Sylvie Douglis. “There’s Never Been A Better Time To Be A Sneak Head”. Npr.Org, 2020, https://www.npr.org/2020/12/08/944306977/theres-never-been-a-better-time-to-be-a-sneakerhead.
Keskintepe, Simay. “Culture Defined From Language To Arts: A Guide To The ‘Sneakerhead'”. Daily Sabah, 2019, https://www.dailysabah.com/life/2019/05/13/culture-defined-from-language-to-arts-a-guide-to-the-sneakerhead.