Juggalos and Gender Expression
Alexandria Castro
Juggalos, a name adopted by the fandom of rap duo Insane Clown Posse, express themselves in a very bold and proud manner. Subculture research is a growing field and Juggalos are under researched within the field. Sociology and gender studies can provide a lens to study the fandom considering the majority of the fans are men and the age differences between the rap duo and fandom is multi-generational. Women and young women especially are a minority within the minority subculture that is Juggalos. on the social media site Reddit. Using the reddit thread r/Juggalo, I selected 20 posts to examine using a gender expression lens to answer the question how is gender expressed among Juggalos, in online communities? Given the often-violent nature of the music I expected overt displays of feminism as a way to reclaim gendered expectations of women’s behavior. Surprisingly, while the Juggalo fandom is majority men, the women in the online community were more prominent users and feminine characteristics were overtly expressed. Femininity was so pronounced some users signaled difference through the use of “Juggalette” thereby gendering a gender-neutral identity label. Juggalette was associated with a larger make-up color palate than typical Juggalo makeup, hair was complexly styled and included bright colors and clothing took on a more feminine tone through length and cut of items. These findings are important because they contribute to the body of research on subcultures and Juggalos specifically with a look at gender expression in a space dominated by men. The research indicates this is done in order to make way for other genders to feel welcomed and comfortable.
Alexandria Castro graduated from Eastside High School in Greenville and is a sociology major with minors in business administration and human services. Her time at Lander has been spent as a sociology tutor, a member of Psych Club, and a member of Sociology Honor Society. Her achievements include several departmental scholarships and assisting Dr. Rubin in undergrad research.