However, the subculturalists themselves appear to be saying that their understanding of their own identities is modernists in nature. Although they do construct their identity, and the way it is projected to others, they do so by reference to an ‘inner core’; their identity is not as fluid as unstable, or as performative, as some would have us believe. Further, they view their participation as not only empowering but also radical.
Subcultures, although often held as examples of post modern identity construction, may actually represent modernist identities, according to the perceptions of the subculturalists themselves. Further, by avoiding ‘radical constructivism’ through an awareness of the limits to the process of construction we can see that identities may not be so fluid after all. The perceptions of the subculturalists themselves position their activities as both empowering and radical; rather than being apolitical their activity is part of a process which includes zines and webpages, whereby the ‘political’ is extended into new realms.
Further, as identity becomes the site of conflict, so the bodies of individuals become both a resource and the object on which domination is focussed.