<P> In 1985, French sociologist Michel Maffesoli coined the term urban tribe . It gained widespread use after the publication of his Le temps des tribus: le déclin de l'individualisme dans les sociétés postmodernes (1988). Eight years later, this book was published in the United Kingdom as The Time of the Tribes: The Decline of Individualism in Mass Society . </P> <P> According to Maffesoli, urban tribes are microgroups of people who share common interests in urban areas . The members of these relatively small groups tend to have similar worldviews, dress styles and behavioral patterns . Their social interactions are largely informal and emotionally laden, different from late capitalism's corporate - bourgeoisie cultures, based on dispassionate logic . Maffesoli claims that punks are a typical example of an "urban tribe". </P> <P> Five years after the first English translation of Le temps des tribus, writer Ethan Watters claims to have coined the same neologism in a New York Times Magazine article . This was later expanded upon the idea in his book Urban Tribes: A Generation Redefines Friendship, Family, and Commitment . According to Watters, urban tribes are groups of never - marrieds between the ages of 25 and 45 who gather in common - interest groups and enjoy an urban lifestyle, which offers an alternative to traditional family structures . </P> <P> The sexual revolution of the 1960s led to a countercultural rejection of the established sexual and gender norms, particularly in the urban areas of Europe, North and South America, Australia, and white South Africa . A more permissive social environment in these areas led to a proliferation of sexual subcultures--cultural expressions of non-normative sexuality . As with other subcultures, sexual subcultures adopted certain styles of fashion and gestures to distinguish them from the mainstream . </P>

What are the most important cultural elements of your own social group or subculture