SOCI 1125 - Exploring Subculture: The Sikh Motorcycle Club in Canada

This essay defines subculture within the Canadian context, using the Sikh Motorcycle Club as a case study. It begins by outlining the complexities of Canadian culture, shaped by geographic, historical, and social factors, including the cohabitation of French and English influences. The essay then defines subculture as a distinct group within a larger population, highlighting Canada's multiculturalism and acceptance of diverse subcultures. It explores the Sikh community in Surrey, focusing on the Sikh Motorcycle Club's formation, activities, and contributions to social causes. The essay concludes by acknowledging both the integration and biases that exist within Canadian society regarding minority communities, referencing statistics that challenge the notion of complete cultural harmony. The essay also incorporates sociological perspectives on culture and subculture, drawing from functionalist, conflict theorist, and symbolic interactionist viewpoints.

Running head: DEFINING SUBCULTURE
Defining Subculture
Name of the University
Name of the Student
Author note

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DEFINING SUBCULTURE
Introduction
In order to understand subculture, it is important to have first a clear idea about culture.
Culture, as defined by Ravelli and Webber (2014), “is a complex collection of values, beliefs,
behaviors and material objects shared by a group and passed on from one generation to the next”.
This paper attempts to define subculture from the Canadian context. The community chosen for
the purpose is the Sikh Motorcycle Club, run by the Sikh community in Canada.
The Canadian Culture
The formation of Canadian culture can be attributed to the “intricate and diverse set of
geographic, historical and social circumstances”. As per the views of Margaret Atwood, an
eminent Canadian writer, the “harsh physical environment” has played a significant role in
shaping the culture of the country (Ravelli & Webber 2014). Viewing from the social
perspective, Canada’s culture is largely shaped by the cohabitation of and conflict between the
French and the English. Another interesting aspect of the Canadian culture is that historically,
Canada defines its culture based on its difference with America.
In the book Exploring Sociology: The Concise Edition, authors Bruce Ravelli and
Michelle Webber mentioned about the change in culture in order to address the novel challenges
posed by the current era in both social and technological field. These changes often give rise to
subcultures.
Defining Subculture with Sikh community as an example
The authors have defined subculture as the group within a population that possesses a
culture that is distinct from the main culture. The presence of subcultures brings diversity to a

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DEFINING SUBCULTURE
country and Canada is blessed to home variety of cultures. Although subcultures are mostly
based on ethnicity, religion and race, it can also relate to sexuality, age, occupation and gender
amongst others. It is evident that the existence of subcultures depends on the main culture and
without it there would be no subculture (Ravelli & Webber 2014). Culture is viewed from the
perspective of sociology as well by the authors. They presented views of various functionalists
and sociologists on culture and subculture. According to the functionalists, culture is the “way of
integrating and building on similarities and establishing a sense of community”. Conflict
theorists, on the other hand, define culture as the “vehicle to promote and maintain social
inequality”. Symbolic interactionists defined culture as “created and re-created through social
interaction”.
Canada is a nation that boasts and upholds the presence of different types of subcultures
and allows them to prosper. Ravelli and Webber (2014) provide certain facts in the book that
demonstrates Canada’s acceptance of multiculturalism. They mention the work of the American
sociologist Seymour Martin Lipset who researched that Canadians are “more community
oriented than Americans and more appreciative of racial and ethnic variation” (Lipset, 1997).
The Little Italy neighborhoods in Toronto, Chinatown in Vancouver, the Jewish community in
Montreal and the black community in Halifax are some of the many subcultures present in
Canada. One of the dominant subcultures present in Canada is the Sikh Community in Surrey.
The Sikh community constitutes 1.4% of the total Canadian population and boasts of having
representatives in the Cabinet as well.
One of the most renowned clubs run by the Sikh community in Canada is the Sikh
Motorcycle Club. The club was founded in 2003 by the sincere efforts of Avtar Singh Dhillon
however; the first attempt at this was made in 1999 after years of campaigning for the right of

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DEFINING SUBCULTURE
Sikhs to be exempted from helmet laws, as they wear turbans (Sikhmotorcycleclub.org, 2018).
However, with each passing time, the club’s initiatives broadened and they started organizing
charity events and participating in social activities. In 2017, the club organized a protest rally
where riders from all communities and race took part. It was held against crimes and drugs in the
city of Surrey. The rally was organized particularly to send a message to the government
regarding the safety and security of the children mostly belonging to the minority group or the
subculture (Cbc.ca, 2018). The club expanded in quick time and comprised more than 100
members. They had the backing from the government as well and native Canadians too have
showed good support to the club mainly because of its noble initiatives.
Conclusion
The presence of this subculture further establishes Canada as a multicultural country with
no biases against any minority community. However, certain statistics reveal that biases do exist
in Canada where people do not favor a Sikh leader to lead the country. It contradicts the
generally held notion that subcultures exist peacefully in Canada and that people would prefer
joining that subculture.

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DEFINING SUBCULTURE
References:
Cbc.ca. (2018). Motorcyclists ride through Surrey protesting crime, drugs. CBC News. Retrieved
27 February 2018, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/surrey-crime-
motorcycles-1.4250691
Lipset, S. (1997). American exceptionalism. New York: Norton.
Ravelli, B., & Webber, M. (2014). Exploring sociology. Pearson Education Canada. pp 89-103
Sikhmotorcycleclub.org. (2018). History. Sikhmotorcycleclub.org. Retrieved 27 February 2018,
from http://www.sikhmotorcycleclub.org/history/