BELIEF PATTERNS AND CONCEPT OF MIDDLE-CLASS MOTOPUNK SUBCULTURE IN BANGKOK METROPOLITAN REGION AND PERIMETER

Abstract

The purpose of the current study is to investigate the subculture of the middle-class motopunk in Bangkok and its outlying districts as well as to examine their pattern of beliefs. The data were qualitatively collected through in-depth interviews, informal interviews, and participant observations. The main participants of the study were 11 motopunks and there were 10 participants taking part in the informal interviews. The obtained data from the interviews were then triangulated with the information from the documentary research, and the results were presented in the form of the analytical research.

The results of the current study revealed that the perspectives regarding the subculture of the middle-class motopunk are as follows: (i) the motopunk subculture in term of their behaviors and expressions, (ii) the motopunk subculture regarding clothing and motorcycle selection, and (iii) the motopunk subculture regarding their attitudes. In term of the belief pattern of the motopunk, the findings demonstrated that (i) the belief in the decoration of the motorcycles, (ii) the belief in motorcycle riding behaviors, (iii) the belief in holy objects and scared items, (iv) the belief in the aggregation in groups, and (v) the role of the valued belief were reported as the significant belief pattern of the motopunk.