The article attempts to: (1) briefly outline the subcultural theory developed by the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS) at the University of Birmingham in the 1970s; (2) explain how post-modernist theories help to develop the CCCS analysis to make sense of the fragmented social world of young people in the 1990s; (3) provide a brief discussion of how young people become members of subcultural groups; (4) outline some of the most significant youth cultures, and their interests and values, in Britain in the mid-1990s (Teddy Boys, Mods, Rockers, Skinheads, Punks, lager louts, football hooligans, the new fascists, and new age travelers) ; and (5) describe the points of intersection between the various subcultural groupings. The article suggests that the British youth subcultural profile will become more austere as a reflection of Britain's retreat from welfarism. References