A skinhead is both a hairstyle description and the name of a youth subculture that has taken very different forms over time, including some that are explicitly racist and violent, and others that are not.

Core meanings

  • In everyday language, “skinhead” can simply mean a person with very closely cropped or shaved hair.
  • More specifically, it usually refers to a member of a subculture known for shaved or very short hair, work boots, and tough, working‑class style.

How the skinhead subculture started

  • The skinhead scene began in 1960s London among working‑class youth.
  • It grew out of “hard mods” and was influenced by Jamaican “rude boy” style and music like ska, rocksteady, and early reggae.
  • Early skinheads were mostly focused on fashion, music, and working‑class identity, not organized racist politics.

Fashion and lifestyle

Typical elements often associated with skinheads include:

  • Very short or shaved hair
  • Work or military‑style boots (for example, Dr. Martens)
  • Straight‑leg jeans or work trousers with braces (suspenders)
  • Button‑down shirts, polo shirts, and simple, durable outerwear

Many also identify strongly with specific music scenes, such as ska, Oi!, punk, and related genres, depending on the era and subgroup.

Racist and violent factions

Over time, parts of the skinhead world became closely tied to racist and neo‑Nazi ideology, especially from the 1970s onward.

  • Some groups are explicitly white supremacist, anti‑immigrant, and anti‑minority, and have been involved in hate crimes and organized extremist activity.
  • Dictionaries often highlight this sense: “a usually white male… belonging to sometimes violent youth gangs… espousing white‑supremacist beliefs.”

Because of this, “skinhead” is widely used in media and law‑enforcement contexts to refer to racist extremist gangs.

Non‑racist and anti‑racist skinheads

The picture is more complicated than “all skinheads are Nazis”:

  • Some skinheads strongly reject racism and fascism, and see themselves as keeping the original, music‑ and class‑based culture alive.
  • There are organized anti‑racist currents (often called things like SHARP – Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice – in scene discussions) that explicitly position themselves against neo‑Nazi “boneheads.”

So, within the broader label, you find:

  • Racist / neo‑Nazi skinheads
  • Non‑political or mixed‑politics “traditional” skinheads
  • Anti‑racist or left‑leaning skinheads

Quick reference table

[1][3][5] [7] [9][7] [9][7] [8][1][9] [2][7]
Aspect General idea
Basic meaning Person with shaved or very short hair; member of a distinct youth subculture.
Origin Working‑class London youth in the 1960s, influenced by Jamaican music and fashion.
Typical look Shaved head, work boots, braces, straight‑leg jeans, button‑down or polo shirts.
Music links Ska, rocksteady, early reggae, punk, Oi! and related styles (varies by subgroup).
Extremist image Some groups are explicitly white supremacist and involved in hate‑motivated violence.
Alternative currents Non‑racist and anti‑racist skinheads also exist and reject neo‑Nazi ideology.

Today’s context and “latest news”

In recent decades, “skinhead” in news coverage is often shorthand for racist or neo‑Nazi street groups, especially in stories about hate crimes or far‑right organizing. At the same time, smaller traditional and anti‑racist skinhead scenes still exist around music and fashion, and they regularly push back against being lumped together with violent extremists.

TL;DR: A skinhead can simply be someone with a shaved head, but more commonly it refers to a youth subculture that started in 1960s Britain, with a strong working‑class and music identity; some branches have become associated with racist, neo‑Nazi violence, while others actively oppose that and keep the non‑racist parts of the culture alive.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.