Biographical narratives and custom biker identity

Abstract

This study addresses the biographical narratives of motorcyclists and their relationship with the custom culture. The research aimed to verify the relationship between biographical narratives and the constitution of social identity and was carried out through eight biographical interviews with motorcyclists. The material was analyzed following the methodological proposal of analysis of meaning cores (Aguiar & Ozella, 2006). The results showed that the values, meanings and social practices proper to the custom culture are re-signified through the biographical narrative, seeking to highlight a style that, at the same time, implies the subject to a specific social group, thus allowing to assert itself as a singularity. The biker custom narratives made available by the industry, the mass media and specific social groups form the references through social identity is constituted.  It is concluded that narratives are a fundamental mediation for the formation of social identity. Through a process of discursive organization on the cultural context, the subject establishes the social meanings that constitute the groups in which he participates and is uniquely inserted in these groups.