Is Humanism a Subculture? Rory Booth on Style, Space and Belonging

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"It's harder for the mass market to hit a moving target." — Rory Booth

Punks had the mohawk. Ravers had the warehouse. What does humanism have?

Historian and filmmaker Rory Booth studies how subcultures form, thrive and die, from 19th century Parisian bohemians to the British rave scene of the 1990s. He is also a founding member of Leicester Humanists. In this episode, we ask whether humanism qualifies as a subculture, and what organisers can steal from scenes that got it right.

Rory argues that the visual definition of subculture, all style and shock, has been overplayed. What actually holds a scene together is language, humour, and above all space: the shared understanding that in this room, with these people, you are allowed to be a slightly different version of yourself. That, he suggests, is exactly what a humanist group offers, and it is why the venue you pick matters far more than most organisers realise.

We also get into the life cycle problem. A subculture dies the moment the mainstream understands it, or worse, misunderstands it. So is being small and slightly illegible an advantage? And has the internet, with its infinite choice and its everyone-is-a-creator economy, made real subcultures impossible?

Rory Booth is a historian and filmmaker specialising in cultural and urban history, with a focus on 19th century bohemianism and the 1990s rave scene. He is a founding member of Leicester Humanists, where he leads on events and works on school speaking and interfaith engagement. He also plays in punk and noise rock bands.

In this episode

Definitions of subculture as style, and why Rory thinks the visual emphasis has been overdone

Why a scene often dies the moment the mainstream can name it, and what that means for a movement trying to grow

Frame analysis, and the practical reason your venue changes what people feel able to say

Did the internet killed the subculture? Too much choice, no physical presence, and a scene where everyone is a creator and nobody is the audience