From Subculture to Mainstream - Emerging Sports Subcultures in China and the Reimagination of Youth Transitional Pathways

This paper explores the integration of the "cultural tradition" and "transition tradition" paradigms in youth sociology research through case studies of emerging sports subcultures in China. The research finds that as emerging sports subcultures undergo processes of commercialization, sportification, and institutionalization, they merge with the Chinese mainstream cultural industries, forming complementary cultural fields. Subculture participants accumulate subcultural capital and transform it into emerging cultural capital, creating possibilities for successful transitions. This transitional pathway, profoundly influenced by sociocultural evolution, offers new-generation youth a choice that realizes individual agency while balancing reality and ideals. However, this pathway remains embedded within class structures and cannot escape the fate of social reproduction.