The name Teddy boy originated from shorting the term Edwardian. They are seen as one of the first if not the first major of the existing youth cultures. They distinguished themselves as teens as a fully exclusive group this was something in which they gained their own sense of identity, their own rules and felt the freedom to challenge the typical views of the time.
It helped show that these people had their own needs, wants and aspirations and would not just adhere to what the previous generation had told them was right for them. They felt that they could decide what was right and wrong for themselves. However, because of this there were conflicts of less progressive kinds contrary to the powerful positive social and political messages that these newly established cultures, subcultures and fan groups had made. There were conflicts of a more negative kind. In particular, the 1958 Notting Hill Race riots.
youth culture and its origins