Down with the “Homies”:
Artistic Expression, Group Identity, and
Articulation of Gender in Sub Pop Culture
ABSTRACT
This article examines the ‘‘H o m i e s , a group o f small lifelike
figurines primarily sold in Chicano communities around the
southwestern United States. After reviewing the genesis o f the
figurines, this article explores the phenomenon they represent by
focusing on three issues: 1) are these popular cultural productions a
form o f artistic expression? 2) do they function as a means o f
subcultural identity definition and formation? and 3) their depiction
o f gender roles. The conclusion offers some suggestions for the
analysis o f such subcultural by-products and suggests additional
strategies for analysis o f their meanings within contemporary
popular cultural studies.
Introduction
The focus of this study is a collection of 130 popular culture characters
(figurines known as “Homies”) that are commonly available in gumball
dispensers and vending machines found in locations like local hamburger stands,
liquor stores, and laundromats.^ These outlets are usually found in inner city or
urban locations; however, as the popularity of the figurines grew, marketing
became more typical and they started to find their way into more traditional
retail outlets.^ Homies can now be found on many types of consumer products:
key chains, bobble head dolls, stickers, and other by-products of ethnic
consumer culture.^ Clearly, they are an example of a subcultural social
phenomenon, one that reflects both the dominance of cultural hegemony and the
many possibilities of alternatives to that hegemony
The following analysis of the Homies is based on the number of
figurines available in 2002 and includes textual analysis of their biographies,
which are available on the product Web site.^ This study has deliberately
excluded the other product lines that the artist has developed (e.g., Mijos,
Palermos, etc.). The analysis was truncated to these particular characters in order
to analyze the adult representations of these barrio characters, which are based
primarily on a Chicano/Latino ethnic background, and at a moment when the
popularity of these characters may have been at its height, at least as a social
construction and a point of social contention.