A skinhead is a member of a subculture

Subculture

In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...

 that originated among working class

Working class

Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...

 youths in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, and then spread to other parts of the world. Named for their close-cropped or shaven heads

Head shaving

Head shaving is the practice of shaving the hair from a person's head. At different times and places people have shaved their heads for very diverse reasons: practical, religious, cultural, or aesthetic—so a shaven head has widely varying connotations depending on the context.-Early...

, the first skinheads were greatly influenced by West Indian (specifically Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

n) rude boy

Rude boy

Rude boy, rudeboy, rudie, rudi or rudy are common terms used in Jamaica. In the 1960s it was also used for juvenile delinquents and criminals in Jamaica, and has since been used in other contexts...

s and British mods, in terms of fashion, music and lifestyle. Originally, the skinhead subculture was primarily based on those elements, not politics or race.