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It all started with a few bands and one little radical youth culture movement in the 1970s — today, though, punk has proliferated everywhere, sprouting a seemingly endless number of sub-genres and -cultures, the differences between which, for most of us, are subtle at best. I can’t run through every style of punk here (you could fill a book) but I want to touch on at least a few that I have known.
Gutter punk
Unlike other types of punk, gutters are known more for their lifestyle than for adhering to one or another subgenre of punk music. Rather, they’re the punks you see living on the street, aggressively bumming for change (and getting a bit snippy when denied). Dreadlocks and mohwaks are popular, as are nose rings, “sleeves” of tattoos, and accessorizing with dogs is also common. (I see a lot of cardboard signs that say things like “Need $ for beer & dog food,” for instance; always a sympathy-getter!) While often described as “voluntarily” (and sometimes “militantly”) unemployed, many struggle with mental illness, just like regular homeless people.
Redneck punk
Growing up in Florida, I knew a few: strictly punk in terms of musical tastes (tending toward the hardest, fastest stuff) and hairstyle, their clothes were often a giveaway; a mohawked guy in greasy overalls? Definitely a redneck punk. (By the way, if you haven’t seen my article on the origins of hairstyles, including the mohawk, check it out.) My friend Jordan was one: he worked at a pig farm during by day, sought out alcohol and mosh pits by night. (Needless to say, he a was a fragrant dude.)
Straight Edge
I knew straight edge kids in high school, but haven’t met any in years. They’re anarchy-loving punks who don’t drink, smoke, do drugs or have casual sex (usually), and could sometimes be identified by black x’s magic markered on the backs of their hands, or a by a frequently-made x-shaped crossing-of-the-arms gesture. Some were also vegetarians or vegans — definitely an aberration amongst the red meat-loving punks that I knew. But where have all the straight-edgers gone? Let us know if you know one, or are one!
Riot Grrrls!
Proving that punk rock wasn’t just for (and by) boys, the Riot Grrrl! movement started in the early 90s, and is often associated with feminist protest. Probably my favorite punk band, Bikini Kill, is also one of the original Riot Grrrl! acts, and helped pave the way for bands like L7, Hole and others. Often accused of being “anti-boy” by underground media of the time — Bikini Kill frequently provoked male moshers by insisting they move to the side and make way for women near the front, for instance — they instead asserted that they were “pro-girl.”
What kind of punk are you?
Comments (42)
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The straight edge movement, as I observed it, got adopted by other groups of fanatics, and for a while there were a number of hate crimes being committed by people who called themselves “Straight Edge.” It’s too bad, because the movement is supposed to be explicitly non-dogmatic, and they’ve obviously really misinterpreted. As a result, though, I know people who practice the lifestyle (i.e. no drugs or booze) but don’t choose to identify with the movement.
posted by s X e on 10-15-2007 at 11:01 am
There are so much more sub-genres that could make up multiple posts on the subject: skate punk, hardcore punk, pop punk, ska punk, oi, etc…
I never limited myself to one genre though, so I generally associated myself with the generalized “punk” scene. But there can be some viciousness between followers of different genres. For instance, I know a lot of punks who hate ska or ska-punk, and vice versa.
posted by fallenposters on 10-15-2007 at 11:02 am
I used to be friends with a handful of sXe guys and after years and years in that lifestyle they kinda just said ‘fuck it’.
posted by Susan on 10-15-2007 at 11:09 am
I’ve known a ton of straight edge kids over the years (I grew up playing in punk bands, have a small punk record label/distro, and used to work at a punk club…I even got married there!). Since I moved to Chicago, I don’t know so many straight edge kids, but I see them occasionally, depending on the show. There have been a couple times when I’ve noticed I’m one of only five or six people at a show smoking and/or drinking.
I’d classify the skinhead cult (in the US anyway) as a part of the punk scene. SHARP, trad, RASH, whatever, it’s sort of along the same lines of what you’re talking about but it’s just further down the rabbit hole.
posted by Ian EBH on 10-15-2007 at 11:13 am
I used to hang out with some Straightedge kids when I was in high school, and I still see some remnants today. There is supposedly still a fairly vibrant sXe scene in DC (where the whole thing got started)but I know a lot of them are now more hardcore than punk. Pockets of straightedge kids are still in the northeast, but i think its less urban and more suburban now. There is actually one sXe guy in my law school, but whether that’s in keeping with the original sXe ideal (or the punk ideal for that matter) is a matter for debate.
posted by Jason on 10-15-2007 at 11:22 am
there are more straight-edgers than you’d think, they’re just keeping a low profile. At my high school there was also a genre called “jagged edge” which claimed to incorporate anyone.
posted by Korin on 10-15-2007 at 12:46 pm
yeah, the sXe kids are ubiquitous in south florida high schools…there’s apparently a burgeoning indie/punk music scene down there. who knew?
i actually dated a guy who was in a screamo band…he was the one who screamed. and played the didgeridoo…which he made out of a PVC pipe. don’t ask. it seemed like a good idea to date him at the time..
what amazes me about those kids, when I look back on them, is how they all proclaimed their unique, anarchic, indie-ness, and yet all looked the same (long hair with the bangs to the side, pins with band names on their blazers, vintage clothes, worn out chuck taylors, etc). i think a lot of them are more into alt/indie stuff now than what you might deem pure “punk.”
(also, sidenote: one of those kids once told me that as soon as he turned 18, he was going to tattoo every part of his body that could be covered with a business suit, so that when he’s 40 and a republican, he can get a job and go to work, but every night that he comes home and sees himself in the mirror, he’ll see his 18 year old self in the mirror saying, “f— you.” )
posted by kay on 10-15-2007 at 1:28 pm
i’d say that i still identify with the straightedge lifestyle minus the black x’s on my hands. i know a large number of straightedge kids and this upcoming weekend my band is playing a show designated as “edge day” which has been occurring ever since october 1999 when straightedge hardcore-punk band ten yard fight played their last show. all of the bands on this year’s bill are straightedge and i would imagine that most of the crowd will be also.
posted by zak d on 10-15-2007 at 1:55 pm
Straightedge is definitely still active in the northeast, at least. Huzzah for Ian EBH for bringing up SHARP.
posted by Andrew on 10-15-2007 at 1:57 pm
What about closet punk? There were those of us who had to work in a corp job market (what can I say I like to eat) so had to hide or punk life from 9-5. I could wear my hair down and look professional or up and the blue shaved side showed. Piercings and tattoos strategically hidden under business attire. Was I alone?
posted by J2daQ on 10-15-2007 at 2:31 pm
I was all over the punk scene as a kid. But now you could say that I only fit one sub-genre… OLD PUNK…. cause I am old.
posted by Rob on 10-15-2007 at 2:38 pm
Long hair and blazers??
It seems to me most of what is described here is the punk influenced hard core scene of the ’80s.
Let’s face it, the orignal punk was a blip in the New York music scene of the mid ’70s and was broad enough to incorporate Television, The Ramones, and Patty Smith. England got hold of it and turned it into a poseur’s fashion show in a shower of phlegm.
Punk was over before the ’80s began.
What’s called punk today is a commercialized nostalgia trip.
posted by Bassman on 10-15-2007 at 3:19 pm
Until recently my son played bass in a hard core band. The lead singer, while not punk, was straight edge. They do proliferate hard the hard core lifestyle. As I footnote, my son informed me I too am straight since I quit smoking pot several years ago. Straight edge has come to mean any sustance free non-cnformist.
posted by gus on 10-15-2007 at 3:22 pm
@ bassman
I wouldn’t insult ALL british punk bands from the 1970’s. Flux of Pink Indians and Discharge are renowned for being pacifist and socially aware. Crass, arguabley one of the most influential punk bands ever, were more activists than musicians, and inspired by dadaism.
and guys, don’t forget anarcho- or crust punk, or quality pop-punk
posted by booey on 10-15-2007 at 3:42 pm
I’m not really part of the punk scene, but I have called myself sXe for years because I follow the same lifestyle choices basically (don’t smoke, drink, do drugs, have casual sex, and am vegan).
I think these days a bunch of the indie/emo bands are sXe, or some of their members are, at least.
posted by Celeste M. on 10-15-2007 at 3:57 pm
No, I wouldn’t insult them all, either. But, the British did, in general, take a wide open kind of music and turn it into a formula, as well as turning an attitude into an unintended farce, Sex Pistols not withstanding. I gues it’s kinda akin to all the wannabe hippies wrecking the scene in SF from ‘67 onward.
No, I still like some of the English bands, and they did revive ska. And, to be fair, wasn’t it after being exported to the US that the skins got racist?
It’s all Malcolm McLaren’s fault!
posted by Bassman on 10-15-2007 at 5:01 pm
I don’t know where you guys come from but where I am, the straight edge kids are irritating pricks. They have to have been one of the most hated subcultures in my school. Although, I think they were probably emo, not punk.
Also, I have a joke:
How many straight edge kids does it take to screw in a light bulb?
None, straight edge kids don’t screw.
posted by Sally on 10-15-2007 at 6:03 pm
What about the psych-punk kids? The 80’s ravers, and the space-rock scene. Not all of it is considered “punk”, but it is certainly non-conformist and there is clearly a lifestyle associated with it. As for the straight-edge punks: I think it’s really cool that they decided to rebel against their own image (the drugs and sex), that takes real guts (that is, if they’re actually rebelling or just afraid to have their mind expanded…).
posted by Ed on 10-15-2007 at 6:03 pm
i am a peaceful straight edge vegetarian electro punk in vermont
i only know a handfull of straight edge people…..
posted by tricky pat on 10-15-2007 at 6:05 pm
I identify with the straight-edge lifestyle, but I don’t think I can call myself that, as I don’t really don’t listen to punk anymore. Used to…Oh any my t-shirt came in the mail today. Thanks guys!
posted by Kitty on 10-15-2007 at 6:11 pm
Bassman: The US hardcore in the 80s was at least at diverse as the 70s New York and LA scenes. And if you’re going to act like a rock n roll encyclopedia, you should know that punk started in the Pacific Northwest in the early 60s. Judging by your response, I’m sure you couldn’t name any punk or hardcore bands from the past 15 years. I’m sure if you’d ever heard the Cro-Mags, Inside Out, His Hero is Gone, Dillinger Escape Plan, Born Against, or any other of the hundreds of groundbreaking bands who don’t sound anything like the early 80s to have come out in the past 20 years, you wouldn’t have come across as such an idiot.
Also, racist skins began in England. Ever heard or Skrewdriver? The US produced SHARP, though RASH (though it’s up for debate whether or not they’re really skinheads) is a European invention.
Also:
Psychobillies/Greasers
Mod-punks (or “Garage Punks”)
Chaos punks
Crusts (someone mentioned that earlier)
77 punks
Mallpunks (heheh)
posted by Ian EBH on 10-15-2007 at 6:59 pm
I always wanted to be punk or psychobilly.
I still like the music although I have grown out of the people, look, ect.
I sometimes still wear my Creepers but I think I listen to too much folk music to be accepted.
posted by nak on 10-15-2007 at 7:14 pm
I’m straight-edge. All the guys in my tech ed class make fun of me, but who will be laughing when they’re getting hangovers every weekend and I actually pass school!
:D
posted by Jen B on 10-15-2007 at 8:59 pm
One of my good friends identifies as straight edge. Not as much with the punk part of it, though, I don’t think.
Also… there was a strange wave of straight edgers in my high school. I knew of a few hardcore ones with the Xs and everything.
posted by D on 10-16-2007 at 2:49 am
I am an after hours punk. On my way to work I listen to real punk (70s, 80s and early 90s stuff not the crap they pass off today as punk). From 8-5 while at work I am conservative muttering things like “F the system” and what not under my breath. After work on the weekends, it loud angry punk music and defying the norm.
I live in a city with horrible punk scene. It is full of all this new age punk/pop stuff. I grew up on punk and it will live in me for ever.
I have always hated sXe punks. I just want to cram some beer down thier throats and tell them to loosen up…
LONG LIVE PUNK!!!!
posted by RB on 10-16-2007 at 9:19 am
In reference to the comment about not many, if any, British punk bands being influential, I think you may be forgeting one of the biggest. The Clash. No matter who you are you’ve got to admit that Joe Strummer steered away from the nihilism that the Sex Pistols were offering and gave kids real solutions and encouraged positive social change. They made punk great and something that I can be proud to be a part of.
posted by Passion is a Fashion on 10-16-2007 at 6:43 pm
I am 26 and straight edge. I’ve always been straight edge, even before I knew about the movement (in college). I saw the self-destructive tendencies of my friends, many of whom were anti-establishment, and I realized that it (drugs, alcohol, addiction) was not for me. Eventually, I also gave up caffinated beverages, started eating organic/healthy foods and became vegan. I’ve always felt that it seems odd for someone to talk about smashing the state and making real changes, while spending most of their free time figuring out how to get fucked up drunk and/or high. I’d rather put my money, engery, time, and resources into actully doing something positive and changing the world for the better. And for me, it’s not about the music at all. I like minor threat and fugazi, and good clean fun, but other than that, I listen to lots of folk music and old school country and more avant-rock like Low or Sonic Youth. Addictions kill your revolutionary spirit…fight the mechanisms of power, not your body.
posted by Al on 10-23-2007 at 1:21 pm
You don’t really need or want that lifestyle, it might hurt y’all slowly more…….Just tell him you
don’t wanna repeat something your not too proud of z7uas.
posted by aquaxoria on 10-30-2007 at 12:11 pm
Wow, these comments are actually really informative. One of my finals is an hour long presentation about the social consequences of punk rock (and why it is/was important). And the UK did produce several good/decent punk bands (as well as many that started off punk, or were spawned by the punk movement in general). Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Clash (whether or not you like them, they’re important, musically), and The Damned. And I have to admit to liking the Sex Pistols, myself.
As for the straight edge thing, we’ve got maybe 1 or 3 at my school. It’s not a very welcoming place to be different. However, I know many people who follow the straight edge ideals (no drugs, no drinking, no casual sex, etc.). They however, simply don’t identify as sXe, because they don’t really like hardcore music (at least, not publicly). And one cannot count out the high instances of poseur punks – kids who think it’s “cool” to be vaguely rebellious. It’s sad.
posted by M on 4-2-2008 at 9:24 pm
One of my best friends is straight-edge … and she’s also a HUGE fan of the band AFI, which is straight-edge. I’m straight-edge…just…not punk. More indie, but I love punk music. I think everyone’s a bit of punk in some way, they’re just too afraid to admit it for some reason …
posted by Kat on 1-17-2009 at 11:02 am
I would be a straight-edge punk if I listened to punk music. I fit all the criteria, vegan, no drugs, no casual sex, yadda-yadda, but I’m more indie than punk.
But one thing I’ve noticed is that at least 75% of vegan food bloggers are punk.
posted by Abby on 1-24-2009 at 9:41 pm
I am indeed straight edge, love meeting others.
posted by Molly on 2-10-2009 at 3:51 pm
I read about straight-edge, sounds like me. XD My parents don’t believe me when I tell them I’m never having alcohol.
posted by Cooper on 4-17-2009 at 6:52 am
I’m just wondering if anyone here was ever into Refused. They made an album called “The Shape of Punk to Come” in 1999, that basically has laid out the way that it has gone in the last ten years. Anyone else down with them? I am 27 and not really punk at all… My musical tastes expanded, my style of dress matured, but I think the really important part of my experience in “the scene” was the character building political and social statements that I was exposed to by bands like Boy Sets Fire and Jawbreaker. That is still with me, even when I’m rocking out to Pink Floyd.
posted by moleboy on 4-17-2009 at 9:52 am
I’ve seen a few documentaries on the Punk music scene of the 80s and early 90s. Its interesting how the people who were straightedge all along look way better in their 40s than the punks who were heavy into partying. The lifestyle really takes a toll.
I was into the punk scene in HS and college. I still go to some punk shows and lots of indie rock shows now that I’m in my 30s. But I haven’t really looked/dressed punk since I was a teenager. I was straightedge in HS but not in college. When I was straightedge we used to make fun of people who were “Straight edge…til college” but I became one of them!
posted by redbeki on 4-17-2009 at 10:17 am
I recently graduated fron high school in the d.c. metro area and knew plenty of those strait edge kids. the scene is alive and well although it does seem to be morphing into emo now-a-days.
posted by swarmofbs on 4-17-2009 at 11:36 am
I graduated high school (several years ago) in SW FL and I was friends with straight-edge punks. Some went to college, joined the Marines… and couple of them ended up tasting the sweet nectar of Mad Dog 20/20 and they were never the same.
posted by Sibi on 4-17-2009 at 1:10 pm
@moleboy
I love the Refused…they were definitely a band that was ahead of the times. “The Shape of Punk to Come” is an amazing album.
I started listening to punk when i was in 4th grade (early 90’s) when my brother showed me bands like Screeching Weasel, Bollweevils, Smoking Popes, 88 Fingers Louie, and other Chicago bands…along with the Ramones, the Clash, Jawbreaker, etc…and i’ve been listening to it ever since. Unfortuantely i was too young to go to shows to see some of the great 90s chicago punk bands.
And although my musical taste has expanded throughout the years..i still love going back and listening to that old stuff from back in the day.
posted by andy on 4-17-2009 at 1:16 pm
I get the thing about SE peeps being against substances (alcohol and drugs) and dietary restrictions (vegan and whatnot) but what’s with the personal ban on casual sex? Am I the only one that fails to see the connection between screwing up your body with substances and bad/earth-unfriendly food, and being able to express yourself in a safe sexual manner with other consenting individuals? sounds too much like a religion-influenced thing to me lol.
posted by Mark M on 4-17-2009 at 2:01 pm
I was straightedge vegan in high school – it was a whole lot easier to give that single explanation to all the punk kids at school than to breakdown my objections to various vices. Oddly, despite being the only straightedge kid at my school, I got a lot respect for it. A lot more than I got for my religious beliefs. For some reason, the Christians had a hard time reconciling my love of punk/hardcore with my faith and the punks had a hard time reconciling my faith with my music.
I loved, and still do, being a contradiction. Nothing will ever make me forget the joys of getting inducted into the National Honor Society with flame red hair or working at the library with purple spikes. Now, my piecings and tattoo are discrete enough to allow me to work at a non-profit for children, then go home and relive my glory days listening to Minor Threat, Earth Crisis and No Innocent Victim. Or curl up with a good book and the Once soundtrack.
Basically, I gave it up when it became too controlling. I never got into drugs or casual sex, but I do enjoy a glass of wine or a few Irish car bombs with friends now that I’m in my late 20s. I think it’s dangerous when we’re saying no to things without understanding why. As a teen, I had plenty of valid reasons to resist the pressures of drugs and booze. As an adult, I’m in a much better place to make decisions about my life and my body. My moral compass is steady enough now that I don’t need rigid dogma to stay true to myself and my beliefs.
recaptcha: bylaws zens
posted by xJenx on 4-17-2009 at 3:39 pm
i’m straight edge.
sally; thats a stupid joke.
real straight edge people don’t have promiscuous sex but people in long term relationships can have sex.
the reason behind the no promiscuity aspect of straight edge is that the people who started it were sick of everyone fucking groupies, and the sex being meaningless.
posted by karina on 4-17-2009 at 4:26 pm
I don’t really classify myself as any certain type of punk. I still love the music but I am a bit old for “the scene”. I go to shows every once and a while but I gave up my quasi-gutter-punk life when I graduated college. I like my life a little cleaner and quieter now (well, the music is still loud). No regrets though! I loved every minute of it and would do it all again.
I knew a couple of sXe kids over the years. The ones in high school were total pricks and their musical tastes more what would now be called emo. All the straight edge kids I’ve known recently eventually got tired of it and now drink and get laid every once in a while. (A few stayed emo-tastic)
Sally- Funny joke! I’ve never heard that one. :)
posted by Martha on 4-19-2009 at 2:18 am