First up a little bit of general Punk history
General History
The Punk subculture is a 'youth movement' based around Punk Rock music and started in the US & UK in the Mid 1970s and quickly spread around the world. Australia, South Africa & Japan also played host to the early Punk scene.
The Punk Subculture has it's own Subculture the most well known being the Straight Edge Life Style. If you want to know about more PM me and I'll tell you all about it.
Straight Edge
Yes Straight Edge is a Punk Subgenre. The name Straight Edge came from the Song Straight Edge by the Hardcore Punk band Minor Threat. they themselves had a lot of what came to be Straight Edge Ideals. Those ideals where forgoing any and all drugs (including nicotine) and alcohol. Straight Edge started on the East coast but quickly spread throughout the US and Canada
The X Symbol
The most common of all the Straight Edge Symbols the X could be either tattoed on or drawn on in regular ink mostly commonly on the hand but anywhere on the body would do. The X was to let other people know that they couldn' or wouldn't drink any alochol (depending on ther age). the X came about when the Hardcore Punk band the Teen Idles were scheduled to play ina san Francisco club. They were all under the Legal drinking age and were almost denied entrance in the club. Management decided to compromise by putting a big black X on each of their hand so the bartender knew not to sell them drinks. Due to the Straight Edge Scene being closely linked with Hardcore Punk music this quickly became the norm in the entire Straight Edge Subculture when they wanted people to know they didn't want or drink alcohol.
according to William Tsitsos (A Sociology Professor @ Townson University) the Straight Edge Subculture has gone through 3 different Eras since it began in 1980.
Old School Era (1970s and early 1980s)
Straight Edge sentiments could be heard in songs from the Early 1970s band The Modern Lovers and their songs I'm Straight and She Cracked. Another early Punk song that had strong Straight Edge tones was Keep it Clean by the English Punk Band The Vibrators.
Youth Crew Era (Mid 1980s)
During this Era the influence of music on the Straight Edge scene was at an all time high. During this time the band Youth of Today became associated with the straight edge scene, and their song Youth Crew expressed a desire to unite the Straight Edge scene into a movement. The biggest theme during this era was the association of the Straight Edge Scene with vegetarianism. In 1988, Youth of Today released the song No More, which initiated this new theme within the subculture. Lead singer Ray Cappo displayed his vegetarian views in the lyrics: Meat-eating, flesh-eating, think about it. So callous this crime we commit.This began a trend of animal rights and veganism within straight edge that would reach its peak in the 1990s.
1990s & 2000s (no fancy name for this one)
1990s
by the 1990s militant Straight Edge was a big part of the scene. Militant meaning someone who is dedicated and outspoken, but also believed to be narrow-minded, judgmental, and potentially violent. The Militant Straight Edge movement saw less tolerance for non-straight-edge people, more outward pride in being straight edge, more outspokenness, and the willingness to resort to violence in order to promote clean living. Also veganism as a part of the Straight Edge Culture reached it's peak at this time and was reflected by bands such as Birthright, Earth Crisis, Path of Resistance and Warcry that promoted militant straight edge and animal rights messages. In the mid-1990s, a number of bands advocating social justice, animal liberation, veganism, and straight edge practices displayed a stronger metal influence.
2000s
After the 1990s, some of the more controversial aspects that surrounded straight edge began to disappear, partly in response to media reports portraying the movement as a type of gang. (Really not much else to put)
to end the Straight Edge portion I will post a picture of perhaps the most famous Straight Edge Punk in the world today Phillip Brooks.
Up next is Punk Fashion again we'll start with a little history and move into the different Subcultures.
General history
Punk fashion is the different styles of of clothing, hairstyles, cosmetics, jewelry, and body modifications of the punk subculture. Punk fashion varies from the Vivienne Westwood styles to styled molded on bands like The Exploited. Punk fashion has been influenced by other Subcultures and art movements such as glam rock, skinheads, rude boys, greasers, and mods. Punk fashion has in turn influenced those Subcultures as well as popular culture. Punk fashion is used by punks as a way to make a statement.
Now that you know the general history we're going back into the original styles of Punk fashion all the way to today's Punk fashion of the various factions of the Punk Subculture.
Original Styles
The original punk fashions of the 1970s were intended to appear as confrontational, shocking and rebellious as possible. This style of punk dress was significantly different from what would later be considered the basic punk look. Many items that were commonly worn by punks in the 1970s became less common later on, and new elements were constantly added to the punk image. Punk fashion in the 1970s was based on the designs of Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren. Punk fashion was also influenced by the dress styles of such Punk bands and artists as the Ramones, Richard Hell, Patti Smith and the Bromley Contingent. Mainstream punk style was influenced by clothes sold in Malcolm McLaren's shop SEX. McLaren has credited this style to his first impressions of Richard Hell while McLaren was in New York City, supposedly managing the The New York Dolls.
Deliberately offensive T-shirts were popular in the early punk scene, such as the infamous DESTROY T-shirt sold at SEX, which featured an inverted crucifix and a Nazi Swastika. These T-shirts, like other punk clothing items, were often torn on purpose. Other items in early British punk fashion included: Anarchy symbols; brightly-colored or white and black dress shirts randomly covered in slogans such as Only Anarchists are pretty; fake blood; patches; and deliberately controversial images such as portraits of Marx, Stalin and Mussolini were popular. Leather rocker jackets and customized blazers were early, and are still a common fixture of punk fashion.
Preferred footwear include military boots, motorcycle boots, Brothel creepers, Chuck Taylor All-Stars, and Doc Martens. Tapered jeans, tight leather pants, pants with leopard patterns, and bondage trousers were popular choices. Hair was cropped and deliberately made to look messy; in reaction to the long smooth hairstyles that were common in the 1960s and early 1970s. Hair was often dyed bright unnatural colors. Although provocative, these hairstyles were not as extreme as later punk hairstyles, such as liberty spikes or the Mohawk hairstyle.
Other items worn by some punks included: BDSM fashions; fishnet stockings (sometimes ripped); spike bands and other studded or spiked jewelry; safety pins (in clothes and as body piercings); silver bracelets and heavy eyeliner worn by both men and women. Many female punks rebelled against the stereotypical image of a woman by combining clothes that were delicate or pretty with clothes that were considered masculine, such as combining a Ballet tutu with big, clunky boots.
Punk clothing sometimes incorporated everyday objects for aesthetic effect. Purposely-ripped clothes were held together by safety pins or wrapped with tape; garbage bags became dresses, shirts and skirts. Other items added to clothing or as jewelry included razor blades and chains. Leather, rubber and vinyl clothing have been common, possibly due to their connection with transgressive sexual practices, such as bondage and S&M.
Punk Fashion in the 1980s
When punk underwent its 1980s hardcore, Oi!/streetpunk, and UK82 renaissance, new fashion styles developed as parallel resurgences occurred in the United States and United Kingdom. The 1980s American scene spawned a utilitarian anti-fashion that was nonetheless raw, angry, and intimidating. In the UK, much of the punk music and fashion in the 1980s was influenced by heavy metal and the Oi! scene. However, elements of the 1970s punk look never fully died away. What many recognize as typical punk fashions today emerged from the 1980s British scene, exemplified by bands such as The Exploited, Subhumans, Charged GBH, and The Partisans. Some of the following clothing items were common on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, and some were unique to certain geographic areas.
Footwear that was common in the 1980s punk scene included Doc Martens, motorcycle boots and steel-toed combat boots; sometimes adorned with bandannas, chains or studded leather bands. Jeans (sometimes dirty, torn or splattered with bleach) and tartan kilts or skirts were commonly worn. Leather skirts became a popular item for female punks. Heavy chains were sometimes used as belts. Bullet belts, and studded belts (sometimes more than one worn at a time) became common.
Some punks bought T-shirts or plaid flannel shirts and wrote political slogans, band names or other punk-related phrases on them with marker pens. While this was not without precedent in the 1970s, the depth and detail of these slogans were not fully developed until the 1980s. Silkscreened T-shirts with band logos or other punk-related logos or slogans were also popular. Studded, painted and otherwise customised leather rocker jackets or denim vests became more popular during this era, as the popularity of the earlier customized blazers waned.
Hair was either shaved, spiked or in a crew cut or Mohawk hairstyle. Tall mohawks and spiked hair, either bleached or in bright colors, took on a more extreme character than in the 1970s. Charged hair, in which all of one's hair stands on end but is not styled into distinct spikes, also emerged. Amongst female punks, a hairstyle similar to The Misfits' devilocks was popular. This involved shaving the entire head except for a tuft at the front.
Body piercings and extensive tattoos became very popular during this era, as did spike bands and studded chokers. Sometimes bandanna were worn to indicate gang affiliation. Some hardcore punk women reacted to the earlier 1970s movement's coquettish vibe by adopting an asexual style.
now were' moving onto the contemporary Punk Fashion scene in all the different Punk factions. Current factions of the punk subculture have different clothing habits, although there's often crossover between the different subgroups in terms of style.
Standard Punk Fashion
In general, modern punks wear leather, denim, spikes, chains, and combat boots. They often wear elements of early punk fashion, such as kutten vests, bondage pants (often plaid) and torn clothing. There is a large influence by DIY-created and modified clothing, such as ripped or stitched-together pants or shirts. Hair is typically dyed in bright, unnatural colors such as red, blue, green, pink or orange and arranged into a mohawk or liberty spikes. Hair could also be cut very short or shaved. Belts with metal studs, and bullet belts, are popular. Leather or denim jackets and vests often have patches or are painted with logos that express musical tastes or political views. Pants are usually tapered tightly. Metal spikes or studs are often added to jackets and vests.
Hardcore Punk Fashion
There are several styles of dress within the hardcore scene, and styles have changed since the genre started as hardcore punk in the late 1970s. What is fashionable in one branch of the hardcore scene may be frowned upon in another. Clothing styles are often chosen to make moshing easier to perform. Plain working class dress and short hair (with the exception of dreadlocks) are usually associated with hardcore punk. Mute colors and minimal adornment are usually common. Some elements of hardcore clothing are baggy or tight jeans or work pants, athletic wear, cargo or military shorts, khakis or cargo pants, band T-shirts, plain T-shirts, and band hoodies. Many hardcore punks wear sportswear and sneakers, including Pony, Adidas, Puma, Nike, and Converse apparel. Personal comfort and the ability to mosh are highly influential in this style (Jewellery, spikes, tight clothes, flashy hair and chains are highly uncommon and discouraged in hardcore fashion.)
Anarcho-Punk Fashion
Anarcho-punk fashion is a politicized adaptation of traditional punk fashion. This all black militaristic fashion was pioneered by Crass in the United Kingdom and by T.S.O.L. in the United States. A prominent feature is the heavy use of anarchist symbols and slogans. Some whom define themselves as Anarcho-Punks may opt to wear clothing similar to traditionalist punks or crust punks, but not often to the extreme of either subculture. Mohawks, and liberty spikes are rarely seen, but can still be worn. Tight pants, bands shirts and boots are common. Hair styling products are often used only on the basis that the company who manufactures it did not test it on animals. Leather, often avoided as part of Veganism, may be replaced with imitation leather or cloth in a similar design as leather products.
Crust Punk Fashion
Crust punk fashion is an extreme evolution of traditional punk fashion, and is heavily influenced by bands such as Doom, Amebix and Antisect. Typical crust punk fashion includes black or camouflage trousers or shorts covered in patches (heavy work pants are popular for their durability), torn band T-shirts or hoodies covered in patches, studded vests and jackets (commonly black denim), bullet belts, jewelry made from hemp and other natural/found objects, and sometimes bum flaps. Patches, even band patches, are often of a political nature. Clothing tends to be unwashed and unsanitary by conventional standards, and dreadlocks are popular. Crust punks sometimes sew articles of clothing with found or cheaply-bought materials, such as dental floss. Baseball caps with patches sewn on or studs implanted are popular headgear. Pants are often held up with string, hemp, or vegan-friendly imitation leather (sometimes avoided due to the style's connection with animal cruelty)
Horror Punk Fashion
Horror punk fashion is similar to goth fashion. Black is the predominant shade. Horror punk incorporates a sexier image, incorporating fishnets, corsets and elaborate make-up for men and women. The use of occult and horror imagery is prevalent on T-shirts, buttons, patches and jewelery. Other common adornments include band names painted on jackets or bleached into clothes, as well as buttons or patches indicating cities. Hair may be in deathhawk style (a wider teased-out variant of the Mohawk hairstyle), an angled bangs style, or in a devilock style. The traditional 80's Gothic Rock gave birth to the teased Mohawk, unlike the Punk Mohawk which was often fanned or spiked the Goth Mohawk which is often referred to as the Death Hawk was slightly wider and teased, often crimped as well.
Skate Punk Fashion
A skate punk is a skateboarder who listens to punk rock. Common clothing items include: open plaid button-down shirts, wristbands, webbed belts, T-shirts, baggy shorts or jeans, and hooded sweatshirts with patches or spraypainted graphics. Some skate punks have been influenced by the Cholo/gang style. Skateboard clothing and footwear brands are commonly worn, such as: Baker, Emerica, Fallen, Spitfire Wheels, Toy Machine, Black Label, Vans, Globe International and Zero. While most skaters have long and messy hair, skate punks usually have short hair. Examples: Nofx, Pennywise, and Millencolin.
Pop Punk Fashion
Pop punk fashion sometimes overlaps with skater punk fashion. Contemporary pop punk fans often wear items such as band T-shirts with ties or scarves; blazers; Dickies pants, jeans or shorts; studded belts; Converse All-Stars or Vans skateboarder shoes, and sometimes fitted hats.
Droog Fashion
Some punks dress similarly to the droogs in the film A Clockwork Orange. This involves white boiler suits, bowler hats, black Doc Martens or combat boots, suspenders and sometimes black eye makeup (on one eye only). This look has been displayed by bands such as The Adicts and Lower Class Brats, The Violators and Major Accident.
Suicidals
Suicidals (and some individuals in the later hardcore scene) dress in styles associated with the Cholo gang member look. Cholo punk is another term used, but is better suited for those who are more heavily influenced by the Cholo/gang culture.
This look, influenced by the California band Suicidal Tendencies, involves wearing bandannas (primarily blue in color) on one's head, Converse sneakers and other skateboard shoes, and blue plaid flannel shirts (usually worn with only the top button done up). Other commonly worn items include knee-high white socks, khaki shorts, baggy Diesel jeans and blue basketball jerseys with the number thirteen on them. Suicidal Tendencies T-shirts, as well as related band T-shirts (Beowülf, Excel and No Mercy were popular), as well as white tank tops.
This style sometimes includes a shaved head, short mohawk, crewcut or long Jay Adams-style hair. Another item associated with the Suicidals scene is a baseball cap or trucker hat with the bill upturned, and with text written or painted on it.
Another associated item is a white dress shirt with hand-drawn Suicidal related iconography on the back (Skulls, satanic imagery, the number 13 or the words Suicidal, Venice or Cyco). Many such shirts were drawn by Ric Clayton.
The Commercialization of Punk Fashion
Punk fashion has been extremely commercialized at various times, and many well-established fashion designers (such as Vivienne Westwood and Jean Paul Gaultier) have used punk elements in their products. Punk clothing, which was initially handmade, became mass produced and sold in record stores and some smaller specialty clothing stores by the 1980s. Many fashion magazines and other glamor-oriented media have featured classic punk hairstyles and punk-influenced clothing. These have caused controversy, as many punks view it as having sold out.
Up next is the Visual art associated with the Punk Subculture. there won't be a history section and then different subsections. The Visual art is all the same.
Punk Visual Art
is artwork which often graces punk rock album covers, flyers for punk shows, and punk zines. It is characterized by deliberate violation, such as the use of letters cut out from newspapers and magazines, a device previously associated with kidnap and ransom notes, so the sender's handwriting was not revealed.
Much of the earlier artwork was in black and white, because it was distributed in punk zines reproduced at copy shops, but when color was used in more expensive productions it was often characterized by being high key, such as the use of fluorescent pink and yellow contrasted with black on the cover of the Sex Pistols' Never Mind the Bollocks album designed by Jamie Reid.
LA artist Mark Vallen said:
Punk had a unique and complex aesthetic. It was steeped in shock value and revered what was considered ugly. The whole look of punk was designed to disturb and disrupt the happy complacency of the wider society. Outside of punk's torn and safety pinned anti-fashion statements, this impulse to outrage was never more apparent than on punk album covers.
Punk visual art can include anything from crudely scribbled letters to shockingly jarring figures drawn with sharp points everywhere. Often images and figures are cut and pasted from magazines to create a scene and the colors are often two tone and deeply contrasting. The main aesthetic of punk art seems to be to either shock, create a sense of empathy or revulsion, make a grander point with an acidic or sarcastic wit, poke fun at politics, political factions, or social factions, or create a humorous feel (though generally this is more prevalent in less serious, more pop/punky bands).The Situationists influenced the look of punk art. Early punk also played a hand in the revival of stencil art, spearheaded by Crass. Usually straightforward with clear messages, punk art is often concerned with political issues such as social injustice and economic disparity. The use of images of suffering to shock and create feelings of empathy in the viewer is common.
Alternatively, there may be images of self-violation, selfishness, stupidity, or apathy to provoke contempt in the viewer. Symbols of the establishment such as the Union Jack can be employed; the British Queen was depicted with a safety pin through her cheek. It can also subvert more mundane societal norms, as in the satirical depictions of suburbia by Howard Arkley. Punk art often utilizes collage, exemplified by the art of Jamie Reid and Winston Smith. John Holmstrom was a punk cartoonist who created much artwork for the Ramones and Punk Magazine.
The Stuckism art movement had their origin in punk, and titled their first major show The Stuckists Punk Victorian at the Walker Art Gallery during the 2004 Liverpool Biennial. Charles Thomson, co-founder of the group, described punk as "a major breakthrough" in his art. Patti Smith's portrait by Robert Mapplethorpe on the cover of her album Horses has become one of rock's classic images.
Up next is Punk Dance. It is the variety of dance popular among fans of punk rock and related styles. Some of it I'm sure you're familiar with some of it you may not be. there isn't much
Punk Dance
Commonly performed at punk shows, these dances often appear chaotic, or even violent, though they are often not with violent intent, but rather for fun. The punk subculture and its immediate predecessors originated many of these dance styles from the 1970s onward. Unlike hip hop dance and breakdancing, punk dances are intended to be performed in dense crowds. Moshing (a term credited to the early hardcore band Bad Brains, known earlier as slam dancing) and the pogo (allegedly invented by Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols as he attempted to see above the heads of fellow punks at a show) are the types of dance most closely associated with punk.
Hardcore dancing is a later development based on these styles. Stage diving and crowd surfing were originally associated with protopunk bands such as the Stooges, but went on to find a place at punk shows, and later metal shows and rock concerts. Skanking, a dance style originating in Jamaica's ska and reggae scene, is commonly performed at punk shows, especially if the band also plays ska. The contemporary dances of metalheads borrow much from punk dance.
Up nest is the literature associated with the Punk Subculture.
General history of Punk literature
The attitude and ideology of punk gave rise to distinctive characteristics in the literature it manifested. It has generated a considerable amount of poetry and prose, as varied as the subculture itself. It has had an influence on the popular transgressional fiction literary genre and several science fiction and fantasy genres have been named after it.
Zines and Journalism
Punk has its own underground press in the form of punk zines. Punk zines chronicle and help to define punk. Most punk scenes have at least one punk zine, which feature news, gossip, cultural criticism, and interviews with local or touring punk rock bands. Some punk zines take the form of perzines. Important punk zines include Maximum RocknRoll, Punk Planet, Cometbus, Girl Germs, Kill Your Pet Puppy, J.D.s, Sniffin' Glue, Absolutely Zippo and Punk Magazine. Also, a number of novels, biographies, autobiographies, and comic books have been written about punk.
Poetry
Examples of punk poets include: Richard Hell, Jim Carroll, Patti Smith, John Cooper Clarke, Seething Wells, Raegan Butcher and Attila the Stockbroker. Jim Carroll's autobiographical works are among the first known examples of punk literature. The Medway Poets, a British punk performance group, was formed in 1979, and included punk musician Billy Childish. They are credited with influencing Tracey Emin, who was associated with them as a teenager. Members of the Medway Poets later formed the Stuckists art group. A description by Charles Thomson of a Medway Poets performance contrasts with the sedate image of traditional poetry.
Bill Lewis jumped on a chair, threw his arms wide (at least once hitting his head on the ceiling) and pretended he was Jesus. Billy sprayed his poems over anyone too close to him and drank whisky excessively. Miriam told the world about her vagina. Rob and I did a joint performance posing, with little difficulty, as deranged, self-obsessed writers. Sexton finally introduced us to his girlfriend, Mildred, who turned out to be a wig on a wadge of newspaper on the end of an iron pipe.
Prose and FictionPunk influenced the cyberpunk literary genre. Punk zines have also spawned a considerable amount of punk-oriented prose and fiction, some of which has made an impact outside of punk circles.
There are comics based on the Punk Subculture but not enough to warrant it own section.
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