Intro to Punk

     Hey, this is Sarah and this semester I'm going to be talking about gender and sexuality as it relates to punk, rock, metal, industrial and basically anything that has a guitar. Rock is a many-headed beast and there are probably as many kinds of rock as there are rockers. Because of this, analyzing the relation it has to gender and sexuality is an endless process. I'm going to focus mainly on punk rock because I know it best, but I will occasionally delve into other sub-genres.
     In order to understand gender and sexuality as they relate to punk, it is important to know just what punk is. According to thefreedictionary.com, punk is " A young person, especially a member of a rebellious counterculture group," "an inexperienced young man," and "a youth subculture closely associated with punk rock music in the late 1970s; in part a reaction to the hippy subculture; dress was optional but intended to shock (plastic garbage bags or old school uniforms) and hair was dyed in bright colors (in Mohican haircuts or sometimes spiked in bright plumes)". This last definition fits most closely with how I will be using the term punk when referring to the subculture and "rock music with deliberately offensive lyrics expressing anger and social alienation; in part a reaction against progressive rock," is the definition I will use when referring to the music itself. Interestingly enough, an alternate definition offered of the word punk is "a young male homosexual." Obviously this is not the common usage anymore, but the fact that two separate definitions imply that punks are male is very intriguing. It is well known that the punk subculture is mostly male, and has a close tie with violence, independence and other traditionally masculine elements. Despite this however, there are many female punkers and in my experience the punk culture is very accepting of women, though not necessarily feminine qualities. I'll be discussing this in more detail in the future.
     As punk is meant to question the mainstream and frequently harmful standards of society and rebel against them, lyrics frequently contain shocking, offensive and just plain silly phrases. Sex is treated very casually and often as a joke. In addition, bodily noises, growls and spitting are not uncommon. But enough of my blathering! Here's a link to a classic song by the Dead Kennedys that has these principles. Heads up, there is explicit language in this song, in case it isn't obvious from the title, Too Drunk to Fuck. 

  Until next time,
Sarah