The punk subculture is a subculture that is based around punk rock music. Since emerging from the larger rock 'n' roll scene in the mid-to-late-1970s in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. Today the punk movement has spread around the globe and developed into a number of different forms.
Music is the most important aspect of punk. Punk music is called punk rock, sometimes shortened to punk. Most punk rock is a specific style of the rock music genre, though punk musicians sometimes incorporate elements from other genres. Punk subcultures often distinguish themselves by having a unique style of punk rock, though not every style of punk rock has its own associated subculture. Most punk rock involves simple arrangements, short songs and lyrics that espouse punk values. Punk rock is usually played in bands, as opposed to solo artists.
Punk ideology is concerned with the individual's intrinsic right to freedom, and a less restricted lifestyle. Punk ethics espouse the role of personal choice in the development of, and pursuit of, greater freedom. Common punk ethics include a radical rejection of conformity, the DIY (Do It Yourself) ethic, direct action for political change, and not selling out to mainstream interests for personal gain.
Punk politics cover the entire political spectrum, although most punks find themselves categorized into left-wing or progressive views. Punks often participate in political protests for local, national or global change. Some common trends in recent punk politics include anarchism, anti-authoritarianism, anti-militarism, anti-capitalism, anti-racism, anti-sexism, anti-nationalism, anti-homophobia, environmentalism, vegetarianism, veganism, and animal rights. Some individuals within the subculture hold right-wing views (see Conservative punk) or other political views conflicting with the aforementioned, though these comprise a minority. Well-known punks with conservative values include Michale Graves and Johnny Ramone. There are also some punks in openly white racist groups like Blood and Honour which embrace the Nazi ideology.
Punks seek to outrage propriety with the highly theatrical use of clothing, hairstyles, cosmetics, tattoos, jewelry and body modification. Early punk fashion adapted existing objects for aesthetic effect: ripped clothing is held together by safety pins or wrapped with tape; ordinary clothing is customized by embellishing it with marker or adorning it with paint; a black bin liner becomes a dress, shirt or skirt; safety pins and razor blades are used as jewelry. Leather, rubber, and vinyl clothing are also popular, possibly due in part to the fact that the general public associates it with transgressive sexual practices like bondage and S&M. Punks also sometimes wear tight "drainpipe" jeans, T-shirts with risqué images, rocker jackets (which are often decorated by painting on band logos, adorning the lapels and pocket flaps with pins and buttons, and covering sections of the jacket, especially the back and sleeves of the jacket, in large numbers of carefully placed studs or spikes), and footwear such as Converse sneakers, skate shoes, brothel creepers, or Dr. Martens boots.
Some punks style their hair to stand in spikes, cut it into Mohawks or other dramatic shapes, often coloring it with vibrant, unnatural hues. Punks tend to adorn their favorite jacket or vest with pin-back buttons and patches of bands they love and ideas they believe in, telling the world around them a little bit about who they are. They sometimes flaunt taboo symbols such as the Iron Cross. Some early punks occasionally wore clothes displaying a Nazi swastika for shock-value, but most modern punks are staunchly anti-racist and are more likely to wear a crossed-out swastika symbol.
In contrast to punks who regularly walk the streets wearing skin-tight plaid pants, a sleeveless band t-shirt, a leather jacket (with the cover of their favorite album hand painted on the back, the paint-free area of the back and both the sleeves coated by a precise grid of studs, and the lapels invisible beneath all the buttons), and combat boots with eighteen eyeholes, there are some punks who are decidedly "anti-fashion," arguing that music should define punk, not fashion. This is most common in hardcore punk.
The punk subculture has developed a variety of dancing styles, some which appear chaotic and violent. This has led some punk concerts to look like small-scale riots. The dance styles most associated with punk rock are pogo dancing and moshing (similar to the slam dancing associated with hardcore music). Stage diving and crowd surfing were originally associated with protopunk bands such as The Stooges, and continued to appear at punk, metal and rock concerts. Ska punk promoted an updated version of skanking. Hardcore dancing is a later development influenced by all of these styles. Punk has generated a considerable amount of poetry and prose. Punk has its own underground press in the form of punk zines, which feature news, gossip, cultural criticism, and interviews. Some zines take the form of perzines. Important punk zines include Maximum RocknRoll, Punk Planet, and Cometbus. Several novels, biographies, autobiographies, and comic books have been written about punk. Love and Rockets is a notable comic with a plot involving the Los Angeles punk scene.
Examples of punk poets include: Jim Carroll, Patti Smith, John Cooper Clarke, Seething Wells and Attila the Stockbroker. The Medway Poets performance group included punk musician Billy Childish and had an influence on Tracey Emin. Jim Carroll's autobiographical works are among the first known examples of punk literature. The punk subculture has inspired the cyberpunk and steampunk literature genres. Punks often form a local scene, which can have as few as half a dozen, or as many as thousands of members.[1] A typical punk scene is made up of bands, fans, and music venues,[1] as well as independent record labels, zine publishers, visual artists, and clothing makers. A local scene usually has a small group of dedicated punks surrounded by a more casual periphery.
Squatting plays a role in some punk communities, providing shelter and other forms of support. Punk squats and other punk houses sometimes provide bands a place to stay while on tour. There are some punk communes, such as the Dial House. The Internet has been playing an increasingly larger role in punk, specifically in the form of virtual communities and file sharing programs.
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