For almost 10 years now, I’ve been a member of various alternative music scenes, all beginning from when my friend showed me a Breaking Benjamin song on their cracked iPod at summer camp. To me, being alternative has always been so much more than just a fashion genre; it was an integral part of my identity.
Therefore, it was very important to find an alternative subculture that I felt at home in. When I was about 13, I stumbled upon the song “Holiday in Cambodia” by the Dead Kennedys. It wasn’t just a catchy song or a good band (both of which are nonetheless true), it was very viscerally something I had never really heard before: punk.
I consider being punk on the same level identity-wise as being an Aquarius. That isn’t me putting an emphasis on the way I dress—what the general public considers to be all of what punk is—but a statement to two important aspects of my identity: my politics and the music I listen to.
In the punk subculture, it’s impossible to separate music and politics; this is something that has been argued over for years, but something I feel very strongly about.
In the 1970s, punk rock emerged as an alternative to the overproduction of mainstream music. It was an outlet for those unsatisfied with the world around them to express themselves without being censored by a radio. More often than not, these specific issues had to do with politics and the government.
From the beginning, punk rock established itself as a leftist movement. In the United Kingdom, The Clash took a stance against police oppression and racism with songs such as “Police & Thieves” and “White Riot.” Additionally, early punk bands such as The Ruts, The Clash and Sham 69 played shows in support of the “Rock Against Racism” movement.
In the United States, the Dead Kennedys’ 1980 album “Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables” explored numerous political topics, such as the exploitation of the working class as a result of capitalism (“Kill the Poor” and “Let’s Lynch the Landlord”) as well as military propaganda and blind patriotism (“When Ya Get Drafted”).
The Dead Kennedys were also responsible for organizing a series of “Rock Against Reagan” shows in protest of President Ronald Reagan and his administration.
An anti-capitalism, and specifically a pro-anarchy, viewpoint is at the center of punk. This is where the line between true punk and the mainstream idea of punk starts to differ.
While mainstream media often portrays anarchist punks as promoting chaos, true anarchism is a political theory that rejects hierarchy and aims for a society free from exploitation and oppression.
While punk is a left-leaning political subculture, it’s important to emphasize it is a radical left-leaning subculture, meaning that it rejects moderately leftist political theories such as liberalism.
While liberals often adopt a pro-capitalist, anti-gun and reformist position, leftists operate on an anti-capitalist, pro-gun and revolutionary stance.
Besides anti-government sentiments, punk is a notoriously feminist and pro-LGBTQ+ subculture. In the 1990s, bands such as Bratmobile and Bikini Kill spearheaded the “Riot Grrrl” movement, breaking up the male-dominated aspect of the scene that had prevailed for so long.
These bands addressed issues such as sexism, sexual violence and gender norms.
In the 1980s and 90s, a subgenre of punk called “queercore” emerged as a response to the heteronormativity of the punk scene. Bands such as Pansy Division and Limp Wrist critiqued homophobia and carved out a place for the LGBTQ+ community in the scene.
This brings about the ultimate question of a decades long debate: is it possible to be punk and not share these radical leftist views? My answer to that question is a resounding no.
The two aspects that make punk what it is is music and politics; these two are inseparable from each other. You can’t only listen to the music or only believe in the politics, you have to do both.
When people pick one over the other, or claim they’re punk because they spike their hair and put patches on a jacket, the scene loses its authenticity.
This “poseur” problem has spanned decades. In 1986, the Dead Kennedys warned of this issue with “Chickenshit Conformist.” In 2003, NOFX warned of it again with “The Separation of Church and Skate.”
Punk isn’t a static movement, and it isn’t perfect; punk scenes around the world still struggle with breaking free from its male-dominated, heteronormative past.
Despite its flaws, the one thing you can’t change about it are its political roots. If you don’t agree with it, don’t call yourself punk.