Description
This study explores the modes of resistance in which members of the straight edge subculture engage, uncovering inconsistencies in their ideology and examining tensions these inconsistencies create along the way. Straight edge developed out of the punk scene as its proponents sought to come against what they perceived to be contradictions within punk ethos; where punks claim to be doing the opposite of what everyone else is doing as a form of rebellion against mainstream culture, straight edgers point to their drug and alcohol use, smoking, and engagement in promiscuous sex as mirroring mainstream, rather than opposing it. In an age replete with hedonistic activities as resistance against Christian conservative norms, the straight edge subculture has emerged in which its members actually perceive this hedonism as the new dominant mainstream ideology. They practice a pseudo-religious restraint to counteract it, engaging in a non-religious asceticism as a means to make their statement. Although this choice may not seem disruptive, in reality it engages in a dramatic destabilizing of norms. However, through a close examination of straight edge texts, including documentaries, lyrics, and performances, it becomes evident that this resistance is riddled with tensions between ethos and action. In an effort to lead what they have termed a "toxin-free" lifestyle in order to ostensibly further distance themselves from the hegemony, and in making a break from their punk predecessors, straight edgers have inadvertently produced their own contradictions. I argue that the most debilitating of these contradictions to the intended straight edge resistance is its members' repeated proclamations of leading a peaceful movement while practicing violence. The multiple manifestations of this violence are explored as well as the effects this violence has had on the subculture's members' ability to maintain congruency between ideology and action. The findings of this study serve to illuminate the difficulties involved in the construction and maintenance of a stable ethos within resistant youth subcultures, as well as to highlight the recursive nature of youth rebellion in America, where the preceding rebellion serves as a basis to define the next rebellion, and the pattern of rebelling against rebellion pushes on.
