cities.
The way punks express their culture varies not from scene to scene, and there may be vast differences between regional scenes. The global punk subculture contains speakers of many languages, citizens of dozens of states, and members of a variety of nationalities and ethnicities. This wide variety of backgrounds ensures that punks create a vast range of culture that reflects the unique conditions of their local or regional scenes.
Local punk scenes cannot be as small as half a dozen punks, or can encompass thousands of members. A local scene usually has a small group of dedicated punks surrounded by a more casual periphery. On the outer fringes of a punk scene are the poseurs and wannabes, whom the core members do not consider to be participants in the subculture at all.
A typical punk scene is made up of: several bands who perform music at shows and record albums; fans who attend these shows and purchase these albums; independent record labels which produce these albums; zine makers who document the activity of the bands, fans and labels; visual artists who create artwork for these shows, albums, labels and zines; and fashion designers who create clothing and accessories. A punk may perform any number of these functions in his or her local scene, and it is not uncommon for a single punk to perform all of them.
Punk culture is exchanged within the punk community in a number of ways. Punk rock can be played in concert at either venues or basement shows, aired on radio stations, or recorded to albums or bootlegs for dissemination by the punk wing of the cassette culture. Parties also serve as an important component of a punk scene, providing an event to exchange music and reinforce scene solidarity. Punk zines are sometimes exchanged at zine distros catering specifically to the subculture.
Squats play a major role in the punk community, providing shelter and other forms of support. Punk squats and other punk houses often provide a place to stay for touring bands. These houses are usually found in low income urban areas in or around skid row. There are some punk communes, such as the Dial House.
In recent years, the Internet has been playing an increasingly larger role in punk , specifically in the form of virtual communities and file sharing programs. There have also been several formal organizations based around uniting punks, but these have largely disappeared.
Some punks and groups of punks, especially punk rock bands, gain notoriety within their local scene, regional scene, or the punk subculture as a whole, and some go on to become (in)famous in the mainstream as well. Well-known punks include Joey Ramone, John Lydon, Sid Vicious, Nancy Spungen, Jello Biafra, Joe Strummer, Billy Idol, Siouxsie Sioux, and Vivian Westwood. The punk subculture sometimes treats these figures as folk heroes, although some punks reject this as a form of idol worship.
Subcultures within punk Edit
Punk is made up of a diverse assortment of smaller subgroups, each with its own take on punk styles. These groups distinguish themselves from one another through differences in attitude, music and dress. Some of these groups are antagonistic towards one another, and there is widespread disagreement within punk whether or not some are even part of the larger subculture. Some factions are tied to particular regional or local scenes. Others, such as hardcore, are prevalent throughout the entire subculture. A single punk may identify with any number of these factions, or none in particular.
- Anarcho-punk is as old as the punk movement itself, and has supplied the punk subculture with many elements of its dominant ideology. It consists of groups, bands and individuals promoting anarchist ideas such as animal rights, feminism, anti-authoritarianism, anti-war, anti-capitalism, and anti-racism. Anarcho-punk bands include Crass, Conflict, Flux of Pink Indians, and the Subhumans. Anarcho-punk fashion ranges across the entire spectrum of punk fashion.
- Celtic punk which began in the early 1980s, fuses punk with the traditional cultures of Scotland, Ir