orks are perhaps the first punk literature. Punk has inspired the cyberpunk and steampunk genres.
Many punk movies have been made, and punk rock music videos and punk skate videos are common for some bands. The use of stock footage typifies punk film. The No Wave Cinema movement owes much to punk aesthetics. Derek Jarman and Don Letts were punk filmmakers.
Participants in the punk subculture are usually called punks, punk rockers, or, less often, punkers, or punx. Not everyone who plays a hand in the punk subculture is identified as a punk. Specific subsets of punk identify with the mainline subculture to varying degrees, and use a number of different terms to distinguish themselves, but these usually involve the use of punk as a suffix.
Typically, a punk enters the subculture during the first few years of high school. Many punks continue playing a role in the subculture for several years, and some even make their involvement a lifelong commitment. Although adolescents are the main age group in punk, there are also many adults who hold to the punk mentality, but do not necessarily dress the part. Some punks eventually leave the subculture in favour of the status quo, which is sometimes regarded as selling out by those still in the subculture.
Punks are typically white, male adolescents from working class or middle class backgrounds, although exceptions abound on every count. Punk is — except for the riot grrrl subculture — largely male-dominated, though punks rarely tolerate overt sexism. Since its inception, female punks have always played important roles in the punk subculture , but, numerically speaking, they are vastly underrepresented. Compared to some alternative cultures, however, mainline punk is much closer to being gender equalist, at least so far as its dominant ideological view of gender relations goes.
Although the punk subculture is overwhelmingly anti-racist, it is vastly white, especially in Europe and North America, and some fringe punk factions espouse views of white supremacy. These groups are usually treated with hostility by the rest of the subculture. Numerous ethnic minorities have taken part in and contributed to the development of the subculture, such as Blacks, Latinos, and Asians. The documentary film Afro-punk examines the role of African Americans in the punk subculture.
Originally, most punks came from working class, inner-city backgrounds, but these demographics have since shifted, so that now many punks come from middle class, suburban homes. Punks often hold minimum wage jobs or are unemployed. A number of punks are homeless, and some rely on squatting, dumpster diving, or shoplifting to survive. There is a tension within the punk community between the refusal of gainful employment and a disdain for dropping out. Gutter punks and squeegee punks vary in their actual involvement with the punk subculture.
Several major figures in the punk community have died from drug overdose or suicide. Substance abuse is somewhat common in the punk scene, with the exception of the straight edge faction. The original punk movement was largely fueled by heroin, methamphetamine, and alcohol. Methamphetamine and alcohol continue to find wide use in the subculture, though heroin usage has declined since the early 1980s. The punk subculture also has an association with the abuse of inhalants.
Punks mostly interact with one another in their local area, forming a local punk scene. In dozens of countries worldwide, almost all major cities, many medium-sized cities, and a few small towns have such scenes. Several local punk scenes with close ties to one another form a regional scene. The worldwide punk community may sometimes be called the punk scene.
Punk scenes, both local and regional, are concentrated in North America, Europe, and Japan. There are also scenes in Central America, South America and Australia. The more cosmopolitan cities of mainland Asia, and the Middle East also play host to scenes. In Africa, punk scenes are mostly limited to South Africa. On the whole, punk scenes are most prominent in global 