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 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 