
Straight Edge
Hardcore Punk, Clean Living Youth, and Social Change
Ross Haenfler(Author)
Rutgers University Press
Published on 9. June 2006
Book
Paperback/Softback
264 pages
978-0-8135-3852-5 (ISBN)
Description
Straight edge is a clean-living youth movement that emerged from the punk rock subculture in the early 1980s. Its basic tenets promote a drug-free, tobacco-free, and sexually responsible lifestyle-tenets that, on the surface, seem counter to those typical of teenage rebellion. For many straight-edge kids, however, being clean and sober was (and still is) the ultimate expression of resistance-resistance to the consumerist and self-indulgent ethos that defines mainstream U.S. culture.
In this first in-depth sociological analysis of the movement, Ross Haenfler follows the lives of dozens of straight-edge youths, showing how for these young men and women, and thousands of others worldwide, the adoption of the straight-edge doctrine as a way to better themselves evolved into a broader mission to improve the world in which they live. Straight edge used to signify a rejection of mind-altering substances and promiscuous sex, yet modern interpretations include a vegetarian (or vegan) diet and an increasing involvement in environmental and political issues.
The narrative moves seamlessly between the author's personal experiences and theoretical concerns, including how members of subcultures define "resistance," the role of collective identity in social movements, how young men experience multiple masculinities in their quest to redefine manhood, and how young women establish their roles in subcultures. This book provides fresh perspectives on the meaning of resistance and identity in any subculture.
In this first in-depth sociological analysis of the movement, Ross Haenfler follows the lives of dozens of straight-edge youths, showing how for these young men and women, and thousands of others worldwide, the adoption of the straight-edge doctrine as a way to better themselves evolved into a broader mission to improve the world in which they live. Straight edge used to signify a rejection of mind-altering substances and promiscuous sex, yet modern interpretations include a vegetarian (or vegan) diet and an increasing involvement in environmental and political issues.
The narrative moves seamlessly between the author's personal experiences and theoretical concerns, including how members of subcultures define "resistance," the role of collective identity in social movements, how young men experience multiple masculinities in their quest to redefine manhood, and how young women establish their roles in subcultures. This book provides fresh perspectives on the meaning of resistance and identity in any subculture.
Reviews / Votes
In this, the first major scholarly study of the straight edge phenomenon, Ross Haenfler puts forth a richly compelling and very personal narrative, expertly applying his sociological training as he moves effortlessly between insider and outsider perspectives. - Michael Kimmel, professor of sociology, SUNY at Stony Brook, and author of Manhood in America: A Cultural HistoryMore details
Edition
First Edition, First Edition
Language
English
Place of publication
New Brunswick NJ
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Edition type
New edition
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
14 b&w illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 231 mm
Width: 154 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
428 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8135-3852-5 (9780813538525)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Ross Haenfler is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Mississippi.
Content
Preface and Acknowledgement
1 Straight Edge 101
2 Straight Edge Core Values
3 Straight Edge as a Social Movement
4 Positivity versus Military: Struggles within the Science
5 Masculinity in Contradiction: The Two Faces of Straight Edge
6 Girls United and Divided: women in Straight Edge
7 Life After Subculture: How Older Straight Edgers Redefine Commitment
8 Commercialization, the Internet, and the Cultic Milieu
9 Conclusions
A Timeline of Straight Edge Bands
Notes
References
Index
1 Straight Edge 101
2 Straight Edge Core Values
3 Straight Edge as a Social Movement
4 Positivity versus Military: Struggles within the Science
5 Masculinity in Contradiction: The Two Faces of Straight Edge
6 Girls United and Divided: women in Straight Edge
7 Life After Subculture: How Older Straight Edgers Redefine Commitment
8 Commercialization, the Internet, and the Cultic Milieu
9 Conclusions
A Timeline of Straight Edge Bands
Notes
References
Index