"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."
By:
Ross Haenfler
Imprint: Rutgers University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 15mm
Weight: 340g
ISBN: 9780813538525
ISBN 10: 0813538521
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 09 June 2006
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
,
A / AS level
,
Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
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
Ross Haenfler is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Mississippi.
Reviews for Straight Edge: Hardcore Punk, Clean Living Youth, and Social Change
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 History
