Professor Overfelt
Social Movement Essay
March 31, 2013
Straight Edge: Subculture and Social Movement
In the early 1980’s, a hardcore punk band called Minor Threat wrote a song called
“Straight Edge”. In this song, front man Ian MacKaye versed lyrics about not needing drugs or any substance to live a positive lifestyle. The song lyrics marked a new beginning of a subculture consisting of youth in a punk/hardcore scene that decided to be different and go against the grain. Straight edge is a lifestyle and philosophy of being in control of your mind and not giving in to what society’s normal is. There is no perfect model of being straight edge because it is a personal choice but there are certain values that are shared …show more content…
There are atheists, Christians, agnostics, all of which choose to live a straight edge life. (Suite 101) There have been many straight edge bands over the past 30 years in a small variety of genres. Some of the early straight edge bands such as Minor Threat, Point of No Return, and Refused pioneered the way for the future of straight edge, and hardcore.
There is no straight edge headquarters, meetings, or membership list. There is no recognized leaders, or formal set of rules but across the world, straight edgers agree on a fundamental principle of the movement and act accordingly (Haenfler, 63) Not having a leader, or headquarters makes straight edge not seem like much of social movement but
more of a subculture. There is some who argue that straight edge should not be a social movement, but is only a personal choice of life. Ian MacKaye said, “What I look for in life is people who I respect, living and teaching by example, and I trust that human beings can make up their minds and make the right decisions for their own lives.” By this quote its evident that MacKaye didn’t intend to start a movement.
Straight edge is, in a sense, a movement, but just not your typical one. …show more content…
If a mother heard her son joined a movement against drugs I’m sure she would be thrilled. If a mother heard her son joined a movement also classified as a violent gang I’m sure she would be against the straight edge social movement.
Straight edge has been around for over 30 years now, and it’s population is ever growing. It’s a movement that was never meant to be one, but naturally became one. The positive message brought about by straight edge has done more harm than good. Youth across the globe look up to more modern sXe bands such as Have Heart, GhostXship xREPRESENTx, etc. There is no telling what the future holds for straight edge, but it is in fact a very present subculture and social movement in today’s society.
Works Cited
Shively, Denise. "The Definition of Straight Edge." Suite101.com. N.p., 25 June 2007.
Web. 31 Mar. 2013.
Haenfler, Ross. Straight Edge: Clean-living Youth, Hardcore Punk, and Social Change.
New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 2006. Print.
Macintyre, April. "Nat Geo Goes 'Inside ' Straight Edge Sub-culture on April 9."
Http://www.monstersandcritics.com/. National Geographic, 25 Mar. 2008. Web. 31 Mar.