The Experience of Punk Subcultural Identity
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Authors
Anderson, Timothy
Issue Date
2012
Type
Dissertation
Language
en
Keywords
“Punk”,“Subculture”,“Community”,“DIY”,“Self- Actualization","Identity Development"
Alternative Title
Abstract
There has been little research on the subjective experience of punk identity. Popular interpretations of the punk often lack depth and have often been regarded as inaccurate when compared to the experiences described by the punks themselves (O'Hara, 1999). The present study provides an in-depth examination ofthe experience of punk subcultural identity by self-identified punks. Four women and eight men between the ages of 27 and 52 , all San Francisco Bay Area residents, described their experience of developing a punk identity through semistructured interviews. A conventional qualitative content analysis ofthese semistructured interviews identified five common main themes, which also appear to outline a developmental identity progression: Punk as rejection, Punk as a response to a feeling of alienation, Punk as empowerment, Punk as community, and Punk as a quest for an authentic self. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of Punk literature and various models of identity development.