Straight edge: A review of a subculture and an examination of its roots in resistance.

In the introductory chapter of his book Subculture: the Meaning of Style, Dick Hebdige describes the transformations and appropriations performed by subcultural style as "gestures, movements towards a speech which offends the 'silent majority', which challenges the principle of unity and cohesion, which contradicts the myth of consensus" (Hebdige, 1979, p.10). Given some of the more extreme transformations performed on Hebdige's "humble objects" (Hebdige, 1979, p.10), the question arises: is the letter "X" on a teenager's hand enough to offend the "silent majority" that Hebdige speaks of?

I propose that the straight edge subculture exists within a relationship of resistance with structures of social dominance despite the apparent contradiction in championing what are ostensibly the values and ethics of the ideologically dominant. I have had the benefit of observing a group of straight edge youths living on the outskirts of Ottawa for over five years, and I will draw from the observations made over those years along with open-ended structured interviews conducted with various members of the straight edge community to obtain their views of straight edge. This will be combined with an analysis of the subculture within the context of popular culture to attempt to show its roots in resistance.

To begin, the common traits of members of the straight edge subculture must be defined. The Journal of Drug Issues describes a straight edge youth as one who is "rejecting drugs, alcohol [and] irresponsible sexuality." (Irwin, 1999, p.369) They also describe the members of the subculture as "overwhelmingly white and middle class" (Irwin, 1999, p.365), an observation that agrees with those I had made in the Ottawa and Toronto straight edge scenes. In interviews performed for the purpose of this paper, vegetarianism and other aspects of clean living were often suggested as extensions on the ethos of those who already prescribe to the straight edge lifestyle, but they are by no means requirements of it.

Beyond these simple lifestyle rules, straight edge youths unite around "hardcore," a faster, harder offshoot of punk rock, as their musical style of choice within the subculture; this choice finds its roots in the early history of the scene, when the term "straight edge" was first coined. Indeed, even the quote in the previous paragraph from the Journal of Drug Issues makes reference to the lyrics of "Out of Step," a famous hardcore song by Minor Threat that provides the band's summary of what it is to be straight edge: "[I] Don't smoke / Don't drink / Don't fuck / At least I can fucking think."

Minor Threat is also credited with giving the movement a name via a song entitled "Straight Edge" that was released in 1981. In his foreword to the book All Ages: Reflections on Straight Edge, Ray Cappo, singer for the popular mid-eighties straight edge band Youth of Today, went so far as to describe the Minor Threat singles as "the straight edge version of the Dead Sea Scrolls" (Lahickey, 1997, p.xi), making a rather confident assertion as to the foundations of the subculture.

Despite considerable research into other possible origins of the straight edge subculture, no alternative explanations for its inception were found. In the meantime, Ian MacKaye, Minor Threat's songwriter, has been lifted to celebrity status within the punk-rock community. MacKaye's house is commonly visited by straight edge youth who, according to MacKaye's mother, arrive as "a little flood of them, maybe five or six . . . during school vacation" (Weiss, 2001, p.21).

As straight-forward as the straight edge subculture's origins is the symbol by which a straight edge youth identifies him or herself: simply with the letter "X". The "X" is a symbol expropriated from the early days of punk, when it was drawn onto the hands of an under-aged individual at a concert to ensure that the bouncers would recognize any minors attempting to drink.

According to MacKaye, the "X" markings "were just what kids in Washington D.C. had to deal with just to see music, to be free" (Lahickey, 2001, p.100). But as some of these minors began to reach the age of majority and in so doing became old enough to legally consume alcohol, many continued to draw an "X" on each of their hands as a show of solidarity for those still too young to drink and to show that they didn't need alcohol to enjoy seeing a concert.

Attending a hardcore show today, one finds that little has changed since the days of Minor Threat and Youth of Today. Many fans in attendance sport a black "X" on each of their hands (regardless of whether or not alcohol is served at the location), and bands like Bane have provided the subculture with new anthems such as "Superhero", a song that asks an individual uninvolved with the straight edge lifestyle to imagine "How great it feels to be free."

With its own system of beliefs and its own symbols, straight edge's status as a legitimate subculture is solidified in its ability to "win space for the young" and to "mark out and appropriate 'territory' within the localities" (Clarke et el., 1997, p.103) Amongst the straight edge youths observed in Ottawa, the location of this appropriated territory was the SAW Gallery, a space to organize concerts and other events. In Toronto, the Jewish Community Centre provides a similar locale as hardcore shows periodically take place there. And finally, the teens described in the Journal of Drug Issues find their place in Long Island at the East End YMCA, where numerous hardcore shows occur over the course of the author's investigation (Irwin, 1999, p.366).
In his earlier work, Hebdige describes subcultures as being inherently counter-hegemonic; in later works, however, he admits that he "had underestimated the power of commercial culture to appropriate [and] . . . to produce counter-hegemonic styles." (During, 1993, p.357) That being the case, the issue becomes whether the straight edge subculture is simply buying into the values of the ideologically dominant, thus negating its potential as a truly resistant subculture, or whether the ideas expressed within this subculture do indeed remain counter-hegemonic by their very nature.

In discussions with other straight edge youths, they unanimously stated their belief that by abstaining from drugs, alcohol, and casual sex, they were still engaging in rebellious behavior. Perhaps, then, it is the target of this rebellion that needs to receive more focus: as Lahickey states in her introduction to the book All Ages: Reflections on Straight Edge, "straight edge [provides] an untraditional form of rebellion -- rebelling against the traditional forms of rebellion." (Lahickey, 1997, p.xviii) With this argument in mind, a look at the straight edge subculture in the context of its opposition to the carnivalesque is worth investigating.

Given arguments that carnivalesque behavior is more a "licensed release" than an attack upon hegemony, the refusal of straight edge youth to participate could form a basis for arguing a position of resistance for the straight edge subculture as a whole. Without giving into the pleasures of the body, the "release of emotions that [makes the population] easier to police in the long term" (Stallybrass et al., 1997, p.296) would be lacking amongst straight edge youth, making them potentially dangerous to the dominant class.

This theory, however, is destroyed by even the most casual of observations into the workings of a straight edge scene -- while the outlet has changed, the release is still there. For most straight edge youths, release occurs through the music that they listen to and through the concerts that they attend. While this release of emotions is less overt than that provided through the traditional, carnivalesque outlet, group activities like moshing and slam dancing provide a safe route for the release of emotions without giving into the pleasures of the body in a more typically carnivalesque way.

A more satisfactory argument for the straight edge subculture's position of resistance involves the concept of the bourgeois body and its "disciplined 'cleanliness'" (Fiske, 1989, p.99). The expropriation of the meanings inherent in this clean and unthreatening "bourgeois sterilized body" is troubling for the dominant class as it is this sterilized body that is "categorically pure enough for it to slip easily into that abstract principle of capital that is itself so uncontaminated as . . . to need no discipline" (Fiske, 1989, p.99). In the same way that "the 'Teddy Boy' expropriation of an upper-class style of dress 'covers' the gap [between classes]" (Clarke et al., 1997, p.104) and is counter-hegemonic in so doing, the expropriation of some of the values of the ideologically dominant transforms them into a counter-hegemonic tool.

It is worth investigating at this point a potential explanation for the rise of the straight edge subculture at this point in history. With obesity and the acceptance of inebriating substances each on the rise (McClam, 2001; Stebbins, 1988, p.133), and with the further normalization of sexual promiscuity, North American culture is moving ever closer to the carnival's "celebration of the grotesque body -- fattening food, intoxicating drink, sexual promiscuity" (Featherstone, 1991, p.79). The grotesque body is in direct opposition with the classical body, and in the formation of the subordinate culture at the time of the original carnivals, the classical body was held up as the ideal while the grotesque body was mostly ignored. This is said to have the effect of transforming "the [body] which is excluded . . . [into] the object of desire" (Featherstone, 1991, p.79) -- effectively, the middle class is attracted to the body whose aspects are unavailable in everyday life. And with everyday life moving closer and closer to a celebration of the grotesque body, more and more people might be expected to possess an attraction toward the classical body, one which places less emphasis on the pleasures of the flesh. This could provide an explanation for the growth of straight edge over the past nineteen years.

Indeed, the rejection of the components of the grotesque body becomes complete with the increasing tendency of those aligning themselves with the straight edge lifestyle to also take on a vegan or vegetarian diet. Almost fifty percent of those interviewed profess to adhere to either vegetarianism or veganism. This being the case, the final pleasure of the grotesque body -- that of fattening foods -- is effectively removed by the dietary choices of many of the subculture's members.

But that is not to say that straight edge is not without its faults -- far from it, in fact. Ian MacKaye has always been quick to acknowledge that straight edge groups are often "extremely 'boy' oriented" (Lahickey, 1997, p.107), and my observations in Ottawa seemed to confirm this statement. The ratio of straight edge males to females in Ottawa was around ten to one, illustrating the increased attraction held by the subculture over males. This disparity between the sexes within the subculture is often attributed to the aggressiveness of the music involved, but it is a disparity that is slowly disappearing. Irwin's analysis of straight edge, for instance, found that at the hardcore concerts he observed, "females and males [were] equally represented in the crowd" (Irwin, 1999, p.367) Also, since moving to Toronto, I have not met many other straight edge youths, but the majority of those that I have met have been female. So perhaps this disparity between the sexes will evolve out of the subculture as it continues to mature.

Also, there is an unfortunate sense of one-upmanship amongst some members of straight edge groups that results in an unfortunate stigma being attached to drug-free youth in general. As a personal example, I was ostracized as a snob by some individuals in my residence after they discovered that I was straight edge. Incidents like this are frequent, and occur largely due to the words and actions of a small minority of straight edge youths who vocally hold themselves above those who use drugs and alcohol. It is also this small minority that is responsible for almost all of the media coverage garnered by the straight edge subculture regarding attacks upon smokers and altercations with members of fraternities. From its beginnings, straight edge was always a matter of personal choice, and, for this reason, those who try to force their views upon others using violence are universally referred to as "hate edge" and are rejected by the rest of the subculture.

In conclusion, through its expropriation of upper-class values, the straight edge subculture blurs the lines between the subordinate and dominant classes to take a place alongside the "Teddy Boys" in a position of counter-hegemonic resistance. In finding a voice within popular culture, there is a hope that "the values promulgated by [the Straight Edge] subculture may subject the larger youth culture to re-evaluation and change" (Irwin, 1997, p.369), and as the subculture continues to grow, it could gain the potential to subject even the mass culture as a whole to similar re-evaluation and change.