Punk Rock Stereotypes

People around the world participate in different music cultures for various reasons like religious or entertainment purposes. The punk rock music culture is no exception. Within the past few months, I have gone to concerts and participated in the punk rock community at Sidewinder, a bar in Austin, Texas to understand why musicians continue to participate. I took notes on the musical features of the songs played, the minor movements of the performers, and how the audience was reacting. To understand the community from within, I made an effort to interact with the community during the concert by dancing with them. After the concert, I interviewed the bands Queue Queue and The Sweethearts to understand how this music is significant to them. The

In other music communities like rock or pop, women were mainly perceived as talented singers especially in the seventies. However, the punk rock community perceived women as talented in any instrumental area the women preferred. Both men and women were recognized in the community. (Fairly 2008, 511). Additionally, for the community members, punk rock was an outlet for political discourse like gender issues (O’Meara 2003, 301). Because punk rock defies sexist stereotypes and allows the community members to express frustrations stemming from those stereotypes imposed on them by other types communities, punk rock functions as a community that respects both genders today. However, musicians’ perception that punk rock fosters gender equality a new phenomenon. In the 1970’s, the early years of punk rock, women were overshadowed by men in the community. If men made the same contribution to the community as famous female punk rock bands, like The Slits, did, men would have gotten more recognition, becoming “household names” (Reddington 2007, 16). Additionally, all the work and accomplishments women made in the punk rock community were on the men’s terms