Today’s reading, viewing and listening assignments are all organized around what I’m calling “intersectional punk.” The term intersectionality has been used for a while now in various activist and academic circles and it refers to a particular way of thinking/talking about how power shapes social norms and relationships. More specifically, it’s a way of trying to understand human beings in their complexity by recognizing how, for example, we can’t explain people’s lives and experiences through the use of single categories, such as gender, race, age, or socioeconomic status (class). Rather, an intersectional approach looks at how such things are mutually constitutive and interrelated.
The readings, film and music on today’s schedule all talk about punk in ways that highlight the intersections of race, gender, class, sexual orientation and nationality…as well as how different combinations transform people’s experience of music, politics, themselves, and, of course, punk rock. Consequently, I’m using the term “intersectional punk” as an umbrella term for the voices and perspectives within punk music and culture that encourage us to understand power in a more complex manner, and ask us to think critically about the politics of punk in ways that move beyond slogans in lyrics or simplistic ideas about rebellion, identity and privilege.
You must be logged in to post a comment.