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{{Short description|Subculture of hardcore punk}}
{{For|the drawing or cutting tool|straightedge}}{{For|the 2007 film|Straight Edge (film)}}
{{About|the punk subculture|the tool used for drawing straight lines|Straightedge|the song from which the subculture takes its name|Straight Edge (song)}}
{{unreferenced}}
[[File:Straight Edge Tattoo.JPG|thumb|A straight edge tattoo]]
'''Straight edge''' (sometimes abbreviated to '''sXe,''' '''SxE''' or "Edge") is a commitment, closely associated with [[hardcore punk]] [[music]], to [[abstinence]] from tobacco, alcohol, and any [[recreational drug use]]. Some also abstain from any form of drug, including caffeine and painkillers, and in many cases the consumption of animal products.


'''Straight edge''' (sometimes abbreviated as '''sXe''' or signified by '''XXX''' or simply '''X''') is a subculture of [[hardcore punk]] whose adherents refrain from using [[Alcoholic drink|alcohol]], [[tobacco]], and [[Recreational drug use|recreational drugs]] in reaction to the [[punk subculture]]'s excesses.<ref>{{cite book |author-last=Haenfler |author-first=Ross |year=2015 |chapter=Straight Edge |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9gUoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA137 |editor1-last=Parmar |editor1-first=Priya |editor2-last=Nocella, II |editor2-first=Anthony J. |editor3-last=Robertson |editor3-first=Scott |editor4-last=Diaz |editor4-first=Martha |title=Rebel Music: Resistance through Hip Hop and Punk |location=[[Charlotte, North Carolina]] |publisher=[[Information Age Publishing]] |pages=137–138 |isbn=978-1-62396-910-3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Straight Edge Punk {{!}} Exclaim! |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/straight_edge_punk-complicated_contradictions_of_straight |access-date=2024-01-26 |website=Straight Edge Punk {{!}} Exclaim! |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Krist |first=Josh |title=White Punks on Hope |url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1996-08-22/music/white-punks-on-hope/2 |access-date=22 February 2010 |newspaper=[[Phoenix New Times]] |date=22 August 1996 |archive-date=10 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810041651/http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1996-08-22/music/white-punks-on-hope/2/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Some adherents refrain from engaging in [[Promiscuity|promiscuous]] or [[casual sex]], follow a [[Vegetarianism|vegetarian]] or [[Veganism|vegan]] diet and do not consume [[caffeine]] or [[prescription drug]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Straight Edge Punk {{!}} Exclaim! |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/straight_edge_punk-complicated_contradictions_of_straight |access-date=2024-01-26 |website=Straight Edge Punk {{!}} Exclaim! |language=en}}</ref> The term "straight edge" was adopted from the 1981 song "[[Straight Edge (song)|Straight Edge]]" by the hardcore punk band [[Minor Threat]].<ref name="Encyclopedia of Punk" />
Originally inspired by the punk band [[Minor Threat]], it has spread around the world, but is most popular in the [[First World]]. Although straight edgers do not necessarily identify with a particular [[world view]] on social or political issues, many do subscribe to [[precept]]s associated with [[anarchism]], [[socialism]], [[atheism]], [[environmentalism]], [[vegetarianism]]/[[veganism]] and the [[deep ecology]] [[ecology movement|movement]]. [[October 17]] is overserved as [[National Edge Day]]


The straight-edge subculture emerged amid the early-1980s hardcore punk scene. Since then, a wide variety of various beliefs and ideas have been associated with the movement, including vegetarianism and [[animal rights]].<ref name="Wood (1999) 130-40">{{harvnb|Wood|1999|pp=130–140}}</ref><ref name="Wood1999">{{harvnb|Wood|1999|pp=141–143}}</ref> While the commonly expressed aspects of the straight edge subculture have been abstinence from alcohol, nicotine, and illegal drugs, there have been considerable variations. Disagreements often arise as to the primary reasons for living straight edge. Straight edge politics vary, from explicitly revolutionary to conservative. Some activists have approached Straight Edge with skepticism, ridicule or even outright hostility in part due to what they perceived as the straight edge movement's self-righteous militancy.<ref>{{harvnb|Kuhn|2010|p=14}}</ref>
==Origins==
In the book ''[[Our Band Could Be Your Life]]'', [[Ian MacKaye]] reports that during the mid- and late 1970s, he and his friends often missed musical performances by their favorite groups because they were held in clubs in and around [[Washington, D.C.]] that served alcoholic drinks and banned anyone under 21 years of age from entering.


In 1999, William Tsitsos wrote that Straight Edge had gone through three eras since its founding in the early 1980s.<ref name="wtsitsos" /> [[Bent edge]] began as a counter-movement to straight edge by members of the [[Washington, D.C. hardcore|Washington, D.C., hardcore]] scene who were frustrated by the rigidity and intolerance in the scene.<ref name="Andersen (2003)">{{harvnb|Andersen|Jenkins|2003|p=125}}</ref> During the [[youth crew]] era, which started in the mid-1980s, the influence of music on the straight edge scene was at an all-time high. By the early 1990s, militant straight edge was a well-known part of the wider punk scene. In the early to mid-1990s, straight edge spread from the United States to Northern Europe,<ref name="Kuhn 2010 121">{{harvnb|Kuhn|2010|p=121}}</ref> Eastern Europe,<ref name="Kuhn 2010 132">{{harvnb|Kuhn|2010|p=132}}</ref> the Middle East,<ref name="Kuhn 2010 112">{{harvnb|Kuhn|2010|p=112}}</ref> and South America.<ref name="Kuhn 2010 66">{{harvnb|Kuhn|2010|p=66}}</ref> By the beginning of the 2000s, militant straight-edge punks had largely left the broader straight-edge culture and movement.<ref name="Haenfler (2006)">{{harvnb|Haenfler|2006b|pp=16–17}}</ref>
Rock musician, [[Ted Nugent]], was an early inspiration for MacKaye and his close friend [[Henry Rollins]]. In an era when most popular rockers were known for their copious drug and alcohol use, Nugent made a point of proclaiming his [[teetotaller]] status.


==History==
MacKaye's group, [[The Teen Idles]], made a brief west-coast tour in [[1980]]. The owners of [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]]'s [[Mabuhay Gardens]] club were reluctant to allow the group to perform in the bar since all members of The Teen Idles were under the legal drinking age. As a compromise, the Mab's owners wrote a large 'X' on The Teen Idles's hands with a permanent marker as a warning to bartenders that such persons should not be served alcohol.
===1970s and early 1980s===
[[File:Minor-threat-malcolm-riviera.jpg|thumb|[[Minor Threat]], pictured in 1981, coined the term "straight edge".]]


Straight edge grew out of [[hardcore punk]] in the late 1970s and early 1980s and was partly characterized by shouted rather than sung vocals.<ref name="haenfler11">{{harvnb|Haenfler|2006b|p=11}}</ref> Straight-edge individuals of this early era often associated with the original punk ideals such as individualism, disdain for work and school, and live-for-the-moment attitudes.<ref name= "wtsitsos">{{harvnb|Tsitsos|1999}} {{Page needed |date=May 2011}}</ref> The movement was influenced by the political and social climate of its origin, around the time of the "[[Just Say No]]" campaign and a rise in [[conservatism in the United States|conservative]] viewpoints. The discipline of the subculture came from a mix of leftist [[radical politics|radicalism]] and conservative influences.<ref>{{harvnb|Haenfler|2004b|pp=406–436}}</ref>
[[Image:Teen Idles Minor Disturbance Album Cover.jpg|thumb|250px|The album cover of [[The Teen Idles]]'s [[Extended Play|EP]] ''Minor&nbsp;Disturbance'' features one of the iconic symbols of the straight edge movement: the Xed hands.]]


Straight edge sentiments can be found in songs by the early 1980s band [[Minor Threat]].<ref name="Wood (1999) p. 137-38">{{harvnb|Wood|1999|pp=137–138}}</ref> This anti-inebriation movement had been developing in punk before Minor Threat, but their song "Straight Edge" was influential in giving the scene a name, and something of a (somewhat unwilling) figurehead.<ref>{{harvnb|Azerrad|2001|p=121}}</ref> Minor Threat frontman [[Ian MacKaye]] is often credited with birthing the straight edge name and movement and in later years has often spoken out about how he never intended it to be a movement.
Upon returning to [[Washington, D.C.]], MacKaye suggested this same notion to various area club owners as a means to allow teenagers into the clubs, while preventing them from being served alcohol. Several clubs began doing so, and the "X" drawn on one's hand eventually became a symbol of a stand against alcohol and other drugs. The Teen Idles's ''"Minor Disturbance"'' EP&mdash;released on the highly influential [[DIY punk ethic|DIY]] label [[Dischord Records]] in 1980&mdash;featured two X'd up hands on the cover. This EP also marked the beginning of what would become the straight edge scene within hardcore and punk.


Straight edge sentiments can also be found in the song "Keep it Clean" by English punk band [[The Vibrators]], and the [[The Modern Lovers|Modern Lovers]] song "I'm Straight", recorded in 1973, which rejected drug use.<ref name="Spin straight edge article">{{harvnb|Goldfein|1989|p=18}}</ref> [[Ted Nugent]] was a key influence on the straight edge ideology as one of the few prominent 1970s [[hard rock]] icons to eschew alcohol and other drug use explicitly.<ref>[[Henry Rollins]] reports that he and friend [[Ian MacKaye]] (vocalist for Minor Threat) "would read about the Nuge and the thing that really rubbed off on us was that he didn't drink or smoke or do drugs...[Nugent's performance] was the craziest thing we'd ever seen onstage and here's this guy saying 'I don't get high.' We thought that was so impressive." {{harv|Azerrad|2001|p=121}}</ref>
There are differing views on the origins of the actual term "straight edge". The usual explanation is that it was coined by MacKaye's second hardcore punk band, [[Minor Threat]], in the early-mid 1980s. The straight edge lifestyle that began soon afterwards is in fact largely defined by the lyrics to Minor Threat's songs, specifically "Out of Step" and "Straight Edge".


Straight edge started in Washington, D.C., and quickly spread throughout the United States and Canada.<ref name="tbarlett">{{harvnb|Barlett|2006}}</ref> By the 1980s, bands on the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]], such as America's Hardcore, Stalag 13, Justice League, and [[Uniform Choice]], were gaining popularity. In the early stages of this subculture's history, concerts often consisted of both punk bands and straight edge bands. Circumstances soon changed, and the early 1980s eventually was viewed as the time "before the two scenes separated".<ref name="haenfler11" /> Other early straight edge bands include [[State of Alert]], [[Government Issue]], [[Teen Idles]], [[The Faith (American band)|The Faith]], [[7 Seconds (band)|7 Seconds]], [[SSD (band)|SSD]], [[DYS (band)|DYS]], and [[Negative FX]].<ref name="Encyclopedia of Punk">{{harvnb|Cogan|2008|p=317}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Blush|2001|pp=26–29}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Blush|2010|pp=163–165}}</ref>
The term was first used in song form in the song by [[Minor Threat]] called "Straight Edge," which simply tied together many of the concepts that had been floating around in the Washington, D.C. music scene for a while. Just as many underground movements have done, the straight edge scene has diversified. There are some who preach complete "militant" purity, while there are others who&mdash;while still remaining straight&mdash;refuse to label themselves as having "the edge." Many straight edgers no longer wear the trademark black 'X' on the back of their hands.


====Bent edge====
The term itself, credited by MacKaye, came from when he was making a poster for his band, Minor Threat. He stated how the edge he was using to draw a line is like his life - straight and narrow. And that's the way he wants it.
{{Main|Bent edge}}


[[Bent edge]] originated as a counter-movement to straight edge among members of the hardcore scene who were frustrated by the rigidity and intolerance of the scene.<ref name="Andersen (2003)"/> This idea spread, and on Minor Threat's first tour in 1982, people identified themselves as bent, crooked, or curved edge.<ref>{{harvnb|Kuhn|2010|p=37}}</ref> The counter-movement was short-lived, and it faded away by the end of the 1990s.<ref>Mullaney, Jamie L. "All In Time: Age and the Temporality Of Authenticity in the Straight Edge Music Scene." ''Journal of Contemporary Ethnography'' 41.6 (2012): 611–635. Academic Search Premier. 9 Feb. 2013.</ref>
The subsequent straight edge ''movement'', however, was never advocated by singer Ian MacKaye&mdash;who thought of it as more the personal choices that he had made in his life. He addressed the issue again in [http://www.scenepointblank.com/features/102 a 2006 inteview with Scenepointblank] : {{Cquote2|I think that the idea of straight edge, the song that I wrote, and the way people have related to it, there's some people who have abused it, they've allowed their fundamentalism to interfere with the real message, which in my mind, was that people should be allowed to live their lives the way they want to. By and large, I think most people who identify with that are just good people, who are just trying to do something good in their lives, and it's a shame they have to suffer the kind of stigma that other people have put on that thing. But in terms of it being a movement or whatever, it's just not a movement for me, I never thought of it.}} After some tension with the other members, MacKaye noted that some of Minor Threat's personnel drank (though rarely to excess).


===Youth crew (mid-1980s)===
The hardcore punk scene has been viewed by those unfamiliar with it as a mass consensus of angry kids&mdash;uniting with the purpose of creating fast and rebellious music in the hopes of reshaping a society that they perceive as bad. Although hardcore bands share some of the same themes, their lyrics, politics and attitudes can range from right to far left, from extremes to moderation, from hostility to hospitality.
[[File:Youth of Today at SO36 (2010) - 2.jpg|thumb|[[Youth of Today]], [[youth crew]] pioneers]]
During the youth crew era, which started in the mid-1980s, the influence of music on the straight-edge scene seemed to be at an all-time high. The branches of straight edge that came about during this era seemed to originate from ideas presented in songs, and many youth crew bands had a strong [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]] influence.<ref name="Tsitsos 404">{{harvnb|Tsitsos|1999|p=404}}</ref> Notable youth crew bands included: [[Youth of Today]],<ref name="Tsitsos 404" /> [[Gorilla Biscuits]],<ref name="Tsitsos 404" /> [[Judge (band)|Judge]], [[Bold (band)|Bold]], [[Chain of Strength]], [[Turning Point (U.S. band)|Turning Point]], [[Uniform Choice]], and [[Slapshot (band)|Slapshot]].<ref>{{harvnb|Haenfler|2006b|p=218}}</ref>


In the mid-1980s, the band Youth of Today became associated with the straight-edge movement, and their song "Youth Crew" expressed a desire to unite the scene into a movement.<ref name="haenfler12">{{harvnb|Haenfler|2006b|p=12}}</ref> Vegetarianism became an important theme in straight edge during this era,<ref name="Wood (1999) p. 139">{{harvnb|Wood|1999|p=139}}</ref> starting with Youth of Today's 1988 song "No More", which contained lyrics condemning the consumption of meat.<ref name="youthoftoday">{{harvnb|Youth of Today|1988}} as cited in {{harvnb|Haenfler|2006b|p=}}</ref> This trend toward animal rights and veganism within the straight edge movement reached its peak in the 1990s.<ref name="Wood (1999) p. 139" />
While the first wave of the straight edge movement was centered around Washington, D.C. ([[Minor Threat]], [[Government Issue|G.I.'s]], and [[Faith_(band)|Faith]]) and Boston bands ([[SSD_(band)|SSD]] and [[DYS_(band)|DYS]]) from 1981–1983, there is a new wind of bands from around the country and the world calling themselves straight edge. (Seen in the names of not only the bands, such as [[Bold_(band)|Bold]] and [[Straight_Ahead_(band)|Straight Ahead]], but even in the names of the record labels, such as New Beginning, [[Positive Force]], and Revelation.)


==Overview==
===1990s===
<!-- PLEASE DO NOT ADD BANDS THAT HAVE ONE OR TWO MEMBERS WHO ARE EDGE! -->
There are various reasons why people may choose to be straight edge, and there are various interpretations of the practice, and various applications of the precepts noted below.
By the early 1990s, straight edge became a well-known part of the wider punk and DIY scene and underwent musical and political shifts. In the early part of the decade, several straight-edge punks and their bands picked up on the vegetarian and other social justice politics of the mid-1980s and began comprehensively advocating for social justice, [[animal rights|animal liberation]], veganism, and straight edge. During this period, the straight edge scene birthed two major offshoots: the more conservative [[Hardline (subculture)|hardline]]<ref name="Wood (1999) p. 140">{{harvnb|Wood|1999|pp=140–141}}</ref> and the [[Hare Krishna in popular culture#Straight Edge subculture|Krishna Consciousness]] influenced, retrospectively known as [[Krishnacore]].<ref>{{harvnb|Wood|1999|pp=143–146}}</ref> While the majority of straight edge punks and [[International Society for Krishna Consciousness|Hare Krishna]] converts were pacifists, those influenced by hardline showed a willingness to resort to violence to promote their subculture.<ref name="haenfler88">{{harvnb|Haenfler|2006b|p=88}}</ref> Musically, the straight edge scene increasingly was drawing from [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]] and was a founding influence on [[metalcore]].


===2000s===
Some use the lifestyle as a 'stepping stone' because they believe it will allow them to be more involved with their own mental and physical [[health]]. For some, straight edge involves refraining from [[casual sex]]. Rather than promoting strict [[abstinence]], many straight edge persons believe in [[sexual intercourse|sex]] within caring relationships rather than one-night stands.
<!-- PLEASE DO NOT ADD BANDS THAT HAVE ONE OR TWO MEMBERS WHO ARE EDGE! -->
By the beginning of the 2000s, only small groups of militant straight edge individuals remained.<ref name="Haenfler (2006)"/> Contrary to news reports that portrayed straight edge as a gang,<ref>{{harvnb|Wood|2003|p=45}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Haenfler|2006b|p=91}}</ref> several studies have shown that straight edge individuals as a whole are mostly peaceful people.<ref>{{harvnb|Wood|2003|p=46}}</ref> In the 2000s, there was a growing amount of tolerance of people who do not follow the straight edge lifestyle by straight edge individuals.<ref>{{harvnb|Wood|2003|pp=46–47}}</ref> In this incarnation of straight edge, the musical styles of the bands involved are more varied, ranging from a youth crew revival style to metalcore to [[posicore]].<ref name="Haenfler (2006)" /> Straight edge bands from the 2000s include [[Allegiance (American band)|Allegiance]], [[Champion (band)|Champion]], [[Down to Nothing]], [[Embrace Today]], [[Have Heart]], and [[Throwdown (band)|Throwdown]].<ref>{{harvnb|Haenfler|2006b|p=219}}</ref>


== Ideology ==
Many straight edgers are [[vegetarian]] or [[vegan]].
Its philosophy in the early stages of straight edge was to rebel through self-control. With the ability to control one's actions, a straight edge participant would be better suited to stand against the mainstream. The first wave of straight edge did not impose rules on others, and participants chose to follow the ways of self-control. With the second wave of straight edge, these rules were used to control others. Additionally, the second wave experienced a change in music style. Where the first wave was influenced by hardcore punk, the second wave brought in aspects of heavy metal music that pushed for power and control over others. The slowing down of the music reflected the focus of individuals in their journey to self-control.<ref>{{harvnb|Tsitsos|1999|pp=397–414}}</ref>


=== Hate Edge ===
The appeal of straight edge has broadened beyond the initial scope of punk culture and has appeal to youth of many cultures who eschew recreational drug use. Many people who are straight edge became attracted to it as a [[counter culture]] option to what they see as a widespread [[drug culture]].
Hate Edge (also known as NS or National Socialist Straight Edge) is a [[neo-Nazi]] offshoot of the straight edge movement.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.adl.org/resources/hate-symbol/hate-edge|work=[[Anti-Defamation League]]|title=Hate Edge|date=3 December 2022}}</ref> Prominent Hate Edge groups include [[NS/WP]] and Sober and Angry Youth, both of which are responsible for attacks on and murders of drug dealers.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://reportingradicalism.org/en/dossiers/groups/sober-and-angry-youth|work=Reporting Radicalism|title=Sober and Angry Youth – White supremacist and straightedge group|date=3 December 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://observers.france24.com/en/europe/20220429-fsb-russia-video-arrest-neo-nazi-ukraine-assassination-attempt|work=[[France24]]|title=Here's what we know about images of an allegedly foiled neo-Nazi assassination plot 'ordered by Ukraine'|date=3 December 2022|quote=NS/WP whose agenda is anti-drug.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2018/06/26/straight-edge-neo-nazi-group-attacked-ukrainian-roma-camp/|work=[[Bellingcat]]|title=The Straight Edge Neo-Nazi Group that Attacked a Ukrainian Roma Camp
|date=3 December 2022}}</ref>


==Outside the United States==
Straight edge is considered to be by many of its followers a choice. In this sense, no one is born straight edge or has been straight edge their entire lives. Labeling oneself straight edge is a conscious decision that someone makes for themselves and is generally not seen as a label that is obtained by default. One is not straight edge simply because they don't drink, smoke, or do drugs; it requires an active decision and participation in the subculture.
[[File:Xponrx.jpg|thumb|left|140px|The Brazilian vegan straight edge band [[Point of No Return (band)|Point of No Return]] in 2006]]
In the early to mid-1990s, straight edge spread from the United States to Northern Europe,<ref name="Kuhn 2010 121"/> Eastern Europe,<ref name="Kuhn 2010 132"/> the Middle East,<ref name="Kuhn 2010 112"/> and South America.<ref name="Kuhn 2010 66"/> It grew around the world due to the relentless touring of youth crew bands and the ease of ordering records from American record labels via mail.<ref>{{harvnb|Kuhn|2010|pp=50–52}}</ref> [[Fluff Fest]], which has been held in the Czech Republic since 2000 and draws audiences from across Europe, is linked to straight edge through its organizers and showcases prominent straight edge bands.<ref name="Kuhn 137">{{harvnb|Kuhn|2010|p=137}}</ref>


West Flanders was home to the H8000 (pronounced Hate-Thousand) [[hardcore punk]] scene during the 1990s. Bands within the scene took heavily from heavy metal, and followed straight edge and vegan lifestyles. Some bands helped to pioneer the development of metalcore and then later on [[melodic metalcore]] and [[deathcore]].<ref name="H8000">{{cite AV media |people=Hans Verbeke |date=2019 |title=H8000 Documentary – Anger & Distortion; 1989–1999 |language=nl}}</ref> Some groups from the scene include Congress, Liar, Blindfold, Shortsight, Regression and Spirit of Youth.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ramirez |first1=Carlos |title=H8000: Director Hans Verbeke on His Doc About the Belgian Hardcore Scene (1989-1999) |url=https://www.noecho.net/interviews/h8000-director-hans-verbeke-on-his-documentary-about-the-1989-1999-hardcore |website=No Echo |date=5 February 2019 |access-date=24 September 2019}}</ref> [[Good Life Recordings]] signed and released much of the music for the scene.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ik heb death metal nodig om gelukkig te zijn |url=https://www.redbull.com/be-nl/aborted-interview-hooked |website=[[Red Bull]] |access-date=28 September 2019 |language=nl}}</ref>
===Attitudes towards spirituality===
Some straight edgers feel that having a clear mind is a better way to approach life and/or [[spirituality]]. Many are [[atheist]], such as [[Good Clean Fun]], or [[agnostic]], often believing in personal-responsibility and rejecting the idea of a [[deity]] or any divine [[moral]] law. In many circles, the lifestyle has associations with spirituality&mdash;there were at one time significant [[Hare Krishna]] straight edge movements.


===United Kingdom===
[[Christians]] involved in the punk/hardcore subculture sometimes consider themselves straight edge; indeed, the rejection of illicit substances, alcohol consumption (particularly underage), and premarital sex, is commonly encouraged by many mainstream churches and their youth groups. It should not be, however, assumed that the self-identification as straight edge is a casual replacement of one label with another. Prominent self-identified Christian straight edgers include the ex-bassist of [[Throwdown]], at least one member of [[Comeback Kid]], and at least one member of [[Stretch Arm Strong]]. There has also been criticism of Christians being involved within the straight edge community&mdash;reflected in songs such as "This Ain't No Cross On My Hand" by [[Limp Wrist]], "Real Edgemen Hate Jesus" by XfilesX, and "Straight edge punks not Christian fucks" by Crucial Attack
According to NoEcho writer Ethan Stewart "the closest thing to a straight edge band for much of the [1980s] was Statement", a solo-project by [[The Apostles (band)|the Apostles]] drummer Patrick "Rat" Poole. However, despite Poole being drug-free, vegan and having a massive influence on the development of [[Hardline (subculture)|hardline]], he did not identify with the straight edge label at the time. Additionally, many groups from the UK punk and hardcore scene did include straight edge members, namely [[Napalm Death]], [[Blitz (British band)|Blitz]] and [[Heresy (band)|Heresy]].<ref name="NoEcho" />


The first entirely straight edge band in the country was [[Steadfast (band)|Steadfast]], who formed in Durham, England in 1988. Despite originally being formed as a vehicle to annoy the members of the [[anarcho punk]] scene, the band eventually grew into a serious band.<ref name="Trapped in a Scene">{{cite book |last1=Glasper |first1=Ian |title=Trapped in a Scene: UK Hardcore 1985-89 |date=2009 |page=500}}</ref> Following this, a number of additional straight edge bands began to form, including XdisciplineX, False Face, Headstong, Step One and Kickback. Nicolas Royles, drummer for [[Sore Throat (grindcore band)|Sore Throat]], formed In Touch and Withstand around this time, which both morphed into No Way Out by 1990. This scene mostly was based in North East of England and Yorkshire<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tatty-Bye |first1=Nick |title=Scene Reports |journal=[[Maximumrocknroll]] |date=February 1990 |url=https://archive.org/details/mrr_81/page/n49/mode/2up |access-date=3 December 2020}}</ref> and made up of musicians who became involved in the hardcore scene through [[skateboarding]] and the popularity of [[thrash metal]].<ref name="NoEcho">{{cite web |last1=Stewart |first1=Ethan |title=A Look at the '80s and '90s UK Straight Edge Hardcore Scenes |url=https://www.noecho.net/features/uk-straight-edge |website=No Echo |date=2 December 2020 |access-date=2 December 2020}}</ref> The bands were predominantly influenced by U.S. youth crew acts like Youth of Today and Gorilla Biscuits.<ref>{{cite AV media |date=1989 |title=UK Straight Edge}}</ref> Members of the existing punk and hardcore scenes in the country often reacted negatively to the straight edge bands, and on multiple occasions, fights occurred between the musicians and fans.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rettman |first1=Tony |title=Straight Edge A Clear-Headed Hardcore Punk History}}</ref>
===The 'X'===
At punk rock shows, it became common practice to mark an [[X]] on the hands of under-aged concert goers to ensure that the [[Bouncer (doorman)|bouncer]]s would recognize a minor attempting to drink alcohol. Some people interpret this as a symbol of [[Ian MacKaye]]'s "don't smoke, don't drink, don't fuck" ethos. Others interpret the three Xs as representing "Body", "Mind", and "Soul"


Most of the first wave of UK straight edge bands had broken up by 1991. However, a second wave began in the following years. Mostly based around Subjugation and Sure Hand Records, this wave saw members of many of the first wave bands form new bands and begin to embrace influences from heavy metal.<ref name="NoEcho" /> The main location for this scene was [[the 1 in 12 Club]], an anarchist club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, as groups like Unborn, Slavearc, Vengeance of Gaia and Withdrawn performed there frequently.<ref name="Glasper 2012">{{cite book |last1=Glasper |first1=Ian |title=Armed With Anger: How UK Punk Survived The Nineties |year= 2012 |publisher=Cherry Red Books |isbn=978-1-90144-772-9}}</ref>
Many adopters of the "straight edge" lifestyle voluntarily marked their hands in the same way to show their commitment to refusing alcohol. Also widespread is the tattooing of the X symbol on other parts of the body or wearing it on clothing, pins, et cetera. Three Xs ([[XXX]]) have their origin in artwork created by [[Minor Threat]]'s drummer [[Jeff Nelson (musician)|Jeff Nelson]] in which he replaced the three stars in the band's hometown [[Flag of Washington, D.C.|Washington D.C. flag]] with Xs.


A UK straight edge scene featuring entirely new musicians developed in the 2010s as a part of the [[New Wave of British Hardcore]]. Mostly based around Leeds, the scene produced groups like [[Violent Reaction]], [[Big Cheese (band)|Big Cheese]],<ref name="NoEcho" /> Insist, Unjust, Rapture, Regiment, True Vision and Shrapnel.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Scott |first1=Tim |title=Rapture Are Part of the Second Coming of UK Straight Edge Hardcore |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/4w3n5g/rapture-are-part-of-the-second-coming-of-uk-straight-edge-hardcore |website=[[Vice Media]] |date=22 October 2016 |access-date=3 December 2020}}</ref> A number of musicians from other UK hardcore bands were straight edge at this time, including Jimmy and Alex Wizard from [[Higher Power (band)|Higher Power]].<ref name="LSR">{{cite podcast |url=https://www.mixcloud.com/MetalworksLSR/interview-with-jimmy-wizard-of-higher-power/ |title=Interview with Jimmy Wizard of Higher Power |access-date=16 February 2020}}</ref>
The X is considered both a mark of negation and a mark of identity. Attaching the X to one's name or band name is common practice for straight edgers. For example, 'John Smith' would become 'johnXsmith', or 'xjohnx'. "Straight edge" is sometimes abbreviated ''sXe'' (S.E. plus an X) following much the same logic and hardcore is sometimes abbreviated "hXc".


== X symbol ==
===Backlash and criticisms===
A subset of straight edge&mdash;often called [[Hardline (syncretic movement)|hardline]]&mdash;had been involved in physical assaults in the United States during the 1980s and up to the mid 1990s.


[[File:ToKill2-stillarbeit.de.jpg|thumb|right|Italian straight edge band To Kill performing at a club]]
Police in some communities&mdash;such as [[Salt Lake City, Utah|Salt&nbsp;Lake&nbsp;City]] and [[Reno, Nevada|Reno]]&mdash;have classified straight edge as a [[gang]] due to violence associated with militant straight edge groups in these cities.[http://www.newsreview.com/reno/Content?oid=oid%3A25013]
The letter X is the most known symbol of straight edge, and it sometimes is worn as a marking on the back of both hands, and it can be displayed on other body parts as well. Some followers of straight edge put the symbol on clothing and pins, and many bands aligned with the culture incorporate it into their names.<ref name="No Echo X names">{{cite web |last1=Lopez |first1=Jalen |title=Review: XweaponX, XweaponX Demo |url=https://www.noecho.net/reviews/xweaponx-xweaponx-demo-2022 |website=No Echo|date=21 March 2022 }}</ref> According to a series of interviews by journalist Michael Azerrad, the straight edge X can be traced to the [[Teen Idles]]' brief West Coast tour in 1980.<ref name="mazerrad">{{harvnb|Azerrad|2001|p=127}}</ref> The band's members were scheduled to play at San Francisco's [[Mabuhay Gardens]], but when they arrived, club management discovered that they were all under the legal drinking age and would be denied entry to the club. As a compromise, management marked each of the members' hands with a large black X as a warning to the club's staff not to serve alcohol to the band.


Upon returning to Washington, D.C., the band suggested this same system to local clubs as a means to allow teenagers in to see musical performances without being served alcohol.<ref name="mazerrad" /> The Teen Idles released a record in 1980 called ''[[Minor Disturbance]]'' with the cover shot being two hands with black Xs on the back.<ref name="Encyclopedia of Punk" /><ref>{{harvnb|Azerrad|2001|p=132}}</ref> The mark soon became associated with the straight edge lifestyle.<ref name="Encyclopedia of Punk" /> It can also be used by drinking establishments to note a patron as under the drinking age, regardless of their views towards drugs such as alcohol.
==Straight edge groups==
See [[:Category:Straight edge groups]]


Later bands used the X symbol on album covers and other paraphernalia in a variety of ways. The cover of ''No Apologies'' by [[Judge (band)|Judge]] shows two crossed gavels in the X formation.<ref name="Wood 2006 p.119">{{harvnb|Wood|2006|p=119}}</ref> Other objects that have been used include shovels, baseball bats, and hockey sticks.<ref name="Wood 2006 p.119" /> A variation involving a trio of Xs is often used in flyers and tattoos. It can also be ironic, based on the fact that three Xs was popularized in cartoons and television shows to signify alcohol or poison. [[Moonshine]]rs used an X to note how many times a particular batch of moonshine ran through the still, adding irony.<ref name="Re-imagining being 'straight' in straight edge.">{{harvnb|Helton|Staudenmeier|2002|p=445}}</ref> The term is sometimes abbreviated by including an X with the abbreviation of the term "straight edge" to give "sXe".<ref>{{harvnb|Haenfler|2006b|p=4}}</ref> By analogy, hardcore punk is sometimes abbreviated to "hXc".<ref>{{harvnb|Hannon|2010|p=162}}</ref>
==Film Appearances==
* "Dark Planet: Visions of America" (2005) Straight Edge is one of the four subcultures studied in this documentary film


==References==
== Approaches ==
[[File:HAVE HEARTFinalTour,TheOnlyFloridaDate.jpg|thumb|right|Boston straight edge band Have Heart's 2019 reunion show outside the [[Worcester Palladium]] had the highest attendance of any hardcore show in history.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bastias |first1=Steven |title=Have Heart's Reunion Was The Biggest Hardcore Show Ever |url=https://www.kerrang.com/features/have-hearts-reunion-show-was-the-biggest-hardcore-show-ever/ |website=[[Kerrang!]] |date=8 July 2019 |access-date=16 September 2019}}</ref>]]
* [[Sam McPheeters]], [[Dave Stein]], [[Jason O'Toole]], [[Brian Baker (musician)|Brian Baker]], THE STRAIGHT EDGE MOVEMENT (Buzz 1987)
While some straight edge groups are treated as a "gang" by law enforcement officials,<ref name="national geographic special2">{{Cite episode |title=Inside Straight Edge |url=http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/episodes/inside-straight-edge/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021004949/http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/episodes/inside-straight-edge/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 21, 2012 |access-date=1 January 2013|series=Inside|network=National Geographic Society|minutes=50|credits=Writer: David Shadrack Smith. Directors: Jim Gaffey and David Shadrack Smith|airdate=9 April 2008}}</ref> a 2006 study found the vast majority of people who identify as straight edge are nonviolent.<ref>{{harvnb|Wood|2006|pp=38, 41}}</ref> While the early hardcore punk scene in Washington, D.C., often is praised for its commitment to positive social change, both the youth crew movement of the 1980s and the vegan movement of the 1990s have drawn criticism. Straight edge has been approached with skepticism and hostility despite the less dogmatic and multifaceted character of contemporary straight edge.<ref>{{harvnb|Kuhn|2010|p=14}}</ref>


== External links ==
== Veganism ==
By the late 1990s, many straight edge participants gave veganism the same degree of importance as abstinence from intoxicants, and some groups styled themselves as "'''vegan straight edge'''",<ref>{{harvnb|Haenfler|2006b|p=53}}</ref> sometimes abbreviated "'''xVx'''".<ref>{{harvnb|Pieslak|2015|p=177}}</ref> Bands such as [[Earth Crisis]] and [[Vegan Reich]] emphasized animal rights and [[environmentalism]] as social justice issues.<ref>{{harvnb|Tsitos|2016|pp=205–206}}</ref> Perhaps owing to the "DIY" ethic of the punk subculture, some advocated [[direct action]], and became associated with the radical groups [[Animal Liberation Front]] and the [[Earth Liberation Front]].<ref>{{harvnb|Pieslak|2015|pp=177–184}}</ref> The California band Vegan Reich is most associated with the [[Hardline (subculture)|"Hardline" subculture]], which espouses the [[sanctity of life]], and draws connections between animal rights and [[anti-abortion movements|anti-abortion activism]].<ref name="Pieslak 2015 183">{{harvnb|Pieslak|2015|p=183}}</ref><ref name="Tsitos 2016 206">{{harvnb|Tsitos|2016|p=206}}</ref> Members of the Hardline movement have been described as espousing [[Old Testament]]-style spirituality,<ref name="Tsitos 2016 206"/> militancy, and violence.<ref name="Pieslak 2015 183"/> Violent activism has been described as an "extreme minority" within the vegan straight edge movement.<ref>{{harvnb|Helton|Staudenmeier|2002|p=465}}</ref>
* [http://www.myspace.com/straightedgedocumentary Out of Step: Faces of Straight Edge]
* [http://www.faqs.org/faqs/cultures/straight-edge-faq/ alt.punk.straight edge sXe FAQ]
* [http://www.xcatalystx.com/ Catalyst Records]
* [http://www.xsisterhoodx.com Female Straight Edge Community]
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/documentaries/060829_straightedge.shtml A BBC audio documentary on straight edge]
*[http://collect.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=messageboard.viewThread&entryID=10940784&adTopicID=27&categoryID=0&IsSticky=1&groupID=100041058&Mytoken=E934D006-B37E-1518-17841049EAF2199843088926 Myspace STRAIGHT EDGE GROUP]
*[http://www.straightedgelifestyle.moonfruit.com/ STRAIGHT EDGE LIFESTYLE]


Haenfler writes that straight edge participants see veganism as an extension of the movement's emphasis on positivity, much like its preference to reserve sex for emotionally meaningful relationships.<ref name="Haenfler 2004 427">{{harvnb|Haenfler|2004b|p=427}}</ref> They tend to focus more on personal responsibility and focus less on confronting systemic issues in society.<ref>{{harvnb|Haenfler|2004b|p=428}}</ref> However, veganism is not seen as a matter of personal purity; it is rooted in a strong belief in animal rights and rejection of the exploitation of animals.<ref>{{harvnb|Helton|Staudenmeier|2002|p=456}}</ref> Some hold that veganism is "true straight edge", and their promotion of veganism and animal liberation has been described as evangelistic.<ref>{{harvnb|Helton|Staudenmeier|2002|p=452}}</ref>


==See also==
{{hardcorepunk}}
* [[List of people who follow a straight edge lifestyle]]
* [[List of straight edge bands]]
* [[National Edge Day]]
* [[Animal rights and punk subculture]]
* [[Teetotalism]]
* [[Temperance movement]]


==Notes==
[[Category:Hardcore punk]]
{{Reflist|30em}}
[[Category:Punk genres]]
[[Category:Subcultures]]


==References and bibliography==
<!-- interwiki -->
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book |last=Andersen |first=Mark |title=Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation's Capital |year=2003 |publisher=Akashic Books |isbn=1-888451-44-0|last2=Jenkins |first2=Mark}}
* {{cite book |last=Azerrad |first=Michael |title=Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981–1991 |url=https://archive.org/details/ourbandcouldbeyo00mich |url-access=registration |year=2001 |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |isbn=0-316-78753-1 |location=New York}}
* {{cite journal |last=Barlett |first=Thomas |year=2006 |title=Study Rock's Clean, Mean Movement |journal=Chronicle of Higher Education |volume=53 |issue=6}}
* {{cite book |last=Blush |first=Steven|author-link=Steven Blush |title=American Hardcore: A Tribal History |year=2001|edition=1st |publisher=[[Feral House]] |isbn=9780922915712|editor=George Petros|editor-link=George Petros |title-link=American Hardcore: A Tribal History}}
* {{cite book |last=Blush |first=Steven|author-link=Steven Blush |title=American Hardcore: A Tribal History|edition=2nd |year=2010 |publisher=[[Feral House]] |isbn=9781932595895|editor=George Petros|editor-link=George Petros |title-link=American Hardcore: A Tribal History}}
* {{cite book |last=Cogan |first=Brian |title=The Encyclopedia of Punk |year=2008 |publisher=Sterling |isbn=978-1-4027-5960-4 |location=New York}}
* {{cite journal |last=Davis |first=Erik |title=Hare Krishna Hard Core |journal=Spin |year=1995 |volume=11 |issue=5 |pages=69–73 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iqjQUZoqfawC&q=Hare+Krishna+Hard+Core+spin+1995&pg=PA70 |access-date=22 February 2011}}
* {{cite journal |last=Goldfein |first=Josh |title=Straight and Narrow |journal=Spin |year=1989 |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=18}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Haenfler |first=Ross |title=Rethinking subcultural resistance |journal=[[Journal of Contemporary Ethnography]] |volume=33 |issue=4 |pages=406–436 |publisher=[[SAGE Publications|Sage]] |doi=10.1177/0891241603259809 |date=August 2004b |s2cid=145602862}}
* {{cite book |last=Haenfler |first=Ross |title=Straight Edge: Hardcore Punk, Clean Living Youth, and Social Change |year=2006b |publisher=Rutgers University Press |isbn=0-8135-3851-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Hannon |first=Sharon M. |title=Punks: a guide to an American subculture |year=2010 |publisher=ABC-CLIO}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Helton |first1=Jesse J. |last2=Staudenmeier |first2=William J. |year=2002 |title=Re-imagining being 'straight' in straight edge |journal=Contemporary Drug Problems |volume=29 |issue=2 |page=445|issn=0091-4509 |doi=10.1177/009145090202900209 |s2cid=143410996}}
* {{cite book |last=Kuhn |first=Gabriel |title=Sober Living for the Revolution: Hardcore Punk, Straight Edge, and Radical Politics |year=2010 |publisher=PM Press |isbn=978-1-60486-051-1}}
* {{cite journal |last=Mullaney |first=Jamie |title='Unity Admirable But Not Necessarily Heeded:' Going Rates and Gender Boundaries in the Straight Edge Hardcore Music Scene |journal=Gender & Society |volume=21 |issue=3 |year=2007 |pages=384–408 |doi=10.1177/0891243207299615 |s2cid=143931809}}
* {{cite book |last=O'Hara |first=Craig |title=The Philosophy of Punk: More Than Noise |year=1999 |publisher=AK Press |isbn=1-873176-16-3}}
* {{cite journal |last=Tsitsos |first=William |title=Rules of Rebellion: Slamdancing, Moshing, and the American Alternative Scene |journal=Popular Music |year=1999 |volume=3 |issue=18 |page=403 |doi=10.1017/s0261143000008941|s2cid=159966036 }}
* {{cite book |last=Pieslak |first=Jonathan |title=Radicalism and Music: An Introduction to the Music Cultures of al-Qa'ida, Racist Skinheads, Christian-Affiliated Radicals, and Eco-Animal Rights Militants |publisher=Wesleyan University Press |year=2015 |isbn=9780819575852}}
* {{cite journal |last=Wood |first=Robert T. |title=Nailed to the X: A Lyrical History of Straightedge |journal=Journal of Youth Studies |year=1999 |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=133–151 |doi=10.1080/13676261.1999.10593032}}
* {{cite journal |last=Wood |first=Robert T. |title=The Straightedge Youth Sub-Culture: Complexities of Subculture Identity |journal=Journal of Youth Studies |year=2003 |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=33–52 |doi=10.1080/1367626032000068154 |s2cid=145295766}}
* {{cite book |last=Wood |first=Robert T. |title=Straight Edge Youth: The Complexity and Contradictions of a Subculture. |year=2006 |publisher=Syracuse University Press |location=Syracuse, New York |isbn=0-8156-3127-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Youth of Today |year=1988 |title=We're Not In This Alone |publisher=Caroline Records |location=New York |title-link=We're Not in This Alone}}
* {{cite book |last=Tsitos |first=William |title=Music Sociology: Examining the Role of Music in Social Life |publisher=Routledge |chapter=An International Comparison of the Politics of Straight Edge |year=2016 |pages=202–210 |isbn=978-161205-312-7}}
{{refend}}


== Further reading ==
[[da:Straight Edge]]
{{refbegin|40em}}
[[de:Straight Edge]]
* {{Cite journal |last=Haenfler |first=Ross |title=Manhood in contradiction: the two faces of straight edge |journal=[[Men and Masculinities]] |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=77–99 |publisher=[[SAGE Publications|Sage]] |doi=10.1177/1097184X03257522 |date=July 2004a |s2cid=145364265}}
[[es:Straight edge]]
* {{cite book |last=Haenfler |first=Ross |title=Straight edge: clean-living youth, hardcore punk, and social change |publisher=Rutgers University Press |location=New Brunswick, New Jersey |year=2006a |isbn=9780813539911}}
[[fr:Straight edge]]
* {{Cite journal |last1=McPheeters |first1=Sam |last2=Stein |first2=Dave |last3=O'Toole |first3=Jason |last4=Baker |first4=Brian |title=The Straight Edge Movement |journal=Buzz |date=1987}}{{clarify|date=September 2016}}
[[hr:Straight edge]]
* {{Cite journal |last=Irwin |first=Darrell D. |title=The straight edge subculture: examining the youths' drug free way |journal=Journal of Drug Issues |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=365–380 |publisher=[[SAGE Publications|Sage]] |date=Spring 1999 |url=https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=178163 |doi=10.1177/002204269902900213 |s2cid=148313381}}
[[is:Straight edge]]
* {{Cite journal |last=Williams |first=J. Patrick |title=Authentic identities: straightedge subculture, music, and the internet |journal=[[Journal of Contemporary Ethnography]] |volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=173–200 |publisher=[[SAGE Publications|SAGE]] |doi=10.1177/0891241605285100 |date=April 2006 |s2cid=16579409}}
[[it:Straight edge]]
* {{Cite journal |last1=Williams |first1=J. Patrick |last2=Copes |first2=Heith |title="How edge are you?" Constructing authentic identities and subcultural boundaries in a straightedge internet forum |journal=[[Symbolic Interaction (journal)|Symbolic Interaction]] |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=67–89 |publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell|Wiley]] |doi=10.1525/si.2005.28.1.67 |date=February 2005}}
[[nl:Straight edge]]
* {{cite book |last=Jones |first=Raymond McCrea |title=Out of step: faces of straight edge |publisher=Empire Press |location=Philadelphia |year=2007 |isbn=9780615158846}}
[[ja:ストレート・エッジ]]
* {{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Gabriel |title=White mutants of straight edge: the ''avant-garde'' of abstinence |journal=[[The Journal of Popular Culture]] |volume=44 |issue=3 |pages=633–646 |publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell|Wiley]] |doi=10.1111/j.1540-5931.2011.00852.x |date=June 2011}}
[[no:Straight edge]]
* {{Cite journal |last=Mullaney |first=Jamie L. |title=All in time: age and the temporality of authenticity in the straight edge music scene |journal=[[Journal of Contemporary Ethnography]] |volume=41 |issue=6 |pages=611–635 |publisher=[[SAGE Publications|Sage]] |doi=10.1177/0891241612462132 |date=December 2012 |s2cid=144302088}}
[[pl:Straight edge]]
{{refend}}
[[pt:Straight edge]]

[[ru:Straight edge]]
==External links==
[[simple:Straight edge]]
{{Commons category}}
[[fi:Straight Edge]]
<!-- THIS IS NOT AN ADVERTISING BILLBOARD! DO NOT POST LINKS TO ONLINE STORES -->
[[sv:Straight edge]]
* [http://www.faqs.org/faqs/cultures/straight-edge-faq/preamble.html A straight edge FAQ]
[[tr:Straight Edge]]
* [https://straightedgeworldwide.com/ A straight edge news website]
* [https://xsisterhoodx.com/ Female Focused Straight Edge Website]

{{hardcorepunk}}
{{punk}}
{{skinhead}}
{{vegetarianism}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Straight edge| ]]
[[Category:Hardcore punk]]
[[Category:Hardcore punk genres]]
[[Category:Musical subcultures]]
[[Category:Temperance movement]]
[[Category:Veganism]]
[[Category:Vegetarianism]]
[[Category:Youth culture in the United States]]
[[Category:Counterculture of the 1980s]]
[[Category:Youth movements]]

Latest revision as of 00:20, 10 November 2024

This article is about the punk subculture. For the tool used for drawing straight lines, see Straightedge. For the song from which the subculture takes its name, see Straight Edge (song).
A straight edge tattoo

Straight edge (sometimes abbreviated as sXe or signified by XXX or simply X) is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and recreational drugs in reaction to the punk subculture's excesses.[1][2][3] Some adherents refrain from engaging in promiscuous or casual sex, follow a vegetarian or vegan diet and do not consume caffeine or prescription drugs.[4] The term "straight edge" was adopted from the 1981 song "Straight Edge" by the hardcore punk band Minor Threat.[5]

The straight-edge subculture emerged amid the early-1980s hardcore punk scene. Since then, a wide variety of various beliefs and ideas have been associated with the movement, including vegetarianism and animal rights.[6][7] While the commonly expressed aspects of the straight edge subculture have been abstinence from alcohol, nicotine, and illegal drugs, there have been considerable variations. Disagreements often arise as to the primary reasons for living straight edge. Straight edge politics vary, from explicitly revolutionary to conservative. Some activists have approached Straight Edge with skepticism, ridicule or even outright hostility in part due to what they perceived as the straight edge movement's self-righteous militancy.[8]

In 1999, William Tsitsos wrote that Straight Edge had gone through three eras since its founding in the early 1980s.[9] Bent edge began as a counter-movement to straight edge by members of the Washington, D.C., hardcore scene who were frustrated by the rigidity and intolerance in the scene.[10] During the youth crew era, which started in the mid-1980s, the influence of music on the straight edge scene was at an all-time high. By the early 1990s, militant straight edge was a well-known part of the wider punk scene. In the early to mid-1990s, straight edge spread from the United States to Northern Europe,[11] Eastern Europe,[12] the Middle East,[13] and South America.[14] By the beginning of the 2000s, militant straight-edge punks had largely left the broader straight-edge culture and movement.[15]

History

[edit]

1970s and early 1980s

[edit]
Minor Threat, pictured in 1981, coined the term "straight edge".

Straight edge grew out of hardcore punk in the late 1970s and early 1980s and was partly characterized by shouted rather than sung vocals.[16] Straight-edge individuals of this early era often associated with the original punk ideals such as individualism, disdain for work and school, and live-for-the-moment attitudes.[9] The movement was influenced by the political and social climate of its origin, around the time of the "Just Say No" campaign and a rise in conservative viewpoints. The discipline of the subculture came from a mix of leftist radicalism and conservative influences.[17]

Straight edge sentiments can be found in songs by the early 1980s band Minor Threat.[18] This anti-inebriation movement had been developing in punk before Minor Threat, but their song "Straight Edge" was influential in giving the scene a name, and something of a (somewhat unwilling) figurehead.[19] Minor Threat frontman Ian MacKaye is often credited with birthing the straight edge name and movement and in later years has often spoken out about how he never intended it to be a movement.

Straight edge sentiments can also be found in the song "Keep it Clean" by English punk band The Vibrators, and the Modern Lovers song "I'm Straight", recorded in 1973, which rejected drug use.[20] Ted Nugent was a key influence on the straight edge ideology as one of the few prominent 1970s hard rock icons to eschew alcohol and other drug use explicitly.[21]

Straight edge started in Washington, D.C., and quickly spread throughout the United States and Canada.[22] By the 1980s, bands on the West Coast, such as America's Hardcore, Stalag 13, Justice League, and Uniform Choice, were gaining popularity. In the early stages of this subculture's history, concerts often consisted of both punk bands and straight edge bands. Circumstances soon changed, and the early 1980s eventually was viewed as the time "before the two scenes separated".[16] Other early straight edge bands include State of Alert, Government Issue, Teen Idles, The Faith, 7 Seconds, SSD, DYS, and Negative FX.[5][23][24]

Bent edge

[edit]
Main article: Bent edge

Bent edge originated as a counter-movement to straight edge among members of the hardcore scene who were frustrated by the rigidity and intolerance of the scene.[10] This idea spread, and on Minor Threat's first tour in 1982, people identified themselves as bent, crooked, or curved edge.[25] The counter-movement was short-lived, and it faded away by the end of the 1990s.[26]

Youth crew (mid-1980s)

[edit]
Youth of Today, youth crew pioneers

During the youth crew era, which started in the mid-1980s, the influence of music on the straight-edge scene seemed to be at an all-time high. The branches of straight edge that came about during this era seemed to originate from ideas presented in songs, and many youth crew bands had a strong heavy metal influence.[27] Notable youth crew bands included: Youth of Today,[27] Gorilla Biscuits,[27] Judge, Bold, Chain of Strength, Turning Point, Uniform Choice, and Slapshot.[28]

In the mid-1980s, the band Youth of Today became associated with the straight-edge movement, and their song "Youth Crew" expressed a desire to unite the scene into a movement.[29] Vegetarianism became an important theme in straight edge during this era,[30] starting with Youth of Today's 1988 song "No More", which contained lyrics condemning the consumption of meat.[31] This trend toward animal rights and veganism within the straight edge movement reached its peak in the 1990s.[30]

1990s

[edit]

By the early 1990s, straight edge became a well-known part of the wider punk and DIY scene and underwent musical and political shifts. In the early part of the decade, several straight-edge punks and their bands picked up on the vegetarian and other social justice politics of the mid-1980s and began comprehensively advocating for social justice, animal liberation, veganism, and straight edge. During this period, the straight edge scene birthed two major offshoots: the more conservative hardline[32] and the Krishna Consciousness influenced, retrospectively known as Krishnacore.[33] While the majority of straight edge punks and Hare Krishna converts were pacifists, those influenced by hardline showed a willingness to resort to violence to promote their subculture.[34] Musically, the straight edge scene increasingly was drawing from heavy metal and was a founding influence on metalcore.

2000s

[edit]

By the beginning of the 2000s, only small groups of militant straight edge individuals remained.[15] Contrary to news reports that portrayed straight edge as a gang,[35][36] several studies have shown that straight edge individuals as a whole are mostly peaceful people.[37] In the 2000s, there was a growing amount of tolerance of people who do not follow the straight edge lifestyle by straight edge individuals.[38] In this incarnation of straight edge, the musical styles of the bands involved are more varied, ranging from a youth crew revival style to metalcore to posicore.[15] Straight edge bands from the 2000s include Allegiance, Champion, Down to Nothing, Embrace Today, Have Heart, and Throwdown.[39]

Ideology

[edit]

Its philosophy in the early stages of straight edge was to rebel through self-control. With the ability to control one's actions, a straight edge participant would be better suited to stand against the mainstream. The first wave of straight edge did not impose rules on others, and participants chose to follow the ways of self-control. With the second wave of straight edge, these rules were used to control others. Additionally, the second wave experienced a change in music style. Where the first wave was influenced by hardcore punk, the second wave brought in aspects of heavy metal music that pushed for power and control over others. The slowing down of the music reflected the focus of individuals in their journey to self-control.[40]

Hate Edge

[edit]

Hate Edge (also known as NS or National Socialist Straight Edge) is a neo-Nazi offshoot of the straight edge movement.[41] Prominent Hate Edge groups include NS/WP and Sober and Angry Youth, both of which are responsible for attacks on and murders of drug dealers.[42][43][44]

Outside the United States

[edit]
The Brazilian vegan straight edge band Point of No Return in 2006

In the early to mid-1990s, straight edge spread from the United States to Northern Europe,[11] Eastern Europe,[12] the Middle East,[13] and South America.[14] It grew around the world due to the relentless touring of youth crew bands and the ease of ordering records from American record labels via mail.[45] Fluff Fest, which has been held in the Czech Republic since 2000 and draws audiences from across Europe, is linked to straight edge through its organizers and showcases prominent straight edge bands.[46]

West Flanders was home to the H8000 (pronounced Hate-Thousand) hardcore punk scene during the 1990s. Bands within the scene took heavily from heavy metal, and followed straight edge and vegan lifestyles. Some bands helped to pioneer the development of metalcore and then later on melodic metalcore and deathcore.[47] Some groups from the scene include Congress, Liar, Blindfold, Shortsight, Regression and Spirit of Youth.[48] Good Life Recordings signed and released much of the music for the scene.[49]

United Kingdom

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According to NoEcho writer Ethan Stewart "the closest thing to a straight edge band for much of the [1980s] was Statement", a solo-project by the Apostles drummer Patrick "Rat" Poole. However, despite Poole being drug-free, vegan and having a massive influence on the development of hardline, he did not identify with the straight edge label at the time. Additionally, many groups from the UK punk and hardcore scene did include straight edge members, namely Napalm Death, Blitz and Heresy.[50]

The first entirely straight edge band in the country was Steadfast, who formed in Durham, England in 1988. Despite originally being formed as a vehicle to annoy the members of the anarcho punk scene, the band eventually grew into a serious band.[51] Following this, a number of additional straight edge bands began to form, including XdisciplineX, False Face, Headstong, Step One and Kickback. Nicolas Royles, drummer for Sore Throat, formed In Touch and Withstand around this time, which both morphed into No Way Out by 1990. This scene mostly was based in North East of England and Yorkshire[52] and made up of musicians who became involved in the hardcore scene through skateboarding and the popularity of thrash metal.[50] The bands were predominantly influenced by U.S. youth crew acts like Youth of Today and Gorilla Biscuits.[53] Members of the existing punk and hardcore scenes in the country often reacted negatively to the straight edge bands, and on multiple occasions, fights occurred between the musicians and fans.[54]

Most of the first wave of UK straight edge bands had broken up by 1991. However, a second wave began in the following years. Mostly based around Subjugation and Sure Hand Records, this wave saw members of many of the first wave bands form new bands and begin to embrace influences from heavy metal.[50] The main location for this scene was the 1 in 12 Club, an anarchist club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, as groups like Unborn, Slavearc, Vengeance of Gaia and Withdrawn performed there frequently.[55]

A UK straight edge scene featuring entirely new musicians developed in the 2010s as a part of the New Wave of British Hardcore. Mostly based around Leeds, the scene produced groups like Violent Reaction, Big Cheese,[50] Insist, Unjust, Rapture, Regiment, True Vision and Shrapnel.[56] A number of musicians from other UK hardcore bands were straight edge at this time, including Jimmy and Alex Wizard from Higher Power.[57]

X symbol

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Italian straight edge band To Kill performing at a club

The letter X is the most known symbol of straight edge, and it sometimes is worn as a marking on the back of both hands, and it can be displayed on other body parts as well. Some followers of straight edge put the symbol on clothing and pins, and many bands aligned with the culture incorporate it into their names.[58] According to a series of interviews by journalist Michael Azerrad, the straight edge X can be traced to the Teen Idles' brief West Coast tour in 1980.[59] The band's members were scheduled to play at San Francisco's Mabuhay Gardens, but when they arrived, club management discovered that they were all under the legal drinking age and would be denied entry to the club. As a compromise, management marked each of the members' hands with a large black X as a warning to the club's staff not to serve alcohol to the band.

Upon returning to Washington, D.C., the band suggested this same system to local clubs as a means to allow teenagers in to see musical performances without being served alcohol.[59] The Teen Idles released a record in 1980 called Minor Disturbance with the cover shot being two hands with black Xs on the back.[5][60] The mark soon became associated with the straight edge lifestyle.[5] It can also be used by drinking establishments to note a patron as under the drinking age, regardless of their views towards drugs such as alcohol.

Later bands used the X symbol on album covers and other paraphernalia in a variety of ways. The cover of No Apologies by Judge shows two crossed gavels in the X formation.[61] Other objects that have been used include shovels, baseball bats, and hockey sticks.[61] A variation involving a trio of Xs is often used in flyers and tattoos. It can also be ironic, based on the fact that three Xs was popularized in cartoons and television shows to signify alcohol or poison. Moonshiners used an X to note how many times a particular batch of moonshine ran through the still, adding irony.[62] The term is sometimes abbreviated by including an X with the abbreviation of the term "straight edge" to give "sXe".[63] By analogy, hardcore punk is sometimes abbreviated to "hXc".[64]

Approaches

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Boston straight edge band Have Heart's 2019 reunion show outside the Worcester Palladium had the highest attendance of any hardcore show in history.[65]

While some straight edge groups are treated as a "gang" by law enforcement officials,[66] a 2006 study found the vast majority of people who identify as straight edge are nonviolent.[67] While the early hardcore punk scene in Washington, D.C., often is praised for its commitment to positive social change, both the youth crew movement of the 1980s and the vegan movement of the 1990s have drawn criticism. Straight edge has been approached with skepticism and hostility despite the less dogmatic and multifaceted character of contemporary straight edge.[68]

Veganism

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By the late 1990s, many straight edge participants gave veganism the same degree of importance as abstinence from intoxicants, and some groups styled themselves as "vegan straight edge",[69] sometimes abbreviated "xVx".[70] Bands such as Earth Crisis and Vegan Reich emphasized animal rights and environmentalism as social justice issues.[71] Perhaps owing to the "DIY" ethic of the punk subculture, some advocated direct action, and became associated with the radical groups Animal Liberation Front and the Earth Liberation Front.[72] The California band Vegan Reich is most associated with the "Hardline" subculture, which espouses the sanctity of life, and draws connections between animal rights and anti-abortion activism.[73][74] Members of the Hardline movement have been described as espousing Old Testament-style spirituality,[74] militancy, and violence.[73] Violent activism has been described as an "extreme minority" within the vegan straight edge movement.[75]

Haenfler writes that straight edge participants see veganism as an extension of the movement's emphasis on positivity, much like its preference to reserve sex for emotionally meaningful relationships.[76] They tend to focus more on personal responsibility and focus less on confronting systemic issues in society.[77] However, veganism is not seen as a matter of personal purity; it is rooted in a strong belief in animal rights and rejection of the exploitation of animals.[78] Some hold that veganism is "true straight edge", and their promotion of veganism and animal liberation has been described as evangelistic.[79]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Haenfler, Ross (2015). "Straight Edge". In Parmar, Priya; Nocella, II, Anthony J.; Robertson, Scott; Diaz, Martha (eds.). Rebel Music: Resistance through Hip Hop and Punk. Charlotte, North Carolina: Information Age Publishing. pp. 137–138. ISBN 978-1-62396-910-3.
  2. ^ "Straight Edge Punk | Exclaim!". Straight Edge Punk | Exclaim!. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  3. ^ Krist, Josh (22 August 1996). "White Punks on Hope". Phoenix New Times. Archived from the original on 10 August 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  4. ^ "Straight Edge Punk | Exclaim!". Straight Edge Punk | Exclaim!. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  5. ^ a b c d Cogan 2008, p. 317
  6. ^ Wood 1999, pp. 130–140
  7. ^ Wood 1999, pp. 141–143
  8. ^ Kuhn 2010, p. 14
  9. ^ a b Tsitsos 1999 [page needed]
  10. ^ a b Andersen & Jenkins 2003, p. 125
  11. ^ a b Kuhn 2010, p. 121
  12. ^ a b Kuhn 2010, p. 132
  13. ^ a b Kuhn 2010, p. 112
  14. ^ a b Kuhn 2010, p. 66
  15. ^ a b c Haenfler 2006b, pp. 16–17
  16. ^ a b Haenfler 2006b, p. 11
  17. ^ Haenfler 2004b, pp. 406–436
  18. ^ Wood 1999, pp. 137–138
  19. ^ Azerrad 2001, p. 121
  20. ^ Goldfein 1989, p. 18
  21. ^ Henry Rollins reports that he and friend Ian MacKaye (vocalist for Minor Threat) "would read about the Nuge and the thing that really rubbed off on us was that he didn't drink or smoke or do drugs...[Nugent's performance] was the craziest thing we'd ever seen onstage and here's this guy saying 'I don't get high.' We thought that was so impressive." (Azerrad 2001, p. 121)
  22. ^ Barlett 2006
  23. ^ Blush 2001, pp. 26–29
  24. ^ Blush 2010, pp. 163–165
  25. ^ Kuhn 2010, p. 37
  26. ^ Mullaney, Jamie L. "All In Time: Age and the Temporality Of Authenticity in the Straight Edge Music Scene." Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 41.6 (2012): 611–635. Academic Search Premier. 9 Feb. 2013.
  27. ^ a b c Tsitsos 1999, p. 404
  28. ^ Haenfler 2006b, p. 218
  29. ^ Haenfler 2006b, p. 12
  30. ^ a b Wood 1999, p. 139
  31. ^ Youth of Today 1988 as cited in Haenfler 2006b
  32. ^ Wood 1999, pp. 140–141
  33. ^ Wood 1999, pp. 143–146
  34. ^ Haenfler 2006b, p. 88
  35. ^ Wood 2003, p. 45
  36. ^ Haenfler 2006b, p. 91
  37. ^ Wood 2003, p. 46
  38. ^ Wood 2003, pp. 46–47
  39. ^ Haenfler 2006b, p. 219
  40. ^ Tsitsos 1999, pp. 397–414
  41. ^ "Hate Edge". Anti-Defamation League. 3 December 2022.
  42. ^ "Sober and Angry Youth – White supremacist and straightedge group". Reporting Radicalism. 3 December 2022.
  43. ^ "Here's what we know about images of an allegedly foiled neo-Nazi assassination plot 'ordered by Ukraine'". France24. 3 December 2022. NS/WP whose agenda is anti-drug.
  44. ^ "The Straight Edge Neo-Nazi Group that Attacked a Ukrainian Roma Camp". Bellingcat. 3 December 2022.
  45. ^ Kuhn 2010, pp. 50–52
  46. ^ Kuhn 2010, p. 137
  47. ^ Hans Verbeke (2019). H8000 Documentary – Anger & Distortion; 1989–1999 (in Dutch).
  48. ^ Ramirez, Carlos (5 February 2019). "H8000: Director Hans Verbeke on His Doc About the Belgian Hardcore Scene (1989-1999)". No Echo. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  49. ^ "Ik heb death metal nodig om gelukkig te zijn". Red Bull (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  50. ^ a b c d Stewart, Ethan (2 December 2020). "A Look at the '80s and '90s UK Straight Edge Hardcore Scenes". No Echo. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  51. ^ Glasper, Ian (2009). Trapped in a Scene: UK Hardcore 1985-89. p. 500.
  52. ^ Tatty-Bye, Nick (February 1990). "Scene Reports". Maximumrocknroll. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  53. ^ UK Straight Edge. 1989.
  54. ^ Rettman, Tony. Straight Edge A Clear-Headed Hardcore Punk History.
  55. ^ Glasper, Ian (2012). Armed With Anger: How UK Punk Survived The Nineties. Cherry Red Books. ISBN 978-1-90144-772-9.
  56. ^ Scott, Tim (22 October 2016). "Rapture Are Part of the Second Coming of UK Straight Edge Hardcore". Vice Media. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  57. ^ "Interview with Jimmy Wizard of Higher Power" (Podcast). Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  58. ^ Lopez, Jalen (21 March 2022). "Review: XweaponX, XweaponX Demo". No Echo.
  59. ^ a b Azerrad 2001, p. 127
  60. ^ Azerrad 2001, p. 132
  61. ^ a b Wood 2006, p. 119
  62. ^ Helton & Staudenmeier 2002, p. 445
  63. ^ Haenfler 2006b, p. 4
  64. ^ Hannon 2010, p. 162
  65. ^ Bastias, Steven (8 July 2019). "Have Heart's Reunion Was The Biggest Hardcore Show Ever". Kerrang!. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  66. ^ Writer: David Shadrack Smith. Directors: Jim Gaffey and David Shadrack Smith (9 April 2008). "Inside Straight Edge". Inside. 50 minutes in. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  67. ^ Wood 2006, pp. 38, 41
  68. ^ Kuhn 2010, p. 14
  69. ^ Haenfler 2006b, p. 53
  70. ^ Pieslak 2015, p. 177
  71. ^ Tsitos 2016, pp. 205–206
  72. ^ Pieslak 2015, pp. 177–184
  73. ^ a b Pieslak 2015, p. 183
  74. ^ a b Tsitos 2016, p. 206
  75. ^ Helton & Staudenmeier 2002, p. 465
  76. ^ Haenfler 2004b, p. 427
  77. ^ Haenfler 2004b, p. 428
  78. ^ Helton & Staudenmeier 2002, p. 456
  79. ^ Helton & Staudenmeier 2002, p. 452

References and bibliography

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Further reading

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