Animal rights and punk subculture
In order to understand the radical animal rights and environmental movements, it helps to know a bit about punk rock.
—Will Potter, 2011[1]
The inculcation of some concepts and practices related to animal rights in the collective consciousness has been substantially pioneered and influenced by the punk movement. This association continues on into the 21st century, as evinced by the prominence of international vegan punk events such as Ieperfest in Belgium, Fluff Fest in Czech Republic, and Verdurada in Brazil.
Overview and analysis
The relationship between punk and animal rights is highlighted in the imagery and lyrics of these bands, the content of
A 2014 study indicates that vegan punks are more likely to remain politically active through their diets and lifestyles than those who do not belong to this subculture.
Politics and religion
Vegetarianism, widely stigmatized as an Oriental and feminine practice, helps to differentiate punks from the mainstream, neatly corresponds to punk
gender relations perceived in meat.
—Dylan Clark, 2004[13]
Researcher Kirsty Lohman points out that punk's concern for
Unlike anarcho-punk, straight edge is not inherently political.
Some radical political circles and authors have criticised some straight edge branches, in particular its 1990s American form, for their "self-righteous militancy", "reductionist focus on animal rights and environmental issues," and a religious leaning "that, in its worst forms, resembled reactionary
Despite their differences, sociologist Erik Hannerz highlights that anarcho-punk and straight edge not only coincide with animal rights, but both also emphasise a
Influence on participants
Politicisation through punk typically involves an awareness of animal liberation through song lyrics and albums that include information and images of
Reception from the animal rights movement
The reception of punk's activism has varied through the broader animal rights movement, which reflects the "much more diverse" ideological and tactical differences existent within both movements "than they might at first appear."
Anarcho-punk
Background
The association of anarcho-punk and animal rights and environmentalism dates from the 1980s in the United Kingdom.
Journalist Nora Kusche states that anarcho-punk was the first music genre that made animal rights activism one of its main characteristics.[40] Some punks, most remarkably Joe Strummer of the Clash, were already vegetarians before the establishment of this movement.[41]
Researcher Aragorn Eloff notes that throughout the history of anarchism there had been
Characteristics
In the anarchist DIY scenes, one of the most notable demonstrations of the punk lifestyle is a vegetarian or vegan diet.
During this period there was also a proliferation of punk zines that discussed animal rights and
Many traditional British anarchists differed in several ways from anarcho-punk, considering their interest in the Animal Liberation Front (A.L.F.), the counterculture of the punk underground and other concerns as "at best secondary and at worst irrelevant." Likewise, punks found many of the intellectual debates around anarchist politics and, initially, the violence supported by revolutionary traditionalists equally alienating. Although the separation was not unbridgeable, the tensions remained unresolved.[47]
Establishment
An antecedent of this association is the 1979 song "Time Out" by the band Crass, initiators of anarcho-punk, in which they compare the human and animal fleshes.
Early anarcho-punk bands such as Amebix,[48] Antisect,[48] Dirt,[56] Exit-Stance,[57] Liberty,[56] Lost Cherrees,[58] Poison Girls,[59] Rudimentary Peni,[60] and Subhumans[48] all wrote songs dealing with animal rights issues as well, as did non-political bands such as the Business.[41] Other remarkable works dedicated to the cause were the compilation albums of bands The Animals Packet (1983), organised by Chumbawamba,[48] and This is the A.L.F. (1989), organised by Conflict and which was described in a retrospective review as "one of the most crucial anarcho-punk compilations of the '80s (and beyond)".[59] American political bands of the early 1980s such as MDC and Crucifix, both from California and influenced by Crass, also promoted vegetarianism.[61][62]
Sociologist Peter Webb ascribed the growth of vegan and vegetarian
In the mid- to late 1980s, the stripped-down and coarse style of anarcho-punk mixed with different subgenres of heavy metal and brought forth crust punk[65] and grindcore,[66][67] which shared its emphasis on political and animal rights issues. Early grindcore bands such as Napalm Death, Agathocles and Carcass made animal rights one of their primary lyrical themes.[67] Early crust punk bands including Nausea,[61] Electro Hippies[40] and Extreme Noise Terror[68] also advocated vegetarian lifestyles.
In Spain, the anarchist ska punk band Ska-P, formed in 1994, have written several songs criticising animal abuse and endorsed animal rights organisations.[69][70]
In 2018, Gerfried Ambrosch of the University of Graz called the Canadian anarcho-punk band Propagandhi "the most renowned contemporary vegan punk band".[71]
Impact
Some authors credit the anarcho-punk scene originated by Crass as the introduction of diverse concepts and counter-cultural practices in
Several animal rights activists such as Rod Coronado,[1] Craig Rosebraugh,[1] Isa Chandra Moskowitz,[74] and David J. Wolfson[75] were initially inspired by anarcho-punk bands.
Straight edge and hardcore punk
Characteristics
Beyond the basic tenets of
Straight edge, as most subcultures, is not inherently political but its participants seek to "remoralise"
The most controversial offshoot that advocated animal rights was
Influences and first contacts
In the mid- to late 1980s, American hardcore punk music and particularly its subculture straight edge began to get involved in animal rights and environmentalism.[84][85] Journalist Brian Peterson attributes diverse influences on this relationship beyond anarcho-punk: the post-hardcore band Beefeater, the 1985 album Meat Is Murder by British post-punk band the Smiths, the Hare Krishna tradition, and the vegetarian rapper KRS-One.[86] On the other hand, Pike notes two origins for the activists that would later emerge from the scene: the political one, which started with the arrival of the Animal Liberation Front from England, and the religious one, influenced by the Hare Krishna faith.[87] Pioneering this trend were the 1986 songs "Do Unto Others" by Cro-Mags, a band with Hare Krishna members, and "Free At Last" by Youth of Today, straight edgers, both criticising slaughterhouses in a verse.[88][65]
Establishment
After those first contacts, works such as
Analogously, in the late 1980s, the hardcore punk subgenre powerviolence was established in California, featuring politically militant lyrics that also address animal rights.[95] One of its most notable bands are Dropdead, who took cues from anarcho-punk and a strong animal activist stance.[96]
Propagation and militance
The American band Vegan Reich, formed in the anarcho-punk community, released their self-titled EP in 1990 along with a manifesto that ushered in hardline, a biocentric, militant, vegan, anti-drugs, and sexually conservative ideology.[97][71][note 6] Vegan Reich frontman Sean Muttaqi stated he started the band to "spread a militant animal liberation message," but ended up disillusioned with hardliners as they were "all-consumed with minute details or inward shit" by the end of his band in 1993.[82][98] The hardline scene was small, had few associated acts (including Raid and Statement), and its principles on sexuality and abortion marginalised them to a large extent, but its stances on animal rights were innovative and helped to push veganism, direct action and increase awareness on animal liberation in hardcore punk.[104][13][17] Vegan Reich also infused a more metal sound into straight edge.[105]
The debates arising from the new moral tendencies in hardcore prompted animal rights to become predominant in the 1990s. Animal groups such as
Vegan straight edge soon influenced bands from many countries, including Sweden (
Inspired by these developments, some young people joined radical groups for animal rights and environmentalism such as the Animal Liberation Front (A.L.F.), Animal Defense League (A.D.L.), Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and Earth First![117] An increase in Animal Liberation Front activism in North America corresponds with the rise of vegan straight edge and hardline bands through the 1990s.[118] The majority of animal rights activists imprisoned in the late 1990s and early 2000s were involved in hardcore punk.[9] Despite the preponderance of this association, some people in the scene felt that militancy was taken to the extreme and they often responded reactionarily.[117] Direct action methods were especially debated for the aggression and sometimes criminality they meant.[103]
In the late 1990s, several vegan straight edge bands had split up and soon the ideology took a back seat in the American hardcore subculture, but its impact on the scene has lasted and become "almost inextricably linked" to it.[119]
Impact
Journalist
Other manifestations
In Germany, the punk zine Ox-Fanzine was founded in 1989 and began publishing vegan cookbooks.[27] In later years, there has been an influx of punk-themed cookbooks published by large publishing houses, including How It All Vegan (1999) by Sarah Kramer and Tanya Barnard, and Vegan with a Vengeance (2005) by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.[3] Several punks have set up vegetarian restaurants across the United States after noticing the lack of catering towards them.[3] Cosmetic and clothing companies also began to serve to their new punk-vegan niche market, including lines by Manic Panic (company started by former members of Blondie) and Kat Von D.[3][123]
Since 2001,
The
In Spain and some Latin American countries, several punk bands have written songs against bullfighting.[127][128]
See also
- List of songs about animal rights
- Anarchism and animal rights
- List of animal rights advocates
Notes
- apolitical.[13]
- ^ Crass members were vegetarians,[49] did several benefit concerts for animal rights causes and were constantly associated with this topic, but their vocalist Steve Ignorant said that they wrote almost no lyrics related to it. Instead, he cited Conflict and Flux of Pink Indians as leaders in that trench.[50] Researcher Rich Cross came to a similar conclusion.[51]
- promiscuous sex were no longer appealing. Therefore, clean living and positivity were inseparable; they reinforced one another and constituted the foundation for all other sXe values."[77]
- ^ Bassist Walter Schreifels stated in an interview that he and the other members of Youth of Today were required during the Break Down the Walls tour (1987, the year that Schreifels joined them) to become vegetarians by their vocalist Ray Cappo.[91]
- ^ Author Gabriel Kuhn claims that while 1980s bands such as Cro-Mags and Cause for Alarm made some connections between hardcore punk and the Hare Krishna tradition, the krishnacore subgenre transformed the service to Krishna into the only purpose of their music. This was reflected in the name of the bands, their lyrics and their appearances.[7]
- ^ Journalists Brian Peterson and Kelefa Sanneh noted that Vegan Reich were both inspired by and formed in the anarcho-punk scene,[93][98] but hardline's influence was more prominent in hardcore punk and most authors link it to vegan straight-edge as both ideologies focused on rejection of animal products, drugs and, on occasion, abortion, as well as its influence on vegan straight edge bands.[99][82][100][101][102] Nonetheless, Peterson states that there is a debate over whether or not hardline was part of straight edge.[103]
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Further reading
- Hein, Fabien; Blake, Dom (16 November 2016). Écopunk. Les punks, de la cause animale à l'écologie radicale (in French). ISBN 9782369350361.