Punk Identities in Post-Apartheid South Africa

Punk Identities in Post-Apartheid South Africa Lauren Basson A minor dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Humanities and Languages, University of Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the degree of Master of Arts in Sociology. Supervisor: Prof. Peter Alexander Co-supervisor: Liela Groenewald Johannesburg March 2007 ABSTRACT Punk was not only a music and fashion phenomenon of the 1970s, but the embodiment of non-conformity, discontent and a do-it-yourself culture that has continued to inspire the alternative youth of successive generations. One new cohort are the post-apartheid punks that provided the focus of this minor dissertation. The following three methods were used to collect qualitative data on South African punks: a qualitative content analysis, observations and semi-structured interviews. A search for the best conceptual tools with which to analyse this information found that previous usage of the concepts ‘subculture’ and ‘scene’ were useful, but inadequate. ‘Identity’ on the other hand, was capable of highlighting and examining the complexities of the punk phenomenon. The history of punk demonstrated that cross-cutting experiences, specific contexts, sub- categorisation and political motivations also contribute to the multiple meanings of punk. Similar influences were found at play in the South African case, but with a few crucial differences. Sub-categorisation was discussed in connection to a general and significant shift from old school to new school punk. The new school outlook is far more fun than the aggressive old school punk attitude of the 1970s. This change in punk culture provides an explanation for why it is that even politically aware punks, rarely make activism a priority. It may also explain why this small, optimistic, good humoured and creative ‘punk family’ do not express the fear and uncertainty normally found in punk collectives. The proudly South African context has also unexpectedly fostered the confidence of these mostly white, male and middle class punks. ii OPSOMMING 'Punk' is nie net ŉ musikale en modeverskynsel van die 1970s nie, maar die vergestalting van nonkonformisme, misnoeë en ŉ doen-dit-self kultuur wat voortgegaan het om die alternatiewe jeug van daaropvolgende generasies te inspireer. Een nuwe kohort is die postapartheid punks wat die fokus van hierdie kort dissertasie verskaf het. Die volgende drie metodes is gebruik om kwalitatiewe data oor Suid-Afikaanse punks in te samel: kwalitatiewe inhoudsontleding, observasies en semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude. ŉ Soeke na die beste konsepsuele gereedskap vir die analise van die data het getoon dat die manier waarop die konsepte 'subkultuur' en 'toneel' voorheen gebruik is, nuttig maar onvoldoende was. Die konsep 'identiteit' was egter in staat daartoe om die kompleksiteite van die punk verskynsel uit te lig en uit te pluis. Die geskiedenis van punk het getoon dat deurkruisende ervaringe, spesifieke kontekste, subkategorisering en politieke motivering ook tot die veelvoudige betekenisse van punk bydra. Soortgelyke invloede het in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks 'n rol gespeel, maar met ŉ paar sleutelverskille. Subkategorisering is bespreek in verband met ŉ algemene en betekenisvolle verskuiwing van ou-skool tot nuwe-skool punk. Die nuwe-skool perspektief is baie meer pret as die aggressiewe ou-skool punk houding van die 1970s. Hierdie verandering in punk kultuur verskaf een verklaring daarvoor dat selfs polities bewuste punks selde van aktivisme 'n prioriteit maak. Dit kan ook verduidelik waarom hierdie klein, optimistiese, welwillende en kreatiewe 'punk gesin' nie aan die vrees en onsekerheid wat gewoonlik by punk gemeenskappe voorkom, uitdrukking gee nie. Verder het die trots-Suid-Afrikaanse konteks onverwags die selfvertroue van hierdie hoofsaaklik wit, manlike, middelklas punks gekoester. iii CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND DECLARATION 1 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 3 1.1 Orientation, Problem Statement and Research Objectives 4 1.2 Chapter Outline 6 CHAPTER TWO: SUBCULTURAL IDENTITIES 8 2.1 Introduction 8 2.2 The Setting of the Subcultural Mould 8 2.3 An Attempt to Replace the Subcultural Mould 11 2.4 An Identity with a Subcultural Past 14 2.5 Conclusion 18 CHAPTER THREE: THE PUNK MOVEMENT 20 3.1 Introduction 20 3.2 The British Punk Movement (1975-1984) 21 3.3 After the British Moment: Comparing Contexts 25 3.4 Recognising the Other Parent: Punk in the United States 27 3.5 Conclusion 30 CHAPTER FOUR: RESEARCH DESIGN 32 4.1 Introduction 32 4.2 Research Methods 33 4.2.1 Qualitative Content Analysis 33 4.2.2 Observing Punk Behaviour 35 4.2.3 Semi-structured Interviews 36 4.3 Ethical Considerations 39 4.4 The Analysis 39 4.5 Strengths and Limitations 40 4.6 Conclusion 41 iv CHAPTER FIVE: AN EXPLORATION OF PUNK IDENTITIES IN SOUTH AFRICA 42 5.1 Introduction 42 5.2 The History of South African Punk 43 5.2.1 Punk Under Apartheid 43 5.2.2 Punk After Apartheid 46 5.3 The Punk Scene 49 5.3.1 Gigs and Festivals 50 5.3.2 Visual and Written Contributions 53 5.3.3 Different Meanings and Sub-categories of Punk 55 5.3.4 Skate-punk 61 5.3.5 Female Participation 64 5.3.6 Conclusion 5.4 Do South African punks utilise their identity as a vehicle for political expression? 67 5.4.1 Anarcho-punks 67 5.4.2 Punk Musicians 70 5.5 What is unique about the South African punk? 72 5.5.1 Defying Expectations: Optimistic White Punks 73 5.5.2 Punk Compared 78 5.6 Conclusion 83 CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION 85 APPENDIX 1: GLOSSARY 89 SOURCES 91 Primary Sources 91 Interviewees 91 Gigs and Other Observation Sites 92 Magazines, Zines and Lyrics 93 Secondary Sources 94 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND DECLARATION It is strange that only one person should get recognised for completing this task, when a sociological project is obviously something that could never be undertaken in isolation. Importantly in addition to my own name, two other names are mentioned on the title page and these are the names of my supervisors. They are also the first people I would like to thank, because this work would have been impossible without their advice and encouragement. I would like to thank Professor Peter Alexander for somehow always knowing where I was going before I had even gotten there. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to benefit from both your wisdom and your generosity. I learned so much about research and writing from you. I would like to thank Liela Groenewald for always being so thorough with my work and for her helpful criticisms. I was truly lucky to have a supervisor who is both an intellectual and a talented musician. The love and support of my parents Heather and Glenn Basson have proven to be a crucial life resource and I was particularly happy to have them in the face of this challenge. I would like to express my gratitude for all the time, compassion and advice that you have given me. And to my ‘sister’ Letitia Smuts, I would like to thank you for your friendship and for always allowing me to ‘reflect’ ideas off of you. I would like to thank Bronwyn Dworzanowski for encouraging me to pursue a Masters Degree, but more importantly for instilling in me a sense of the great potential of sociology that will hopefully remain with me for the duration of my career. I would like to thank Research Committee 34 (Sociology of Youth) for giving me the opportunity to present my research at the International Sociological Association World Congress in Durban in 2006. I am particularly grateful for the feedback that I received both during and after the conference. I am equally appreciative for the chance to speak about this work at one of the Department of Sociology’s weekly seminars at the University of Johannesburg, where I also benefited from some helpful comments. Most importantly, I have to thank the punks who agreed to be a part of this project. I realise that the idea of punk is not something that wants to be understood, so I am glad that you accommodated my desire to do so anyway. I hope that you can take something from this dissertation in return for all that I have taken and learned from you. 1 The National Research Foundation (NRF) must be thanked and acknowledged for their financial assistance. All views expressed were those of the researcher and should not be attributed to the NRF. I hereby declare that this minor dissertation, submitted in partial fulfilment of the Degree of Master of Arts in Sociology at the University of Johannesburg, is my own work and that all assistance has been acknowledged; and that it has not been submitted to any other university. Lauren Basson University of Johannesburg Johannesburg November 2006 2 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION One night I discovered a group of young people running and jumping around in a circle, while trumpets and the rest of the accompanying song played in the background. The following lyrics were commanding the airwaves: I think you pay too much respect to the government. I always thought that we were free. Help you, to help yourself. Freedom is a state of mind. Freedom is a state of mind. A Johannesburg based band, called Fuzigish was performing its song ‘Conspiracy’ and this was my first taste of a punk night. Intrigued by the lyrics that I had heard and a few brief conversations that I had with some punks that night, I began asking questions about the presence of a punk scene in South Africa. The energy was captivating and the message seemed to encourage people to question their social worlds and to think for themselves. As a sociologist I could identify with this message and it is also a message that I would like to promote.

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