Feminist DIY Practices in Punk and the “Sexual Turn” in Human Rights Lene Annette Karpp (Freie Universität Berlin, Germany)
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FORUM FOR INTER-AMERICAN RESEARCH (FIAR) VOL. 12.2 (OCT. 2019) 15-36 ISSN: 1867-1519 © forum for inter-american research Queer (-/and) Feminist DIY Practices in Punk and the “Sexual Turn” in Human Rights LENE ANNETTE KARPP (FREIE UNIVERSITÄT BERLIN, GERMANY) Abstract This article addresses queer (-/and) feminist – i.e. queer, feminist and queer-feminist – Do-It-Yourself (DIY) practices as performed in punk since the 1970s, arguing that these practices helped to stimulate a “sexual turn” in human rights activism and discourse in the United States over the course of the subsequent decades. Punk opened up a new space for self-empowerment and self-expression in the 1970s when the sexual liberation movement of the previous decade started to lose its ground and, consequently, went partially back “underground.” It is argued here that punk – through its cultural DIY production and aesthetics as performed in music, performances, style and zines – created a counterpublic sphere allowing for an ongoing struggle for sexual rights led by (cis-)women and people with trans- and gender non-conforming identities. This took place in the context of the rise of neoconservative U.S. politics of the 1980s, which sought to repress those allegedly “amoral” rights claims. Influenced by both feminist and gay and lesbian movements, individuals expressed a plurality of complementary, overlapping and conflicting visions of sexuality and related rights. Against this backdrop, this article studies two “movements” in punk that were particularly interested in negotiating sexuality and gender identities: first, the queer- or homocore movement that began in the mid-1980s, and second, the feminist riot grrrl movement that emerged in the early 1990s. Even though punk was by no means the only space where these struggles took place, it delivers an interesting case study of changing social and sexual mores in the United States in the late twentieth century. Punk’s anti-assimilationist and anti-authoritarian tendencies, DIY practices, its unceasing attractiveness to youth (and older) generations, as well as the growing interplay with academic discourses, contributed to changes in the perception of sexuality and related rights claims not only in the U.S., but also on a transnational level. Keywords: Academic Activism, Civil Rights, Counterpublic Sphere, Do-It-Yourself, Feminism, Gender Roles, Human Rights, Punk, Queercore, Queer-feminism, Riot Grrrl, Sexuality, Sexual Orientation, Sexual Rights, Sexual Turn, USA 1. Punk, Sexuality and Queer (-/and) Feminist punk – through its cultural DIY production and Counterpublic Spheres aesthetics in music, performance, style and (fan)zines[2] – allowed for an ongoing struggle When punk emerged in the U.S. and U.K. for sexual rights in the context of the rise of in the 1970s, its anti-assimilationist, anti- neoconservative U.S. politics in the 1980s, which authoritarian stances, combined with its Do- sought to repress allegedly “amoral” rights claims. It-Yourself (DIY) approach, opened up a new [3] Influenced by radical feminism as well as the space for the self-empowerment and self- gay and lesbian movements that had gained expression of marginalized people, including momentum in the late 1960s, punks expressed (cis-)women[1] and people with non-conforming a variety of complementary, overlapping, and sexual orientation and trans- and gender conflicting visions of sexuality and related rights identities (Laing, “Interpreting Punk Rock”). claims. Even though punk was not the only site While the sexual liberation movement of the where these struggles took place, it nonetheless previous decade started to lose its position and, provides an interesting case study of the consequently, went partially back “underground,” changing social and sexual mores in the United 16 L. KARPP: QUEER (-/AND) FEMINIST DIY PRACTICES States in the late twentieth century. Punk’s anti- sought a critical engagement with wider publics, assimilationist and anti-authoritarian tendencies, affirming “a belief in the transformative power DIY practices, its unceasing attractiveness to of discourse … [and] that the consequences of youth (and older) generations, as well as the exclusion – suppression of identities, interests, growing interplay with academic discourses and needs – can be overcome” (Asen 429). contributed to changes in the perception of By hyphenating the terms “queer”[5] and sexuality and related rights claims not only in the “feminist,” I refer to the intersection of both US, but also on a transnational level. queer and feminist theories and practices, while Against this backdrop, this article addresses the use of “and” connotes the additional, not queer (-/and) feminist – i.e. queer, feminist and necessarily intersected notion of both terms. queer-feminist – DIY practices as performed in This approach takes into account the polyphony U.S. punk in the 1980s and early 1990s, arguing of queer and feminist voices expressed in punk that these practices helped to stimulate a “sexual and the intricacy of their overlapping, parallel, turn” in (human) rights activism and discourse complementary or conflicting visions of intimacy, in the United States. It was not until the mid- sexuality, and related rights claims. The 1990s that sexual rights, i.e. claiming equality terminology of queer-feminist politics is inspired regardless of a person’s sexual orientation or by queer-feminist activism and academic gender identity, entered the public human rights research of the last three decades which discourse via debates at the United Nations on emphasizes the queer dimension of feminist – the inclusion of women’s and LGBT rights[4] and feminist dimension of queer – theories and into international human rights law (Miller 288). practices.[6] With regards to punk culture, queer Beforehand, sexual rights claims had mostly (-/and) feminist theories have mainly served been expressed on a national level in relation to address the queer- or homocore movement to civil rights and citizenship, while sexuality of punk that emerged in the mid-1980s in itself had primarily been perceived, despite the Canada and the United States (DeChaine; du efforts of the sexual liberation movement of the Plessis and Chapman; Fenster; Nault; Rogers; 1960s, as belonging to the private rather than Schwandt), the American riot grrrl movement the public sphere (Richardson). However, as of the early 1990s (Downes, “DIY Queer Seyla Benhabib has pointed out, Feminist (Sub)Cultural Resistance”; Downes, “The Expansion of Punk Rock”; Nguyen, “Riot “all struggles against oppression in the Grrrl, Race and Revival”; Nguyen, “Making modern world begin by redefining what Waves”; Wiedlack, “Rejection and Anger in had previously been considered private, Queer-Feminist Punk”; Wiedlack, “‘Free Pussy nonpublic and nonpolitical issues as Riot!’ & Riot Grrrlsm”; Wilson); and more recent matters of public concern, as issues of queer-feminist activism rooted in punk culture justice, as sites of power which need such as Girls Rock Camps, Ladyfests (Ommert; discursive legitimation.” (Benhabib 100) O’Shea) and archival work in academic and non- academic settings (Eichhorn, Archival Turn in In this sense, punk provided queer (-/and) Feminism; Eichhorn, “DIY Collectors, Archiving feminist counterpublic spheres, i.e. social Scholars, and Activist Librarians”; Radway). discursive entities (Fraser) and collectives Drawing from these accounts and a variety of emerged “in the recognition [and articulation] of primary source material, including lyrics, zines, various exclusions from wider publics of potential published interviews, private correspondences, participants, discourse topics, and speaking blogs and newspapers, this article explores the styles and the resolve that builds to overcome ways in which feminism and queerness were these exclusions” (Asen 438). Punk offered negotiated in punk, what the manifold visions alternative ways to articulate and communicate of sexuality in punk were, and how punks a diversity of views and voices of subordinated engaged in sexual rights activism. Though groups and individuals on sexuality and related music plays a central role in punk culture as rights. In engaging (counter)publicity, punk a means for expressing political ideas, punk FORUM FOR INTER-AMERICAN RESEARCH VOL. 12.2 (OCT. 2019) 15-36 17 rock music is not at the center of this analysis, in the U.K. and U.S. – highlighted the “social which instead focuses on the activist practices significance” of punk’s “bizarre sexuality in its of some members of punk culture including songs and its styles of dress,” stating that: musicians, fans and “zinesters.” By retracing the queer (-/and) feminist counterpublic spheres “Punk is overwhelmingly concerned punk created to negotiate individual sexual with the latter [the social significance of rights claims, supporting their shift from the sexuality], in bringing it to the surface and, private to the counterpublic sphere, this article usually, mocking it. For these ‘deviations’ contributes a bottom-up perspective to the well- are not so much excluded from ordinary established historiography of twentieth century social and media discourse, but repressed human rights, which, although interested in the by it. In this relationship of repression, the apparent opposites of the puritan sexual role of grassroots movements, individuals and ethic and pornography reinforce each activist groups (Eckel; Moyn), has only recently other through the fascination exerted begun to address the influence