Cultural Victimization in Participants of the Punk- Rock, Hip-Hop and House Subcultures

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Cultural victimization in participants of the Punk- Rock, Hip-Hop and House subcultures

Niels Hoogstraten, 486500 Supervisor: Prof. dr. Antony Pemberton Master’s thesis Victimology and Criminal Justice Tilburg University July 10th, 2017 Contents 1 Introduction ...... 6 1.1 Method ...... 7 1.2 Thesis structure...... 7 2 History of the Punk, Hip-Hop and House subcultures globally ...... 9 2.1 History of Punk ...... 9 2.1.1 Rebellious attitude ...... 9 2.1.2 The first Punk band ...... 9 2.1.3 The emergence of the American punk scene...... 9 2.1.4 The emergence of the English Punk scene ...... 10 2.1.5 Sub-cultural and artistic influences in English punk ...... 11 2.1.6 Working class narrative ...... 11 2.1.7 Post-Punk ...... 12 2.2 History of Hip-Hop ...... 13 2.2.1 Gang culture in The Bronx ...... 13 2.2.2 Old-school Hip-Hop ...... 14 2.2.3 Gangsta Rap ...... 14 2.3 History of House music ...... 15 2.3.1 Disco ...... 15 2.3.2 Emergence of House music ...... 15 2.3.3 The Chicago House scene ...... 16 2.3.4 Ibiza ...... 16 2.3.5 Emergence of the English House scene ...... 16 2.3.6 Banning of rave parties ...... 17 2.3.7 Techno and Hardcore house ...... 17 2.3.8 Becoming mainstream ...... 17 2.4 Conclusion ...... 18 3 Theories about subculture ...... 20 3.1 Subcultural theory...... 20 3.1.1 Subculture as class struggle...... 20 3.1.2 Radicalization of subcultures...... 21 3.1.3 Disarming subcultures ...... 21 3.2 Post-subcultural theory ...... 22 3.2.1 A plurality of styles ...... 22 3.2.2 Political indifference ...... 22

3.2.3 Diminished relevance of class ...... 23 3.2.4 Risk theory ...... 23 3.2.5 Conservative ideas about subculture ...... 24 3.2.6 Globalization and the internet ...... 24 3.2.7 House culture as post-subcultural phenomenon ...... 25 3.3 Criticism of post-subcultural theories ...... 25 3.4 Conclusion ...... 26 4 History of subculture in the Netherlands ...... 28 4.1 Dutch subcultures in the 1950s and 1960s ...... 28 4.2 Punk in the Netherlands ...... 30 4.3 Hip-Hop in the Netherlands...... 32 4.3.1 Dutch-Moroccans and Hip-Hop ...... 33 4.4 House music in the Netherlands ...... 34 4.5 Conclusion ...... 35 5 Relevant features of Dutch youth ...... 36 5.1 Socioeconomic status and ethnicity ...... 36 5.1.1 Flexible working agreements ...... 36 5.1.2 Income and expenditure of Dutch youth ...... 37 5.2 Wellbeing of Dutch youth ...... 37 5.2.1 Government support of Dutch youth ...... 37 5.3 Drug use in the Netherlands ...... 37 5.4 New media ...... 37 5.5 Emancipation ...... 38 5.5.1 Female emancipation...... 38 5.5.2 Acceptance of homosexuality ...... 38 5.6 Conclusion ...... 38 6 Methodology ...... 39 6.1 Interview procedure ...... 39 6.2 Respondents ...... 39 6.3 Hypotheses ...... 39 6.4 Socioeconomic status, ethnicity and gender ...... 40 6.4.1 Punk ...... 40 6.4.2 Hip-Hop ...... 41 6.4.3 House ...... 41 6.5 Consumer goods, new media and stability of subcultural identity ...... 42

6.5.1 Consumer goods ...... 42 6.5.2 New media ...... 42 6.5.3 Stability of subcultural identity ...... 42 6.6 The influence of the subculture on people participating in it ...... 43 7 Results and sub conclusions ...... 44 7.1 Punk ...... 45 7.1.1 Quotes of Punk participants by topic ...... 45 7.1.2 Socioeconomic status...... 46 7.1.3 Ethnicity ...... 46 7.1.4 Gender ...... 47 7.1.5 Consumer goods ...... 47 7.1.6 New media ...... 48 7.1.7 Stability of subcultural identity ...... 48 7.1.8 Effects of the subculture on the participant ...... 49 7.2 Hip-Hop ...... 50 7.2.1 Quotes of Hip-Hop participants by topic ...... 50 7.2.2 Socioeconomic status...... 51 7.2.3 Ethnicity ...... 51 7.2.4 Gender ...... 52 7.2.5 Consumer goods ...... 52 7.2.6 New media ...... 53 7.2.7 Stability of subcultural identity ...... 53 7.2.8 Effects of the subculture on the participant ...... 54 7.3 House ...... 55 7.3.1 Quotes of Punk participants by topic ...... 55 7.3.2 Socioeconomic status...... 56 7.3.3 Ethnicity ...... 56 7.3.4 Gender ...... 57 7.3.5 Consumer goods ...... 57 7.3.6 New-media ...... 58 7.3.7 Stability of subcultural identity ...... 58 7.3.8 Effects of the subculture on the participant ...... 58 8 Discussion and final conclusion ...... 60 8.1 Comparison between Punk, Hip-Hop and House subcultures ...... 60 8.1.1 Socioeconomic status and ethnicity ...... 60

8.1.2 Consumer goods and stability of subcultural identity...... 60 8.1.3 New media ...... 61 8.1.4 Gender ...... 61 8.1.5 Effects of subcultures on participants ...... 61 8.1.6 Recommendations...... 61 8.1.7 Limitations and further research ...... 62 9 Annex 1. Summaries of the interviews ...... 63 9.1 Punk ...... 63 9.1.1 Respondent 1 ...... 63 9.1.2 Respondent 2 ...... 63 9.1.3 Respondent 3 ...... 63 9.1.4 Respondent 4 ...... 64 9.1.5 Respondent 5 ...... 64 9.2 Hip-Hop ...... 65 9.2.1 Respondent 6 ...... 65 9.2.2 Respondent 7 ...... 65 9.2.3 Respondent 8 ...... 66 9.2.4 Respondent 9 ...... 66 9.2.5 Respondent 10 ...... 66 9.3 House ...... 67 9.3.1 Respondent 11 ...... 67 9.3.2 Respondent 12 ...... 67 9.3.3 Respondent 13 ...... 67 9.3.4 Respondent 14 ...... 68 9.3.5 Respondent 15 ...... 68 10 Bibliography ...... 69 10.1 Books ...... 69 10.2 Academic articles ...... 69 10.3 Reports ...... 70 10.4 Documentaries, films and video-content ...... 70 10.5 News articles ...... 70 10.6 Websites ...... 71 10.7 Symposia ...... 72

1 Introduction When contemplating the field of victimology, the connection with Punk, Hip-Hop and House music might not be the first to come to mind. Traditional studies of victimhood have primarily focused on victims of criminal behavior, like domestic- and sexual violence. However, this may have had the consequence that other important areas of victimology are being overshadowed. An example of this, is cultural victimology.

In the field of criminology, there is already a branch of cultural criminology.1 The area of cultural criminology is described by Ferrell as the focus on the situational and subcultural construction of meaning around crime: ‘it engages the power relations of justice and injustice of all social and cultural processes by which situations are defined, groups are categorized and human consequences are understood.’2 Within victimology, there might be a case to study cultural victimology as well.3 The area of cultural victimology might do the exact same, but then for the perspective of victims instead of perpetrators. An example of cultural victimology could be subcultural victimology, investigating how subcultures play a role within the lives of victims in the broadest sense of the word: victims of society.

In the book ‘The New Faces of Victimhood’4 by victimologists Rianne Letschert and Jan van Dijk, globalization is named as one of the most important security challenges of the contemporary age, causing people to become ‘victim’ to economic and social threats like poverty, infectious disease and environmental degradation. One doesn’t necessarily have to be harmed by a criminal to be a victim. One could also be harmed by a societal system which causes inequality or racism. It could be that someone is born into a certain group of people, is discriminated or maltreated because of that, and someone may find it almost impossible to escape his or her unfortunate fate.

This might especially be the case for groups of people born into developing countries, but globalization and urbanization might cause great misery for some groups of people in the developed world as well. A ‘post-modern society’ of consumer capitalism might not serve all people in equal ways.5 Think about ghettos and slums in the U.S. and the U.K.: living or growing up in such a neighborhood could have dire consequences for someone, including coming into contact with extreme poverty, drug abuse and violent crime.6

This thesis will try to investigate the role of subcultures in the lives of these possible ‘victims of society’. Specifically the function of Punk, Hip-Hop and House subculture will be investigated. As will be discussed later in this thesis, vulnerable groups living in these urbanized areas have had a major influence in the creation of subcultures in the 1970s. For example, black minorities in the Bronx have played a major part in the creation of Hip-Hop. Working class white people in the U.S. and the U.K., who had lost hope in society, played a large part in the creation of the Punk subculture. In addition, House-music culture was for a large part created by black homosexuals.7

This thesis will try to examine why certain people feel attracted to these subcultures and if these subcultures serve a higher purpose besides entertainment. It could be that people find strength in the powerful lyrics and melodies of Hip-Hop or Punk to feel empowered to get through the day or

1 Ferrell, J. (2013). Cultural criminology and the politics of meaning. Critical Criminology, 21(3). P 257 2 Ferrell, J. (2013). Cultural criminology and the politics of meaning. Critical Criminology, 21(3). P 258 3 Walklate, S. (2015, June) From Crime to Culture: Is there a case for a cultural victimology? Retrieved from: http://www.criminologysymposium.com/download/18.3f29640714dde2233b1e6c9/1434618746110/MON05+Wal klate+Sandra.pdf 4 Letschert, R., & Van Dijk, J. (2011). New faces of victimhood: Reflections on the unjust sides of globalization. In The new faces of victimhood (pp. 3-14). Springer Netherlands. 5 Hebdige, D. (1979). Subculture: The Meaning of Style. London: Methuen. 1988. Hiding in the Light: On Images and Things. P. 11 6 Wilson, W. J. (2012). The truly disadvantaged: The inner city, the underclass, and public policy. University of Chicago Press. 7 Wit, J. (2013). Roxy en de house revolutie. Fast Moving Targets.

6 need House music to escape their dreadful 9 to 5 jobs. Differences and similarities between these subcultures will be sought.

This thesis will investigate participants of these ‘subcultures’ in the Netherlands. Do they feel that they are part of a ‘victimized community’, and do they for instance feel that these lifestyles empower them, or allow them to escape their situation? How do ‘consumer capitalism’ and the new media play a role in these subcultures? Have they influenced the authentic message that these subcultures tried to make?

The research question for this thesis will be: ‘To what extent is participation in the Punk, Hip-Hop and House subcultures in the Netherlands the consequence of cultural victimization, and how do these subcultures offer solutions to that cultural victimization?

To answer this main research question, this thesis will seek answers to the the following sub questions:

1. What are the historical origins of the Punk, Hip-Hop and House subcultures globally? 2. Which theoretical frameworks exist relating to subcultures? 3. What are the historical origins of the Punk, Hip-Hop and House subcultures in the Netherlands? 4. What are the most important characteristics of Dutch youths in the present? 5. What do participants of Dutch Punk, Hip-Hop and House subcultures have to say about the role of their subcultures in Dutch society?

1.1 Method These topics will be investigated through literature research and interviews with participants of subcultures. Fitting literature has been found through the Tilburg University library, the city Library of Tilburg and online search engines like Google Scholar and World Cat. Search words which have been used include ‘Subculture’, ‘Punk’, ‘Hip-Hop’, and House’. A ‘snowball effect’ has been used, where literature lists of articles and books are used to find new articles and books. Besides articles, some films and documentaries have also been used to gather knowledge about subculture. All used sources have been included in the bibliography at the end of the thesis. Both English as Dutch literature and media content has been used to get a complete overview of subculture globally and in the Netherlands specifically.

Besides literature research, this thesis also includes interviews with subculture participants. The goal of these interviews is to find out which experiences participants of subcultural life in the Netherlands have about the role of their subculture in Dutch society. A total of 15 persons have been interviewed, 5 for each studied subculture. The interviews have been qualitative and exploratory in nature. They do not aim to provide final and conclusive answers but are meant to explore the topic to form as a basis for more conclusive quantitative research in the future.8 Multiple means of communication have been used for the interviews. Punk participants have been contacted through Facebook, participants in Hip-Hop and House subculture have been contacted in real-life subcultural gatherings. Interviews have been kept semi-structured, allowing participants a large degree of freedom in explaining what their vision of the role and function of subculture in the Netherlands is.

1.2 Thesis structure In chapter 2, a history of the Punk, Hip-Hop and House subcultures in the U.S. and the U.K. will be given. Focus will especially be on the socioeconomic context in which they have arisen and the role that ethnicity or sexual preference plays in these subcultures. In chapter 3, different theories on subculture will be discussed. These include subculture as a ‘Marxist’ form of class-struggle,

8 QRCA. What is Qualitative Research? Retrieved from: http://www.qrca.org/?page=whatisqualresearch

7 where youth without a voice demands a voice by style and signs. Chapter 3 will also analyze possible ways in which society reacts to disarm subcultures, for instance by commodification of the lifestyle and ridiculing by the media. Another theory discussed in chapter 3 argues that subcultures don’t exist anymore due to postmodern fragmentation and the creation of a risk- society where people are scared to speak up because they don’t have control over their lives. The role of new media like the internet in subcultures will also be analyzed. Chapter 4 will cover the history of subculture specifically for the Netherlands. It will start with the precursors of the Punk, Hip-Hop and House scene in the 1950s and 1960s. This might be relevant to see if significant cultural developments have occurred since the ‘Hippie’ ideals of the 1960s towards the present age. After this, the origins and relevance of the Punk, Hip-Hop and House subcultures in the Netherlands will be examined. In chapter 5, focus will be on the problems which Dutch youth encounter in their daily lives in the present. Dutch government reports will be analyzed to get statistics on poverty, unemployment, emancipation and drug use. Chapter 6 will consist of an overview of the methodology used to conduct interviews with participants of the Punk, Hip-Hop and House subcultures, to study the role these subcultures have in modern day and age. It will look at which topics have been discussed during the interviews, and which hypotheses could be chosen on the basis of the studied literature. Chapter 7 will test these hypotheses based on statements made by the respondents and chapter 8 will entail a final discussion and conclusion.

2 History of the Punk, Hip-Hop and House subcultures globally One of the research goals of this thesis will be to examine whether people visiting Punk, Hip-Hop and House parties in the Netherlands feel part of a victimized or oppressed community. To investigate this, it is important to learn in which social context these subcultures originated globally. This part of the research will be conducted by analyzing articles, books and documentaries in which key figures within the respective subcultures give their interpretation about how their subculture started.

2.1 History of Punk 2.1.1 Rebellious attitude In the documentary ‘Punk: Attitude’ by director Don Letts9, famous Punk artists explain what they feel that Punk means. From statements of the interviewed Punk-artists in this documentary it can be concluded that the ‘Punk attitude’ is rebellious and anti-commercial. Columnist Legs McNeil describes the atmosphere of the Punk movement with a Marlon Brando quote from the movie ‘The Wild One’. Marlon Brando answered the question ‘What are you rebelling against?’ with ‘Whaddya got?’.10,11 The artists claim that this rebellious attitude defines Punk.12

2.1.2 The first Punk band Famous rock ‘n roll artists like Chuck Berry13 and Elvis Presley are noted to be the roots of the Punk movement, because of their bizarre movements and rebellious attitudes.14 By some experts, Hippies are also described to be precursors of ‘Punk’ because they formed a united protest movement against the establishment.15 One of the first pre-Punk bands was MC5, which existed from 1965 to 1972.16 The band members felt great resentment about the Vietnam-war, the way black people were treated, and the way in which youth culture was repressed.17 When the Black Panther movement placed an ad in the newspaper, requesting a ‘White Panther movement’ which would do parallel work as them, MC5 thought: ‘that’s us.’18,19 John Sinclair, the manager of the Detroit Punk-band MC5 started the white panther movement. This movement was highly political and demanded total anarchy.20

2.1.3 The emergence of the American punk scene The scene which is now most associated with Punk seems to have originated in the United States in the early 1970s. The Punk scene consisted of famous artists like Iggy Pop, the New York Dolls, Lou Reed, Patti Smith and the Ramones.21 In 1975, the Punk movement had become a ‘minimalist, literary rock scene’ centered around the club ‘CBGB’s’ in New York.22 In Punk music, guitar music was often used as ‘white noise’. Aggressive slogans were used as vocals. Punk-fans were tired of Rock ‘n Roll guitar and organ solos which lasted for twenty minutes. These often appeared in

9 Don Letts (2005) Punk: Attitude. 1:30 10 Don Letts (2005) Punk: Attitude. 2:00 11 Marlon Brando. (1953). The Wild One. Retrieved from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047677/quotes 12 Traber, D. S. (2001). LA's" White Minority": Punk and the Contradictions of Self-Marginalization. Cultural Critique, 48(1), 30-64. 13 Gent, M., & Fielder, H. (2012). Punk: the Brutal Truth. P. 13 14 Don Letts (2005) Punk: Attitude. 2:40 15 Don Letts (2005) Punk: Attitude. 3:45 16 Gent, M., & Fielder, H. (2012). Punk: the Brutal Truth. P. 13 17 Don Letts (2005) Punk: Attitude. 8:15 18 Don Letts (2005) Punk: Attitude. 9:00 19 Hale, J. A.,(2001) The American Counterculture of the 1960s and '70s. Chapter 5. Retrieved from: http://makemyday.free.fr/whitepanthers.htm 20 Sinclair, J. (1968, november). Retrieved from: http://freeingjohnsinclair.aadl.org/node/192732 21 Gent, M., & Fielder, H. (2012). Punk: the Brutal Truth. P. 11-30 22 Punk. (2016) Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/art/punk

9 songs of bands like Pink Floyd and Genesis.23 Punks wanted something faster, and something more fun.24

The Punk band ‘the New York Dolls’ used cross-dressing and communism inspired themes in their shows just to shock the crowd. Communism was the most hated thing in America at that time.25,26 Patti Smith, the ‘Godmother of Punk’27 used bits and pieces from poets and writers in her songs.28 Other Punk artists include Lou Reed making unharmonious music inspired by art, heroine and death, in the middle of all this feel good sixties music.29 Iggy Pop, who spastically moved around on stage, screamed alienating lyrics like ‘I wanna be your dog’.30 The CBGB’s scene was extensively covered by a magazine and fanzine called ‘Punk’, started by columnist Legs McNeil. The Punk movement would later derive its name from this fanzine.31

2.1.4 The emergence of the English Punk scene After New York, Punk spread to London in 1976. Here, the Sex Pistols became a big hit.32 This band famously stated that they were into chaos, not into music. 33 The lead-singer made fame by cursing against Bill Grundy on television on the Today Show, which was unheard of in Great Britain at that time.34 The band’s manager, Malcolm McLaren, had previously been the manager of the New York Dolls for a while. He was married with Vivienne Westwood, who had a clothing store in London. She sold a unique line of clothing using black leather and rubber designs.35 This clothing style became heavily associated with the Punk subculture.36

Besides the Sex Pistols, another big London Punk band was the Clash. This band scored big hits like the song ‘White Riot’. The provocative lyrics in this song led them to be banned to perform in many places.37 Audiences thought it was a ‘national front group’. The band-members of the Clash themselves claim that their songs are really about poor white people getting up and fight for their position in society, just like their black neighbors were doing for their selves too, as far as riots go.38,39 In 1978, the group played for a crowd of 80.000 people in an event called Rock against Racism.40 This event has been described as the politicization of Punk-Rock.

23 Bennet, A. (2001). Cultures of popular music. Open University Press. P. 59 24 Don Letts (2005) Punk: Attitude.17:00 25 Don Letts (2005) Punk: Attitude. 15:20 26 Erlewine, S. New York Dolls. ALL MUSIC. Retrieved from: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/new-york-dolls- mn0000866786/biography 27 Diblasi, L. 9 Reasons why ‘godmother of punk’ Patti Smith still rules. MTV. Retrieved from: http://www.mtv.com/news/2719754/patti-smith-birthday/ 28 Don Letts (2005) Punk: Attitude. 23:00 29 Don Letts (2005) Punk: Attitude. 7:45 30 Don Letts (2005) Punk: Attitude. 11:45 31 Don Letts (2005) Punk: Attitude. 28:00 32 Gent, M., & Fielder, H. (2012). Punk: the Brutal Truth. P. 31 33 Don Letts (2005) Punk: Attitude. 36:00 34 The Guardian redaction. (2007, September 15). ‘What a fucking rotter!’ The Guardian. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2007/sep/15/greatinterviews 35 "Punk." Fashion, Costume, and Culture: Clothing, Headwear, Body Decorations, and Footwear through the Ages. 2004. Retrieved July 23, 2016 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3425500618.html 36 Punk. (2016) Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/art/punk 37 The Clash. (2016). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/the-Clash- British-rock-group 38 Don Letts (2005) Punk: Attitude. 46:20 39 Traber, D. S. (2001). LA's" White Minority": Punk and the Contradictions of Self-Marginalization. Cultural Critique, 48(1). P. 41 40 Manzoor, S. (2008, April 20). The year rock found the power to unite. The Guardian. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/apr/20/popandrock.race

2.1.5 Sub-cultural and artistic influences in English punk According to media theorist and sociologist Dick Hebdige, the history of British Punk started in the summer of 1976, as a mixture of many different earlier styles.41 He described it as a mix of American Punk, Glam-Rock, Northern Soul, and Reggae42. All these different styles appear to have contributed different things to the Punk movement. American Punk artists like Iggy Pop added minimalist aesthetic and masochism. Glam-rock artists like David Bowie added narcissism, nihilism and gender confusion. Northern-Soul added acrobatic dancing. Reggae added the anti- authoritarian attitude and the dreadlocks.43

Hebdige argues that this unlikely combination resulted in visual ‘cacophony’. Punk used all clothing styles used by post-war working-class youth culture in ‘cut up form’. By wearing leather jackets, safety pins and bondage straps, Punkers attracted a lot of horrified and fascinated attention.44 There appear to be strong connections with the literary avant-garde and the underground cinema as well.45 For instance, David Bowie used William Burroughs as an influence and used his famous cut-up technique to compose lyrics. Most British Punk-bands didn’t really relate to literature, for they were ‘self-consciously proletarian’. Although in Britain there also were connections with art and cinema, for instance in art-school bands like the Who and the Clash. In the early seventies, these tendencies began to join together into a nihilistic form of beauty which was being associated with being polymorphous, perversely sexual and obsessively individualistic.46

Punk-rock is famous for its ‘Do-It-Yourself’ (D.I.Y.) ethic. Everyone was urged to start his own Punk band, because you don’t need a lot of musical talent to play Punk songs.47 There were a lot of D.I.Y. record labels, D.I.Y fanzines and D.I.Y venues that allowed Punk to be an interactive and lively movement, in contrast to the symphonic rock which had been popular before it.48 Just as ‘Punk’ fanzine was covering the scene in New York, in 1976, Sniffin’ Glue became the first fanzine in the United Kingdom, establishing a culture of D.I.Y. in the U.K.49

2.1.6 Working class narrative Encyclopedia Britannica describes Punk as a ‘celebration of urbanism and a reclaiming of the inner city.’50 Some theorists claim the political social climate in the 1970s was crucial for the formation of Punk-Rock in the United Kingdom: there were violent strikes, doll cues and a lot of people were dissatisfied with what was going on in the world.51 People got indifferent towards politics because nothing helped. Punk-rock expressed their feelings.52 Dick Hebdige described England’s socioeconomic changes like unemployment, poverty and economic depression, as

41 Hebdige, D. (1979). Subculture: The Meaning of Style. London: Methuen. 1988. Hiding in the Light: On Images and Things. P. 25 42 Don Letts (2005) Punk: Attitude. 51:45 43 Hebdige, D. (1979). Subculture: The Meaning of Style. London: Methuen. 1988. Hiding in the Light: On Images and Things. P. 26 44 Hebdige, D. (1979). Subculture: The Meaning of Style. London: Methuen. 1988. Hiding in the Light: On Images and Things. P. 26 45 Hebdige, D. (1979). Subculture: The Meaning of Style. London: Methuen. 1988. Hiding in the Light: On Images and Things. P. 27 46 Hebdige, D. (1979). Subculture: The Meaning of Style. London: Methuen. 1988. Hiding in the Light: On Images and Things. P. 28 47 Bennet, A. (2001). Cultures of popular music. Open Univesity Press. P. 60 48 Moran, I. P. (2011). Punk: The do-it-yourself subculture. Social Sciences Journal, 10(1). P. 58 49 Chick, S. (2011, June 14). Mark Perry gives birth to fanzine culture. The Guardian. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/14/mark-perry-fanzine-culture 50 Punk. (2016) Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/art/punk 51 Don Letts (2005) Punk: Attitude. 31:40 52 Traber, D. S. (2001). LA's" White Minority": Punk and the Contradictions of Self-Marginalization. Cultural Critique, 48(1), 30-64.

11 essential for the Punk movement, because the Punk movement dramatized England’s decline.53 Bands like the Sex Pistols and the Clash promoted their acts by labeling it as a working-class protest movement.

Researcher Traber state this ‘working class Punk identity’ to be disingenuous.54 He says that there is a strong middle-class influence in British Punk, because many of the people involved have art- school roots, or other kinds of educated middle-class backgrounds.55 Enthusiastic Punk journalists were often university educated. He argues that just like Rock and Hippie culture, Punk culture gave middle-class young adults a possibility to briefly rest from the pursuit of career opportunities. Andy Bennett also noted that Punk popularity cut across all class lines.56 However, he notes that not only working-class people had a rough time in the late seventies. The Punk movement consisted of frustrated teenagers of all different backgrounds who were angry that dominant society didn’t acknowledge the socioeconomic problems of the nation.57

Speed is known to be the drugs of choice for the Punk scene.58,59 At a later time, heroin became popular too but by then the original Punk scene already appeared to be over, after becoming a bit of a cliché. The original punk period only lasted for about a hundred days.60

2.1.7 Post-Punk The original Punk rock movement disappeared fast. In mid-1979, it seemed to go more underground and became more hardcore, especially in Los Angeles in the United States.61 This eventually led to the genre ‘Hardcore-Punk’. That music content was not about fantasy topics like monsters and vampires anymore, but about police brutality.62 It was associated with circle pits and pure aggression.63 Song themes were often about things like suicide and depression. Punk went underground for a long time. It stayed quiet in the 1980s, but in the 1990s, a lot of Punk rock bands got really big.64 Examples are Nirvana, Rancid, Green Day, Blink 182, Sum 41 and Limp Bizkit. These bands attracted a large group of people who arguably felt depressed and could relate to this music.65

In New York, Punk-Rock became mingled with Hip-Hop, and the two scenes merged.66 Punk star Rick Rubin got involved with Hip-Hop group Run-DMC, and Punk band the Clash cooperated with Hip-Hop legend Grandmaster Flash. There were some differences however, as Punk-Rock seemed to be embarrassed by wealth, whereas Hip-Hop culture seemed to idolize it.67

53 Hebdige, D. (1979). Subculture: The Meaning of Style. London: Methuen. 1988. Hiding in the Light: On Images and Things. 54 Traber, D. S. (2001). LA's" White Minority": Punk and the Contradictions of Self-Marginalization. Cultural Critique, 48(1), 30-64. 55 Traber, D. S. (2001). LA's" White Minority": Punk and the Contradictions of Self-Marginalization. Cultural Critique, 48(1). P. 41 56Bennet, A. (2001). Cultures of popular music. Open Univesity Press. P. 67 57 Bennet, A. (2001). Cultures of popular music. Open Univesity Press. P. 67 58 Don Letts (2005) Punk: Attitude. 53:15 59 McNeil, L., & McCain, G. (1996). Please kill me: The uncensored oral history of punk. Grove Press. P. 92 60 Don Letts (2005) Punk: Attitude. 54:00 61 Don Letts (2005) Punk: Attitude. 1:05:55 62 Don Letts (2005) Punk: Attitude. 1:06:55 63 Don Letts (2005) Punk: Attitude. 1:10:20 64 Don Letts (2005) Punk: Attitude. 1:16:50 65 Bennett, A. (2001). Cultures of popular music. P. 66 66 Don Letts (2005) Punk: Attitude. 1:03:00 67 Don Letts (2005) Punk: Attitude. 1:03:45

2.2 History of Hip-Hop 2.2.1 Gang culture in The Bronx The origins of Hip-Hop are difficult to trace with full certainty,68 but it appears to have originated in the Bronx in the 1970s. The documentary Rubble Kings69 and the book ‘Can’t stop, Won’t Stop, a History of the Hip-Hop Generation’70, feature former gang members from the Bronx, and describe their vision on the history of Hip-Hop.

The 1960s was a tumultuous time full of social movements. Interviewed gang members in the movie Rubble Kings felt like a revolution was at hand.71 There were multicultural and Black Power movements fighting for equality and for a better world. But as the 1960s ended, it seemed that protests, including those against the Vietnam War, had been useless. There was a systematic backlash against organizations like the Black Panthers, and hopeful leaders like John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King were assassinated. This resulted in a more violent 1970s.72 This was reflected in New York, when the city was on the edge bankruptcy and failed attempts of urban renewal brought despair and pessimism to the poor and middle class. Jobs were disappearing and the federal government was slowly removing the social safety net.73

One of New York’s city districts, the South Bronx, was becoming victim to urban decay.74 Up until then, white minorities of Jewish, Italian and Irish heritage had lived in a fairly decent neighborhood. However, as part of an urban renewal plan, architect Robert Moses was in charge of fixing up the area. He came up with the idea to plan a highway straight through the neighborhood.75,76 To build this highway, a lot of houses had to be demolished, which seemed to destroy the district. The local economy collapsed as store owners, rich and middle income families left the area.77 Jews, Irish and Italians also moved to other areas. Only the poorest stayed, which led to a deterioration of the district.

High crime rates, unemployment, a heroin epidemic, and arson flooded the area.78 Between 1973 and 1977, 30.000 houses were burnt down by landlords for insurance money because nobody wanted to live in them anymore.79 Often there was no heat or water.

The amount of murders had tripled in five years in the mid-1970s.80 There were many drug problems and a heroin crisis arose.81 Large numbers of youth gangs started to be established. Police estimated gang membership those days in the tens of thousands. The gangs were very violent, and it was almost a necessity to be part of one to survive in the ghetto of the South Bronx.82,83 Gang-members wore swastikas, just to shock and intimidate people. They tried to be as repulsive and repugnant as possible.84 They developed their own unique gang style. Every gang had their own patches and colors.85 Turf wars were a daily practice, gangs were trying get control over as big as possible pieces of land.

68 Symposium. December 13, 2015. Hip-Hop museum, Troopen Museum Amsterdam 69 Rubble Kings (2010) Shan Nicholson 70 Chang, J. (2007). Can't stop won't stop: A history of the hip-hop generation. Macmillan. 71 Rubble Kings (2010) Shan Nicholson 5:45 72 Rubble Kings (2010) Shan Nicholson 6:40. 73 Rubble Kings (2010) Shan Nicholson 8:00 74 Rubble Kings (2010) Shan Nicholson 9:00 75 Rubble Kings (2010) Shan Nicholson 9:30 76 Chang, J. (2007). Can't stop won't stop: A history of the hip-hop generation. Macmillan. 77 Rubble Kings (2010) Shan Nicholson 10:00 78 Rubble Kings (2010) Shan Nicholson. 12:00 79 Chang, J. (2007). Can't stop won't stop: A history of the hip-hop generation. Macmillan. P. 29 80 Gelinas, G. (2016) City Journal. Retrieved at: http://www.city-journal.org/html/bronx-14182.html 81 Chang, J. (2007). Can't stop won't stop: A history of the hip-hop generation. Macmillan. P. 69 82 Rubble Kings (2010) Shan Nicholson. 15:10 83 Gonzalez, E. D. (2013). The Bronx. Columbia University Press. 84 Rubble Kings (2010) Shan Nicholson. 17:25 85 Rubble Kings (2010) Shan Nicholson. 18:15

At one point, after the murder of a prominent ‘peace maker’,86 (a gang-member that tried to make peace between gangs) the gang ‘Ghetto Brothers’ organized a peace summit for the gangs of the South Bronx, to avoid war.87 This resulted in an inter-gang peace treaty.88 According to the leaders of the Ghetto Brothers, peace came instantaneous and a different kind of vibe was felt in the community.89 The intensity of turf wars decreased significantly and made way for block parties and basement parties organized by former gang members, helping to dissolve former turf boundaries.90 According to Hip-Hop researcher J. Chang, these claims were a little overdramatic. The block parties or sound systems did not replace the violence. However, he notes that the ‘man with the records’ did replace the violent gang member in status hierarchy, which released a huge amount of creative energy coming from the bottom of American society.91

2.2.2 Old-school Hip-Hop In this environment, it appears that the culture of Hip-Hop came into existence around the year 1976. D.J. Kool Herc, Africa Bambaata and Grandmaster Flash, all residents of the Bronx, are by many considered as founders of Hip-Hop. D.J. Kool Herc, a Jamaican immigrant, had brought huge sound systems from Jamaica to the Bronx block-parties92, and is known to have invented ‘breakbeats’, where a drum-solo part, taken out of a Soul or Funk record, is looped around to make it continuous.93,94 He rhythmically spoke over these beats which was to be called ‘rapping’.95 This technique was later improved by Afrika Bambaata who helped spreading Hip-Hop culture by transforming the violent Bronx street gang ‘Black Spades’ into the music-organization ‘Zulu Nation’.96 Grandmaster Flash invented ‘scratching’, where a record is moved back and forth under the needle to create a rhythmic effect.97 The martial arts moves used by the violent gangs, evolved into the complex and athletic moves which would come to be known as breakdancing.98 Graffiti, which is spray painting used on walls, was already used as a way to mark territory, but now became developed as an art-form. These four elements: disk jockeying, rap, breakdance, and graffiti would become known as the four basic elements of Hip-Hop.99

2.2.3 Gangsta Rap In the mid-1980s, a new-school of rappers started to gain public fame, such as Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys and Public Enemy, the last one of which advocated radical black political ideology.100 In 1989, there was the emergence of West Coast rap, which raps about violent and graphic inner city life. This Hardcore Hip-Hop was also known as ‘gangsta rap’. Artists like N.W.A. (among others consisting of Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Eazy E), Snoop Dogg and Tupac gained international fame under the label of Death Row Records. Since the late 1990s, many more Hip-

86 Rubble Kings (2010) Shan Nicholson. 42:30 87 Rubble Kings (2010) Shan Nicholson. 49:15 88 Rubble Kings (2010) Shan Nicholson. 50:35 89 Rubble Kings (2010) Shan Nicholson. 51:25 90 Rubble Kings (2010) Shan Nicholson. 52:00 91 Chang, J. (2007). Can't stop won't stop: A history of the hip-hop generation. Macmillan. P. 105 92 hip-hop. (2016). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/hip-hop 93 Batey, A. (2011, June 13). DJ Kool Herc DJs his first block party (his sister's birthday) at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, Bronx, New York. The Guardian. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/13/dj-kool-herc- block-party 94 Cunytv75. (2015, February 17). Arts in the City: Kool Herc and Breakbeats. YouTube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFfJNgNsgYE 95 hip-hop. (2016). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/hip-hop 96 Universal Zulu Nation. Afrika Bambaataa. Retrieved from: http://www.zulunation.com/afrika-bambaataa/ 97 hip-hop. (2016). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/hip-hop 98 Break dancing. (2016). In Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/art/break- dance#ref1220368 99 Van Stapele, S., Elstak, B., Dahlhaus, A., & de Koning, K. (2002). Van Brooklyn naar Breukelen: 20 jaar hip-hop in Nederland. Nationaal Pop Instituut. 100 hip-hop. (2016). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/hip-hop

Hop artists have gained international recognition, such as Wu Tang Clan, P. Diddy, 50 Cent, Eminem, Jay-Z and Kanye West.101

2.3 History of House music 2.3.1 Disco In the three part documentary series ‘Pump up the Volume’, many stories of the early House days are told by the most popular House D.J.’s. These stories contain relevant information in the research of this subculture. At the beginning of the 1970s, the music genre ‘Disco’ started to evolve from ‘Funk’.102 It was associated with gay underground dance clubs, focusing especially on Blacks and Latinos in New York.103 It involved open drug use, on-site sex, and all-night dancing.104 In Saturday Night Fever (1977), John Travolta made this music style popular for a mainstream audience.105

However, 18 months later, a lot of backlash arose against Disco music.106 In July 1979, a massive anti-Disco rally took place in Chicago, where a whole crate of Disco records was blown up.107 Disco music seemed to be too gay and too black for middle-America. An economic crisis also pushed the white working class population into right wing political parties. Radio stations switched back to Rock music.108

However, Disco music kept flourishing underground. Music from the underground gay-scene had found its way into Chicago. In 1977, D.J. Frankie Knuckles was popular in a club in Chicago called The Warehouse. House music would later derive its name from this place.109 After a while, straight people began to come check it out too, but participants from that scene state that the crowd was still mostly black and mostly male.110 One participant states that the gay men, who were naturally animated people, went ecstatic through the music.111 Some authors state that the House movement was a celebration of Civil Rights gains: Black Power, gay liberation and the women’s movement.112

2.3.2 Emergence of House music Because House music was basically remixed Disco music, and no new Disco music was being made due to the backlash it had caused, D.J.’s had to become increasingly creative on the desks. Favorite parts of tunes could be repeated or be teased with, using the breakbeat technique which was copied from Hip-Hop’s founding father D.J. Kool Herc,113 but faster. D.J.’s started to anticipate the crowd. They started adding drum machines, to put a beat under the Disco music. Witnesses from

101 hip-hop. (2016). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/hip-hop 102 Robinson, L. (2010, February). Boogie Nights. Retrieved from: http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2010/02/oral- history-of-disco-201002 103 disco. (2016). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/art/disco 104 Robinson, L. (2010, February). Boogie Nights. Retrieved from: http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2010/02/oral- history-of-disco-201002 105 Badham, D. (1977). Saturday Night Fever. (movie) 106 disco. (2016). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/art/disco 107 Meyers, B. (2009, June 18). Why ‘Disco sucks!’ sucked. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2009/jun/18/disco-sucks 108 Pitchfork Redaction. (2016, May 2). Yearbook Chicago: 1979 The Disco Demolition, Frankie Knuckles and The Warehouse. Retrieved from: http://pitchfork.com/tv/54-yearbook/1695-yearbook-chicago-1979-the-disco- demolition-frankie-knuckles-and-the-warehouse/. 2:00 109 Pitchfork Redaction. (2016, May 2). Yearbook Chicago: 1979 The Disco Demolition, Frankie Knuckles and The Warehouse. Retrieved from: http://pitchfork.com/tv/54-yearbook/1695-yearbook-chicago-1979-the-disco- demolition-frankie-knuckles-and-the-warehouse/. 3:50 110 Pump Up the Volume. Part 1. (2001). Broadcasted on Channel 4. 14:00 111 Pump Up the Volume. Part 1. (2001). Broadcasted on Channel 4. 13:40 112 Rietveld, H. C. (2011). Disco’s revenge: house music’s nomadic memory. Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture, 2(1), P. 8 113 Pump Up the Volume. Part 3. (2001). Broadcasted on Channel 4. 15:40

15 the early House scene stated that people would scream for these drums. Competition between D.J.’s was intense.114

2.3.3 The Chicago House scene In 1983, a new club opened in Chicago: the Music Box. The most popular D.J. in this club was Ron Hardy. It is said that because of his heroin use, Ron Hardy made very fast music, because in his perception, everything went slow.115 A culture rose in which a lot of acid, and M.D.A. (a precursor of XTC) was taken in the club.116 A popular dance style in the club was called ‘jacking’, which was very sexual dancing. A girl could be bent over and seven men could be making sexual movements around her.117 The music was no longer recycling old Disco, but it had transformed into something unique. 118 Kick drums, basslines, snare drums and claps were added to make the music very intense.

According to Rietveld, the repetitive, bass heavy, beats and rhythms could bring people from various cultural influences together in an inclusive manner. Through this ‘shared experience of surrender’ societal stratifications temporarily disappeared.119

The record ‘On and On’ by Jesse Saunders was also important, because it was made by amateurs at home and let people know that anybody could make House music, which triggered the Chicago House boom.120

In 1986, ‘Farley Jackmaster Funk’ scored a big hit with the track ‘Love Can’t Turn Around’, which spread House music to the United Kingdom.121 Love Can’t Turn Around was a very popular song in the U.K., but mostly in gay clubs. D.J.’s that played in straight clubs got less enthusiastic reactions.122 They for instance got the reactions: ‘Why are you playing this Chicago homo music?’ English D.J.’s from that time explain in the documentary ‘Turn Up The Volume’ that straight people in the U.K. listened to Hip-Hop at that time and found House music quite ‘faggy’.123

2.3.4 Ibiza On Ibiza, a beautiful Spanish island popular with rich holidaymakers, a unique ‘House’ culture arose in 1987. 124 In club Amnesia, D.J. Alfredo was mixing Chicago House music with rock, Disco and pop music to accommodate a mixed crowd of people with all kinds of preferences.125 The drug XTC, which makes people energized and compassionate, was gaining in popularity and seemed to go very well with this style of music. It made people appreciate it more and it brought people together.126

2.3.5 Emergence of the English House scene A couple of English D.J.’s who witnessed and loved this new style of music in Ibiza, brought in to club ‘Shoom’ in London. Famous D.J.’s who performed in this club describe the enormous

114 Pump Up the Volume. Part 1. (2001). Broadcasted on Channel 4. 21:30 115 Pump Up the Volume. Part 1. (2001). Broadcasted on Channel 4. 25:10 116 Pump Up the Volume. Part 1. (2001). Broadcasted on Channel 4. 25:25 117 Pump Up the Volume. Part 1. (2001). Broadcasted on Channel 4. 26:50 118 Rietveld, H. C. (2011). Disco’s revenge: house music’s nomadic memory. Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture, 2(1), 4-23. 119 Rietveld, H. C. (2011). Disco’s revenge: house music’s nomadic memory. Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture, 2(1). P. 08 120 Pump Up the Volume. Part 1. (2001). Broadcasted on Channel 4. 36:40 121 Pump Up the Volume. Part 2. (2001). Broadcasted on Channel 4. 5:30 122 Pump Up the Volume. Part 2. (2001). Broadcasted on Channel 4. 6:30 123 Pump Up the Volume. Part 2. (2001). Broadcasted on Channel 4. 7:10 124 Pump Up the Volume. Part 2. (2001). Broadcasted on Channel 4. 15:15 125 Pump Up the Volume. Part 2. (2001). Broadcasted on Channel 4. 18:15 126 Pump Up the Volume. Part 2. (2001). Broadcasted on Channel 4. 19:20

16 popularity of XTC in that club, and the rise of a whole ‘rave-culture’ identity. This style included the use of bandanas and dayglow clothing with smiley faces drawn on them.127 Whereas the whole scene in America still consisted of ethnic minorities, in England it began gaining popularity among the general population.128

2.3.6 Banning of rave parties Secret outside rave parties started to gain popularity. Participants needed to follow riddles to get there, to keep the party secret and hold off the police.129 In 1994, outside raves were banned in the U.K., despite of massive resistance. A rave was defined as more than a 100 people listening to successive repetitive beats.130 A police chief interviewed in the documentary Turn up Volume, later expressed regret because this policy drove rave parties underground, which brought more thuggery, criminals and extortion into the rave scene.131

2.3.7 Techno and Hardcore house In Detroit in 1987, House gave birth to its harder spinoff: Techno.132 Instead of kick drums at every beat in House music, techno has base drums at every beat and is often faster than House.133 In 1988, techno hit ‘Strings of Life’ by Derrick May went into the U.K. charts. D.J. Joey Beltram’s song Energy Flash later further popularized techno in 1990.134 In Belgium and the Netherlands Techno further developed into ‘Hardcore-House’, which had a more militant attitude.135 It is a very hard and fast form of techno, where screaming heavy metal samples were often added to the track.136

2.3.8 Becoming mainstream In the late 1980s, House music was still underground in America. The songs did not play on the radio. Clubs and radio were very segregated.137 In America, there was a hard hitting Hip-Hop sensibility to the House sound.138 Only in the U.K. there was a mainstream audience at rave parties. In the late 1980s, the Happy Mondays mixed the House style of Chicago with pop music, which led to House music dominating the pop charts. Furthermore, House music in the U.K. is said to have caused Black and White culture to start mixing.139 House parties seem to bring down divisions of nations, race, sexuality and class.140

House would later develop into a major subculture, where D.J’s and groups like David Guetta, Daft Punk and Steve Aoki gained superstar status.141

127 Pump Up the Volume. Part 2. (2001). Broadcasted on Channel 4. 21:50 128 Pump Up the Volume. Part 2. (2001). Broadcasted on Channel 4. 0:40 129 Pump Up the Volume. Part 2. (2001). Broadcasted on Channel 4. 36:00 130 Pump Up the Volume. Part 3. (2001). Broadcasted on Channel 4. 32:30 131 Pump Up the Volume. Part 2. (2001). Broadcasted on Channel 4. 43:00 132 Pump Up the Volume. Part 2. (2001). Broadcasted on Channel 4. 24:35 133 Diffen. House Music vs. Techno Music. Retrieved from: http://www.diffen.com/difference/House_Music_vs_Techno_Music 134 Pump Up the Volume. Part 3. (2001). Broadcasted on Channel 4. 25:15 135Techno. (2016). In In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/art/techno 136Electronic dance music. (2016). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/electronic-dance-music 137 Pump Up the Volume. Part 3. (2001). Broadcasted on Channel 4. 1:30 138 Pump Up the Volume. Part 3. (2001). Broadcasted on Channel 4. 3:00 139 Pump Up the Volume. Part 3. (2001). Broadcasted on Channel 4. 15:00 140 Pump Up the Volume. Part 3. (2001). Broadcasted on Channel 4. 48:00 141 Electronic dance music. (2016). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/electronic-dance-music

2.4 Conclusion The Punk, Hip-Hop and House subcultures show a lot of similarities. All originate in the end of the 1970s in the United States, and are often later adapted by the United Kingdom. The harsh socioeconomic climate in urban areas of that time seems to be influential in all three subcultures.

Hip-Hop seems to be a tool by which poor minorities in the U.S., originally Black and Latino people in the South Bronx, could give themselves a voice and redirect their anger in a non-violent way. Competition remained a major part of the subculture, which for instance is expressed in rap- battles and break-dance competitions.

Punk appears to be Hip-Hop’s ‘white sibling’. MC5 actively took the role of ‘White-Panthers’ upon themselves, and the Clash and the Sex Pistols promoted activism among working-class and other struggling white people, who were victimized by the socioeconomic climate and the disappearing of a social safety net. The Hip-Hop and Punk rock scenes even merged for a while in New York. Both movements seem to be anti-establishment, and whereas the hippies in the sixties were peaceful, these movements began to sound militant because nothing seemed to change. There are differences too though: as Punk seems to be very anti-wealth, Hip-Hop does not seem to have a problem with it. One possible explanation for that could be that black poor people have their skin color to unite them as a group, whereas white poor people cannot fall back on skin color to unite them, which forces them to reject money all together.

House music was also popularized by an oppressed group: black homosexuals. However, it does not really show the same kind of anger that Punk and Hip-Hop show. It seems to be more of an escapist subculture, using the drug XTC to unite race, class and sexuality, without striving for specific societal changes.

All three subcultures seem to have some connections with drugs. Whereas House music seems to be related to XTC use, the Punk scene is widely associated with speed and heroin use, and Hip- Hop artists like Snoop Dogg, Whiz Khalifa, Lil’Wayne and Cypress Hill have all celebrated marijuana use.142

Another thing which arouses attention is that all three genres developed ‘Hardcore’ versions. These music-styles are often harder and faster than the originals. In Punk this is ‘Hardcore-Punk’, founded in the late 1970s in Los Angeles.143 For Hip-Hop this is ‘Gangsta-Rap’ which originated around 1989, also in Los Angeles. For House this is Hardcore-House, which originated in Rotterdam in the Netherlands in 1990. All three genres appear to have cause dangerous effects. Gangsta-rap might encourage gang behavior by glorifying violence, crime, drug-use and the abuse of women.144 More recently, it has been widely documented that some forms of Gangsta-Rap are related to jihadism. Famous IS executor Jihadi John was a British rapper, and there have been numerous other examples.145 Both Gangsta-Rap and jihadism are grievous towards society and

142 Mary Jane’s Diary. 10 Music Genres Changed Forever By Marijuana. Retrieved from: http://maryjanesdiary.com/weed-has-influenced-nearly-every-music-genre/ 143 Black Flag. (2016). In Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Black- Flag#ref667018 144 Tucker, C. D. (1996). Gangsta Rap May Encourage Gang Behavior (From Gangs: Opposing Viewpoints, P 17-23, 1996, David Bender and Bruno Leone, eds.--See NCJ-159928). 145 Tharoor, I. (2014, August 25). The strange role of rappers in the Islamic State’s jihad. Washington Post. Retrieved from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/08/25/the-strange-role-of-rappers-in-the- islamic-states-jihad/

18 fetishize violence as a way to conduct revenge.146 On the other side, in Germany, the genre ‘neo- Nazi rap’ is gaining popularity.147

Hardcore-Punk is said to have merged with skinhead style in the 1980s.148 The subculture of skinheads, which had originated in the 1960s in working-class neighborhoods in London, is said to be prone to violence and is often considered right-wing extremist. Some skinheads formed violent Punk gangs, like the Suicidals in Los Angeles.149 Some fans of Hardcore-House, or ‘gabbers’, have been described as the nephews of the English skinheads.150 In the Netherlands, there has often been violent hostility between Gabbers and immigrants. In 2005, there were 125 documented Gabber-groups in the Netherlands which were involved in far-right extremism.151 It seems to be striking that all three subcultures originated from marginalized communities, began as something positive and unifying but had some more sinister spinoffs later on. In the next chapter, some theories about subcultures will be discussed, trying to place subcultures in a sociological perspective.

146 Khan, A. (2014, August 31). Al Qaeda’s New Front: Jihadi Rap. Politico. Retrieved from: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/08/al-qaedas-new-front-jihadi-rap- 110481_Page2.html#.V5jp9LiLTcd 147 Noisey Staff. (2016, January 5.) Ein Volk, Ein Rapper: Duitse neonazi’s maken nu ook Hip-Hop. Vice. Retrieved from: http://noisey.vice.com/nl/blog/ein-volk-ein-rapper-duitse-neonazis-maken-nu-ook-hip-hop 148 Short, J. F., & Hughes, L. A. (2006). Studying youth gangs. Rowman Altamira. P. 149 -150 149 Short, J. F., & Hughes, L. A. (2006). Studying youth gangs. Rowman Altamira. P. 149-150 150 Baartman, N. (1996, May 18). Kaal en kaal is twee Van Bomberjack tot trainspak, of waarom een gabber geen skinhead is. Volkskrant. Retrieved from: http://www.volkskrant.nl/archief/kaal-en-kaal-is-twee-van-bomberjack-tot- trainingspak-of-waarom-een-gabber-geen-skinhead-is~a424750/ 151 Donselaar, J. V. (2005). Het Lonsdalevraagstuk. Monitor racisme & extremisme.

3 Theories about subculture Within youth-culture theory, there is an important debate going on between ‘subcultural theory’ and ‘post-subcultural’ theory. In this chapter, both theories will be extensively discussed and compared to each other.

3.1 Subcultural theory Subcultural theory has developed over a long period of time. Already in the 18th century, scientists started to study culture in the broadest sense of the word. First it had only been the study of ‘high culture’ like art, opera and literature, but later the scope of the word ‘culture’ was expanded.152 Scientific literature now began to analyze all aspects of everyday culture. Not only food, clothing, and sports, but also the norms and values of all of society were started to be studied.153 Through the analyzing of particular meanings and values, scientists tried to unravel the fundamentals of history and the social trends which lie behind the appearances of everyday life.

The Frenchman Roland Barthes, in his book Mythologies in 1957, added elements of semiotics, ‘the study of signs and meaning-making’ to cultural studies.154 For instance, he argued that all of French culture was dependent on the representation which the ‘bourgeois’ has of the world. He tried to examine the normally hidden set of rules, codes and conventions through which ideas which are linked to the social groups in power, are rendered universal and given for the whole of society.155

3.1.1 Subculture as class struggle This brought a ‘Marxist’ flavor into the field of cultural studies. The aspects of everyday life, the things that are acceptable to think and say, the clothing one should wear, were seen as something the ‘elite’ was forcing on the ‘working-class’. So the vocabulary of class struggle was added into the cultural discourse. Barthes was convinced that anonymous ideologies penetrated every thinkable level of social life, like ordinary rituals and casual social interaction. 156 Dick Hebdige157, explains that Marx, in his book The German Ideology158, claims that the basis of the capitalist economic structure is hidden from the awareness of the workers. The fact that society accepts that ‘profit goes to the owners of a factory instead of the workers’ is not something which is consciously accepted but exists beneath consciousness. Hebdige quotes Marx in saying that the group which has the material power will likely also have the intellectual power, and will make sure that the opinions broadcasted by mass media represent their own interests. He calls this ‘hegemony’, a total control of the ruling class over society.159

Hebdige states that youth subcultures indicate the collapse of consensus in a ‘spectacular’ fashion in the post war period. 160 He argues that, after the Second World War, the old-style patterns of life were exchanged for a new and superficially less class-ridden system. The working-class community collapsed and corner shops were replaced by large corporations. The way in which class was lived changed considerably, although it didn’t disappear completely.161 There are still large groups in society which feel repressed, like the black community, the gays and the working class white community, which triggered them to the formation of subcultures.162 In the 1950s, researcher Albert Cohen focused on the idea that membership of a juvenile gang could be an

152 Hebdige, D. (1979). Subculture: The meaning of style. New York: Methuen. P. 6 153 Hebdige, D. (1979). Subculture: The meaning of style. New York: Methuen. P 7-10 154 Barthes, R. (1972). Mythologies. 1957. Trans. Annette Lavers. New York: Hill and Wang, 302-06. 155 Hebdige, D. (1979). Subculture: The meaning of style. New York: Methuen. P 7-10 156 Hebdige, D. (1979). Subculture: The meaning of style. New York: Methuen. P 7-10 157 Hebdige, D. (1979). Subculture: The meaning of style. New York: Methuen. P. 11 158 Marx, K., & Engels, F. (1970). The german ideology (Vol. 1). International Publishers Co. 159 Hebdige, D. (1979). Subculture: The meaning of style. New York: Methuen. P. 15 160 Hebdige, D. (1979). Subculture: The meaning of style. New York: Methuen. P. 17 161 Hebdige, D. (1979). Subculture: The meaning of style. New York: Methuen. P. 74 162 Hebdige, D. (1979). Subculture: The meaning of style. New York: Methuen. P. 73

20 alternative source of self-esteem for youth, because the gangs have the opposite values of those in normal society.163

Subcultures object to certain ideological notions, not directly, but by the signs and styles that they adhere to.164 For instance the words ‘nigger’ and ‘punk’, which carry extremely negative connotations, are worn with pride by the Hip-Hop and Punk subcultures. In the gangs of the South Bronx that would later develop into the Hip-Hop culture it was seen as a positive thing to be viewed as disgusting and unsociable. In Punk subculture, it is hip to wear torn clothes and live a chaotic live. So style in subculture, ‘goes against nature’, it is full of meaning because it represents the silent majority. The subculture challenges the principles of conformity and unity. The theorists that argue that subcultures are an adaptation of people to overcome their goal-means discrepancy, are called Functionalist theorists.165 Limitations of this adaptation are that it is mostly symbolic, as resistance takes place on the street and not in the institutions where change can be made. 166 This way of thinking is associated with the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies in Birmingham (the CCCS).

3.1.2 Radicalization of subcultures The CCCS view of subculture states that subcultures are a protest movement against a dominant culture. If this is still true, it might be relevant to see under which conditions a subculture can radicalize. The fact that more violent ‘hardcore’ versions arose as spinoffs of the original subcultures has been discussed in chapter 2. It might be important to investigate which factors might contribute to radicalizing an individual or a group. McCauley and Moskalenko have tried to do this in the book Friction.167 As individual factors, they state: 1. Personal grievance (hunger for revenge as a result of perceived injustice committed towards the individual). 2. Group grievance (hunger for revenge as a result of perceived injustice committed towards the group that one belongs to, for instance the subculture). 3. Slippery slope (a gradual step by step progression towards radicalization, in which each step serves as a justification towards the next). 4. Love (love for someone already radicalized can be an important radicalization mechanism.) 5. Risk and status (thrill and adventure seeking can lead someone to be attracted to a radicalized lifestyle). 6. Unfreezing (the loss of connection and responsibility can lead a person to look for a new group to belong to, which might come with a radicalized ideology). As group factors, they state: 1. Polarization (interaction and experience within a radical group can increase commitment to the cause). 2. Isolation (being, as a group, cut off from society at large, can lead to radicalization, for the individuals in the group only hear one side of the story). 3. Intergroup competition (when two groups compete with each other, it can lead to increased cohesion within a radicalized group, idealization of the values of the in-group and punishment for deviation from those values.) It might be interesting to investigate, if which degree these criteria can be applied to subcultures in the Netherlands, which will be done in later chapters.

3.1.3 Disarming subcultures Hebdige writes that ‘the elite’ can disarm subcultures in two ways. The first way is by making it a commodity.168 Once products are removed from the private context to big fashion interests and produced on a large scale, they are made profitable merchandise, and products can no longer be used to oppose the capitalist system because they are now a part of the capitalist system.

163 Hebdige, D. (1979). Subculture: The meaning of style. New York: Methuen. P. 76 164 Hebdige, D. (1979). Subculture: The meaning of style. New York: Methuen. 165 Baron, S. W. (1989). The Canadian west coast punk subculture: A field study. Canadian Journal of Sociology/Cahiers canadiens de sociologie, P. 291 166 Baron, S. W. (1989). The Canadian west coast punk subculture: A field study .Canadian Journal of Sociology/Cahiers canadiens de sociologie, P. 292 167 McCauley, C., & Moskalenko, S. (2011). Friction: How radicalization happens to them and us. Oxford University Press. 168 Hebdige, D. (1979). Subculture: The meaning of style. New York: Methuen. P. 94

The second way is more ideological.169 The way in which subcultures are protrayed by the mass media makes them ‘more’ and ‘less’ exotic at the same time, because on the one hand they depict them as monsters but on the other hand as kids who have lost their way. The media can trivialize, naturalize and domesticate the ‘Other’.170 Members of a subculture can be transformed into ‘clowns’. They can also place pictures of Punks with their smiling mothers next to the family pool, to show them ‘Punk’ is innocent and apolitical. Another way is showing that famous Punk musicians moved from rags to riches, which also has the effect that it contradicted Punk as a resistance to capitalism. So Hebdige argues that society first reacts to subculture with ‘opposition and resistance’ and afterwards with ‘defusion and incorporation’. Thornston, in contrast, sees the media as being integral to the formation of subcultures, in their origins as well as their lifecycle, for instance by sensationalizing, reviewing, and promoting certain styles.171

The subcultural theories have been criticized in the following decades, by stating that they are no longer relevant because subculture has post-modernized.172

3.2 Post-subcultural theory 3.2.1 A plurality of styles During the 1990s and 2000s, researchers started to deem the previous ‘Marxist’ theories of subculture redundant. They argued that youth identities had become more fluid and fragmented through an increasing flow of cultural commodities, images and texts, through which more individualized identities could be fashioned.173 Young people don’t identify as being a ‘Punk’ or a ‘Hippie’ but choose parts of subcultures like ‘cans of soup from a supermarket’.174,175 The term post-subculture has been introduced in 1990 in response to a breakdown of subcultural divisions evident in the emergent dance music culture of the late 1980s.

There are numerous explanations for this phenomenon: The increasing volume of number of styles, the retro market, and postmodern sensibilities of style in which individualism has surpassed an emphasis on collectivity.176 Replacements of the concept of ‘subculture’ have been ‘neo-tribe’, ‘lifestyle’, or ‘scene’. One explanation could be the music itself: digital sampling, mixing and mashing techniques have made it possible for disc jockeys to constantly mix music styles. This made it easy to create fragmented new styles in a very rapid tempo.

There seem to no longer be clear identifiable subcultures, but an enormous diversity and plurality of current cultural styles. Youths can pick and choose from many of these styles at once.177 Also, it has become somewhat of a cliché that there is a coherent and homogenous mainstream culture and a resistant subculture. The interactions have become more and more complex.178

3.2.2 Political indifference The term lifestyle179 is used by researcher Steven Miles who writes that people feel alienated by the belief that they cannot change anything.180 Subcultures are no longer striving for change in the future, but live for the present, with total intensity for the moment. Because people arguably find

169 Hebdige, D. (1979). Subculture: The meaning of style. New York: Methuen. P. 96 170 Hebdige, D. (1979). Subculture: The meaning of style. New York: Methuen. P. 97 171 Weinzierl, R., & Muggleton, D. (2003). What is ‘post-subcultural studies’ anyway. The post-subcultures reader, P. 8 172 Weinzierl, R., & Muggleton, D. (2003). What is ‘post-subcultural studies’ anyway. The post-subcultures reader. P. 4 173 Bennett, A. (2011). The post-subcultural turn: some reflections 10 years on. Journal of youth studies, 14(5). P. 493 174 Bennett, A. (2011). The post-subcultural turn: some reflections 10 years on. Journal of youth studies, 14(5). P. 498 175 Miles, S. (2000). Youth lifestyles in a changing world. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). P. 8 176 Bennett, A. (2011). The post-subcultural turn: some reflections 10 years on. Journal of youth studies, 14(5). P. 495 177 Weinzierl, R., & Muggleton, D. (2003). What is ‘post-subcultural studies’ anyway. The post-subcultures reader. P. 7 178 Weinzierl, R., & Muggleton, D. (2003). What is ‘post-subcultural studies’ anyway. The post-subcultures reader, P. 12 179 Miles, S. (2000). Youth lifestyles in a changing world. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). P. 16 180 Miles, S. (2000). Youth lifestyles in a changing world. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). P. 8

22 themselves powerless in today’s society, people feel themselves as children and victims, according to Calcutt.181 He is concerned that traditional routes to adulthood have become problematic.

3.2.3 Diminished relevance of class Muggleton also argues that youth styles appear to be more individualistic than subcultural nowadays. He argues that the days of working-class youth subcultures resisting subordination by the dominant class are long gone.182 There is a political indifference in today’s youth. The term lifestyle was used by Marx as the objective position of a person in the production process, which would shape his values and attitudes. The structures of work have changed manifestly in recent decades. Class still does play a role in identity construction, but not as much as it did before.183 The influence of ‘work’ in the construction of ‘who a person is’ might be less important and instrumental as it was in the past. Muggleton explains that Thornston also doesn’t believe that subcultures define themselves along class lines but instead sees ‘subcultural capital’ as an ideological resource through which a ‘cool’ status can be obtained through being ‘in the know’ about what is ‘in’ or ‘out’ in a subcultural scene.184 Maffesoli also argues that group identity is no longer formed along traditional structural determinants like class, gender of religion.185 Consumption patterns enable new forms of sociality. Maffesoli further argues that the individualism of participants in a ‘tribe’, don’t see the group or a certain utopia as a priority but use the group to satisfy their individual needs.

3.2.4 Risk theory Post-subcultural theorist Steve Miles186 finds explanations for the disintegration of subcultures in Beck’s theory called ‘Risk Society’.187 These theories explain that modern times have caused an increasing focus on the individual and the decline of traditional forms of social support. Class, community and family are becoming less influential and the greater flow of people and cultures through globalization results in increasingly more significant relationships with strangers.188

Control over one’s life is becoming harder, because globalization determines that your life can be influenced by events on the other side of the planet.189 Quality of work seems to decrease in most parts of the world. Young people encounter less certainty through the restructuring of the labour market, an increased demand for an educated labour force, flexible specialization in the workplace and social policies.190 Big corporations often pay as little as possible to be able to compete with each other, or move their factories to cheaper countries.191 Society is more and more standardized and individuals become more dependent on institutions like education or welfare. Because individuals have more choice about their own lives and identities, Beck argues that they have become risk-averse. Because there are so many potential courses of action, one can become anxious and doubtful. These theories are not new. Pioneers of sociology Max Weber and Emile Durkheim already noticed back in the late nineteenth century that individualization and an abundance of choice can lead to anxiety and suicide.192 Besides economic influences of globalized capitalism, Miles argues, that there are also cultural influences. It seems to direct youth down a path in which consumer goods and services become

181 Calcutt, A. (1998). Arrested Development: Pop Culture and the Erosion of Adulthood. Burns & Oates. 182 Weinzierl, R., & Muggleton, D. (2003). What is ‘post-subcultural studies’ anyway. The post-subcultures reader. P. 30. 183 Miles, S. (2000). Youth lifestyles in a changing world. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). P. 17 184 Weinzierl, R., & Muggleton, D. (2003). What is ‘post-subcultural studies’ anyway. The post-subcultures reader. P. 9 185 Weinzierl, R., & Muggleton, D. (2003). What is ‘post-subcultural studies’ anyway. The post-subcultures reader, P. 12 186 Miles, S. (2000). Youth lifestyles in a changing world. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). P. 54-60 187 Beck, U. (1992). Risk society: Towards a new modernity (Vol. 17). Sage. 188 Mitchell, W., Bunton, R., & Green, E. (2004). Young people, risk and leisure: constructing identities in everyday life. Palgrave Macmillan. 189 Miles, S. (2000). Youth lifestyles in a changing world. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). P. 60-66 190 Mitchell, W., Bunton, R., & Green, E. (2004). Young people, risk and leisure: constructing identities in everyday life. Palgrave Macmillan. 191 Klein, N. (2000). No Logo (Flamingo, London). 192 Beck, U. (1992). Risk society: Towards a new modernity (Vol. 17). Sage.

23 the primary resource for the construction of their identities. Researcher Naomi Klein ascribed to this idea in her book No Logo, which argues that big corporations try to sell lifestyles with their products. They try to link celebrities to their products by sponsoring or broadcasting them in advertisements, and try to market a specific feeling with their products. 193 The mass-media supposedly play a large role in telling young people what they need, and identities are constructed on the basis of self-gratification.194 This might also be a cause for constant insecurity and self- doubt, if one doesn’t succeed to buy the products they desire.

3.2.5 Conservative ideas about subculture Columnist Milo Yiannopoulous, associated with the American rightwing news site Breitbart, gives his philosophical opinion about the ‘demise of subculture’ in an online interview. He argues that subculture, like Punk or emo, doesn’t exist anymore. This derives kids of an outlet for ‘repressed rage and self-loathing’.195 Youth culture has become very bland, with some of the most popular artists being Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez. He argues that this causes people to look for something that looks like themselves and hurt it. He claims that this is why there is so much ‘white guilt’. He proposes that ‘social-justice-warriors’ which is a pejorative term for people promoting progressive views like ‘gender-equality, multiculturalism and socialism’, is driven by this white guilt. He argues that patriarchal white capitalist societies have created the best culture in the world. There have never been cultures more ‘gay-friendly, women-friendly, race-friendly and prosperous than Europe and Northern America. He argues that ‘social-justice-warriors’ try to destroy their own culture by opening the borders, promoting socialism, and giving up national sovereignty to European or International globalist organizations. He further argues that women, immigrants and poor people use ‘competitive victimhood’ to get special treatment and profit from tax payer money. The ‘white guilt’ theory of Milo Yiannopolous shows some resemblance to the ideas of Dutch legal philosopher and politician Thierry Baudet. He calls the tendency to hate one’s own culture ‘Oikophobia’: the ‘fear of one’s own home’. He sees this in politics, (opening the Dutch borders for too many immigrants, handing over national sovereignty to the European Union), as well as in Modern Art. He argues that art doesn’t serve to create beauty but to alienate and make people uncomfortable. He sees this as a consequence of hating one’s own culture. It is uncertain what Baudet would think of subcultures like ‘Punk or Hip-Hop’. Whereas Yiannopoulos saw Punk as an outlet for one’s self-hatred, Thierry Baudet might criticize the alienating aspects of the culture. In his book ‘Conservatieve Vooruitgang’196 (Conservative Progress), he quotes Ortega y Gasset in stating that since the French Revolution, there no longer is an aristocrat elite to look up to. 197 This combined with the Industrial Revolution, which has taken hardship out of life, has created ‘mass-man’. A vulgar type of person that focusses on his rights instead of his duties and doesn’t accept any authority and lives from day to day. Thierry Baudet and Ortega Ygasset might view Hardcore Punk or Hardcore Hip-Hop as ultimate examples of this ‘mass-man’ which they despise.

3.2.6 Globalization and the internet Another aspect in which globalization shows itself is the emergence of the internet in the last decades. Whereas Hebdige, following Gramsci’s theory of hegemony, argued that the elite and the media together could succeed in indoctrinating people with an ‘ideology’198, this might no longer be the case because everybody has access to the internet, where they can both consume and produce the media they choose. 199 In Punk culture, a ‘Do It Yourself’ attitude was popularized,

193 Klein, N. (2000). No Logo (Flamingo, London). 194 Miles, S. (2000). Youth lifestyles in a changing world. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). 195Powerful JRE. Joe Rogan Experience #820- Milo Yiannopoulos. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnH67G7vAu4, 5:40 196 Baudet, T. (2012). Conservatieve vooruitgang. Prometheus. P. 100 197 y Gasset, J. O. (1993). The revolt of the masses. WW Norton & Company. 198 Hebdige, D. (1979). Subculture: The Meaning of Style. London: Methuen. 1988. Hiding in the Light: On Images and Things. P. 15 199 Geraghty, L. (2015). Popular media cultures: fans, audiences and paratexts. Palgrave Macmillan. P. 1-13

24 inspiring people to start their own magazines called ‘fanzines’, in which they had the chance to show a side of society which wasn’t broadcasted in mainstream media. Nowadays, everybody can start a blog, a Facebook page or a Twitter account, and broadcast it instantly to the whole world. This may manifestly change the nature of subcultures. This might have numerous consequences, for instance, people can access a wide variety of styles with the click of the mouse, which might undermine the power of a ‘subculture’. The internet can be used anonymously, which can make it classless. Everybody can access anything they like, which might make it easier to transcend boundaries: whereas in the 1970s, one might have had to go into a certain neighborhood to come into contact with a certain subculture, now you can do this while staying in your own home. This might increase the power of the subculture, for it becomes more broadly accessible, and people can share their own creative interpretations of certain music or art. For instance by creating memes or writing fanfiction. 200 It might also have the effect that people just pick and choose bits and pieces form subcultures they like and don’t submerse in one in particular, decreasing the power of a subculture.

3.2.7 House culture as post-subcultural phenomenon According to many authors, House music is a typical example of a postmodern post-subculture.201 It is a ritual, in which clubbers leave behind the normal rules of everyday life. However, they do this only for a limited amount of time, because the next morning, the clubbers have to return to normality. The subculture doesn’t have the purpose to change society with political signs but only offers a temporary escape. It may involve a sudden unique set of social relations which can include role reversal and mixing of classes. House culture can be described as a neo-tribe: it rarely dominates the life of an individual but offers a temporary escape from the stress of the working week. It does not exclude membership from other ‘tribes’.202 Belonging to such a neo-tribe, is playful and temporary. An explanation for this ‘disappearance of class boundaries’ can be found in the wide use of the drug XTC, which causes people from all corners of society to feel connected to each other.203 Miles quotes Reynolds’ book Energy Flash in saying that it greatly diminished the ‘cattle market’ atmosphere of clubs, because on XTC, people feel free to bond without the threat of unwanted sexual attention. It allowed for mingling between class, race and sex-preference lines. 204

3.3 Criticism of post-subcultural theories Muggleton writes that whereas Marxist ideas about subculture might have overestimated their political dimensions, the new post-subcultural position might underestimate it. Some ‘cultural formations’ have directly opposed economic neo-liberalism through anti-globalization movements.205 Even rave culture has at times a political resistant character.206 Shildrick and MacDonald argue that not all young people share equally in a new, postmodern, global youth culture. There still seem to be social divisions and lifestyle segmentations evident in night life. There still seems to be an ‘underclass’, and subjects still experience racism in nightlife. They draw on research where Asian and Black men in Manchester are excluded from popular cultural venues in the city.207 The gaining of new wider friendship groups from jobs and an independent weekly income seemed to be associated with the move towards mainstream commercialized leisure.

200 Geraghty, L. (2015). Popular media cultures: fans, audiences and paratexts. Palgrave Macmillan. P. 1-13 201 Miles, S. (2000). Youth lifestyles in a changing world. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). P. 87-96 202 Goulding, C., & Shankar, A. (2011). Club culture, neotribalism and ritualised behaviour. Annals of Tourism Research, 38(4), 1436 203 Weinzierl, R., & Muggleton, D. (2003). What is ‘post-subcultural studies’ anyway. The post-subcultures reader, 3-23. 204 Miles, S. (2000). Youth lifestyles in a changing world. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). P. 89 205 Weinzierl, R., & Muggleton, D. (2003). What is ‘post-subcultural studies’ anyway. The post-subcultures reader. P.14. 206 Shildrick, T., & MacDonald, R. (2006). In defense of subculture: Young people, leisure and social divisions. Journal of youth studies, 9(2). P. 126 207 Shildrick, T., & MacDonald, R. (2006). In defense of subculture: Young people, leisure and social divisions. Journal of youth studies, 9(2), P. 130

People that aren’t able to get a job stay tied to neighborhood based peer groups, in which street socializing is the norm. This seems to correlate with criminal and drug-using careers.208

Postmodern and post-subcultural choice seems to still be reserved for more privileged sections of dominant cultural groups. Social segregation, exclusion, class, and race still seem to be central in the lifestyles and cultural choices of young people. Although they still claim the theoretic relevance of ‘risk society’ and the individualization thesis, Shildirck and MacDonald claim that the more nuanced concepts of ‘bounded agency’ and ‘structured individualization’ are more realistic.209

Andy Bennet,210 also claims that the post-subcultural theory is too celebratory and naïve, for there are still structural inequalities in shaping life chances and cultural affiliations of young people. He criticizes the theory that youth culture has become a ‘supermarket of style’, reducing young people to ‘postmodern dandyists’ who are capable of nothing more than high street consumption.211 Furthermore, he notes, that some subcultural groups, in contradiction to rave culture, have remained stylistically fixed, for example, goths and bikers. 212 Additionally, he notes that classic subcultures, like Punk, have always drawn upon ‘repositioned stylistic elements’ from previous trends. He also notices that belonging to a ‘lower economic class’ isn’t a guarantee that one can’t share in subcultural experience, as many subcultures arguably originated in very poor neighborhoods.213 He proposes the development of an analytical framework which recognizes that youth identities are organized around a ‘reflexive interplay’ of local experience, like: ‘home, school, work, friendship, peer group, language, dialect, music, clothing, literature, TV, cinema, Internet, dance and sport.’214

He argues that a series of critical questions should be asked about whether class, ethnicity and gender are still playing a role in forming youth cultural identities.215 Secondly, it should be established whether new media, particularly social networks, and consumer goods play a role in the forming of an identity. Thirdly, it should be investigated whether these preferences are fluid like post-subculturalists argue, or relatively stable, like subculturalists argue. In this thesis, answers to these questions will be sought by conducting interviews with participants of Dutch subcultures.

3.4 Conclusion From literature research it seems that subcultures are often seen as a ‘Marxist’ form of class struggle. A group of people that is marginalized or low in power in society tries to rebel against the system with music and style. The mainstream media often represent the people high in power, and might under reflect the perception of life by minorities and working-class people. A recurring theme in subculture might be a rebelling against ‘brainwashing’ and distracting by the media. The expansion of the internet might be a force counteracting this perception. At the same time, authors are acknowledging the little power that subculture has to actively change power relations. The subcultural scene is being commodified which makes its rebel function dysfunctional. Other arguments are that youth has become politically indifferent, and uses a subculture like ‘House’ not to rebel against society, but to escape from it just for a night, just to return to it the next day.

208 Shildrick, T., & MacDonald, R. (2006). In defence of subculture: Young people, leisure and social divisions. Journal of youth studies, 9(2), P. 131 209 Shildrick, T., & MacDonald, R. (2006). In defence of subculture: Young people, leisure and social divisions. Journal of youth studies, 9(2), P. 137 210 Bennett, A. (2011). The post-subcultural turn: some reflections 10 years on.Journal of youth studies, 14(5), 494 211 Bennett, A. (2011). The post-subcultural turn: some reflections 10 years on.Journal of youth studies, 14(5), 498 212 Bennett, A. (2011). The post-subcultural turn: some reflections 10 years on.Journal of youth studies, 14(5), 493-506. 213 Bennett, A. (2011). The post-subcultural turn: some reflections 10 years on.Journal of youth studies, 14(5). P. 500 214 Bennett, A. (2011). The post-subcultural turn: some reflections 10 years on.Journal of youth studies, 14(5). P. 502 215 Bennett, A. (2011). The post-subcultural turn: some reflections 10 years on.Journal of youth studies, 14(5). P. 503

A postmodern view of society might cause teens to pick a more individual lifestyle, instead of feeling part of a ‘subculture’ as such. The internet may allow people to access every kind of subculture at the same time and pick and choose bits and pieces of styles they like. This might be a consequence of ‘risk society’. People have become afraid to stand out or rebel because the overflow of insecurity in their life. Some authors argue that ‘Punk’ offered the possibility to have an outlet for one’s self-hatred, and others have argues that the hating of one’s own culture is an unhealthy development of contemporary culture.

4 History of subculture in the Netherlands Because the focus of this thesis will be on manifestations of Dutch subculture, it is important to know some history about the context of the subcultures in the Netherlands as well. First there will be a small summary of subcultures in the Netherlands in the 1950s and 1960s, just before Punk, Hip-Hop and House came into existence in the 1970s and 1980s. Especially Amsterdam has become renowned for its underground movements and practices of cultural resistance, subversion and diversion.

4.1 Dutch subcultures in the 1950s and 1960s A lot of Dutch subculture in the 1950s and 1960s was heavily inspired by the American rock ‘n roll culture. This ‘Hippie’ culture was protesting against the ‘system of commodity culture’. Through the liberation of sexuality and the awakening of the unconscious mind with psychedelic drugs and music, they tried to reach a new utopia.216 In Europe, people had also tried to reach a new utopia, but this was still being done in the spirit of Marxism.

In Amsterdam, Marxism and ‘Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n Roll’, went together well. Until mid-1965, there had been avant-garde movements like Vrije Beelden (Free Images) and ‘de Nederlandse Experimental Groep’ (the Dutch Experimental Group). One of the key texts for these movements was ‘Homo Ludens’ by Johan Huizinga, which argued that true civilization emerged from play instead of work. Another group, called Ban de Bom (Ban the Bomb), created in 1961, protested the coming of American nuclear weapons to the Netherlands.217,218 A number of anti-consumerist campaigns in Amsterdam that rose from 1962 onward resulted in the movement ‘De Provos’ in 1967, which attacked the rigidity of Amsterdam culture by invoking poetry and play as weapons against mainstream consumer culture. Various riots and sit-ins occurred at Vondelpark and Dam Square.219,220

Another prominent intellectual movement was called Situationists International, which lasted from 1957 to 1967, and which has been claimed as the main influence of the Punk-Rock movement221. They condemned the ‘spectacle’ of modern life and the emptiness of consumerism and capitalist society. Through the creation of playfully chaotic situations they tried to make a disorderly utopia.222 The Dutch rebel groups Kabouters and Provos often described themselves as Situationists223.

These groups, influenced by rock and drug culture from the Anglo-American world, changed the outmoded language of class struggle in one of pleasure and freedom.224 Another important part of Amsterdam’s history is the sexual revolution, of which 1968 can be seen as the climax.225 It embraced all sexual orientations and spread into media, arts and literature. Dutch psychiatrists in the 1950s, had encountered clients who suffered from the suffocating sexual morality of the churches, and put questions of sexual morality on the social agenda. These professionals

216 Lindner, C., & Hussey, A. (2013). Paris-Amsterdam underground: essays on cultural resistance, subversion, and diversion (p. 196). Amsterdam University Press. P. 15 217 Lindner, C., & Hussey, A. (2013). Paris-Amsterdam underground: essays on cultural resistance, subversion, and diversion (p. 196). Amsterdam University Press. P. 15 218 Jonker, L. (2011). No future nu: Punk in Nederland 1977-2012. Overamstel Uitgevers. 219 Jonker, L. (2011). No future nu: Punk in Nederland 1977-2012. Overamstel Uitgevers. 220 Lindner, C., & Hussey, A. (2013). Paris-Amsterdam underground: essays on cultural resistance, subversion, and diversion (p. 196). Amsterdam University Press. P. 16 221 Marcus, G. (2009). Lipstick traces. Harvard University Press. 222 Jonker, L. (2011). No future nu: Punk in Nederland 1977-2012. Overamstel Uitgevers. 223 Lindner, C., & Hussey, A. (2013). Paris-Amsterdam underground: essays on cultural resistance, subversion, and diversion (p. 196). Amsterdam University Press. P. 138 224 Lindner, C., & Hussey, A. (2013). Paris-Amsterdam underground: essays on cultural resistance, subversion, and diversion (p. 196). Amsterdam University Press. 225 Lindner, C., & Hussey, A. (2013). Paris-Amsterdam underground: essays on cultural resistance, subversion, and diversion (p. 196). Amsterdam University Press. P. 49

28 contributed significantly to the erosion of the ‘verzuiling’ (‘pillarization’) of which Dutch society consisted. The Netherlands had been segregated in Protestant, Catholic, Socialist and Liberal categories. Feminists and Socialists that strived for gender and social equality began to win influence and women and gays gained more sexual and social autonomy.

The Provos wholeheartedly supported the sexual revolution. They were in favor of free love and ‘complete amoral promiscuity’. With their ‘Witte Wijfen’ and ‘Witte Homofielen’ plan they fought for women and gay rights and stressed spontaneity, desire, playfulness and urban renewal which strongly resembled the Situationist International movement.226,227 They had major impact and inspired groups like Man-Vrouw Maatschappij 1968 and Dolle Mina 1969. The media also played a big role in the sexual revolution, with increasingly sexual programs being broadcasted from the 1960s on. Androgyny was celebrated by men starting to grow their hair. The sexual revolution came to an end at the end of the 1960s. Many leftist supporters became critical because they found it to be too smallminded. Sexuality could only be liberated when all of society and in particular its socioeconomic foundations had changed in a socialist direction. This idea spread with the growing influence of theories of Marx in the Netherlands. A revolution which only included the sexual would lead to commercialization and continued erotic misery of oppressed groups in a liberal capitalist society. Sexual and gender repression were seen as secondary themes of socialist struggle after the primary focus of money and labor.

The global tourist reputation of Amsterdam has been largely build on the legacy of the 1960s underground culture which was leftist and avant-garde, when feminist, gay, Hippie, student and squatters-movements dominated the social and cultural scenes. Another important part of Amsterdam’s history are the riots against the coming of the metro.228 As more people got cars, people had to move out of the post-war derelict areas such as the Jordaan and Nieuwmarkt outside the center. Houses were demolished to create space for four-lane streets along which office buildings, hotels and stores can flourish. Metrolines could be constructed underneath those lanes. The architect of this plan was Cornelis van Eesteren. The plan was not fully executed due to heavy resistance. ‘Living machines’ in the Bijlmer district were built as extensions of an overpopulated city center. Instead of people from Amsterdam, newly arrived immigrants from Surinam and other Dutch colonies went to live there.229,230

According to Lindner, the Amsterdam underground has since been commodified. 231 The city has become a brand, and Amsterdam’s anti-establishment reputation from the 1960s to 1980s has become its main selling point. Not so much tolerance, but rather commercialism has become the enduring trait in the city. It has become a sex and drugs theme park for mainly low-budget young tourists. It has not been so tolerant towards the elderly and the poor and there has been a lot of gentrification. The toleration of prostitution has more to do with its potential as economic driver than a special relationship to authenticity of the underground.

226 Jonker, L. (2011). No future nu: Punk in Nederland 1977-2012. Overamstel Uitgevers. 227 Lindner, C., & Hussey, A. (2013). Paris-Amsterdam underground: essays on cultural resistance, subversion, and diversion (p. 196). Amsterdam University Press. P. 52 228 Lindner, C., & Hussey, A. (2013). Paris-Amsterdam underground: essays on cultural resistance, subversion, and diversion (p. 196). Amsterdam University Press. P. 79 229 Tegenlicht. Bijlmer, the Rough Guide. Retrieved from: http://tegenlicht.vpro.nl/afleveringen/2002-2003/bijlmer- the-rough-guide.html 230 Junte, J. (2000, May 15). Bijlmer heft rappers, mist animo. De Volkskrant. Retrieved from: http://www.volkskrant.nl/muziek/bijlmer-heeft-rappers-mist-animo~a555027/ 231 Lindner, C., & Hussey, A. (2013). Paris-Amsterdam underground: essays on cultural resistance, subversion, and diversion (p. 196). Amsterdam University Press. P. 116

4.2 Punk in the Netherlands In the Netherlands, a lot of young people got into Punk in the year 1977.232 At the start, it seemed to be different than it was in England and the U.S.233 In those countries, it seemed to be a protest- movement against unemployment and hopelessness. In the Netherlands, the economic situation was not yet comparable to the misery in England. In the Netherlands, Punk just seemed to be a protest against symphonic rock music on the radio, which seemed to dull, slow and soft for a certain group of people. It was also called a ‘weekend-culture.’234 In 1977, the Sex Pistols and Blondie toured the Netherlands235. Paradiso, a famous club in Amsterdam, had never been so crowded, it almost collapsed. The Sex Pistols concert was broadcasted on the show Disco Circus on the television network TROS.236 In the summer, the big Dutch newspapers wrote extensively about the new hype. In 1977, Punk-success in the Netherlands still seemed to be reserved for British and American bands who toured through Europe. In November, Dutch Punk-bands became part of the regular programming of Paradiso.237 Some of the bands wore Nazi-symbols, but Goossens and Vedder explain that this was copied from England, where the Nazi symbol did not have the same loaded meaning because the country was never occupied. It was used in the U.K. as a means to shock parents who were bragging about defeating the Nazis.238

Also in 1977, fanzines started to be created by people enthusiastic about the movement. Examples were the Koekrant and Aambeeld. Because Punk was not a mainstream culture yet, and Punks culture consisted of loners spread across the country, these magazines gave fans the chance to interact and exchange information. These fanzines often consisted of nothing more than some stapled copied A4 papers.239 This gave them the same rawness as the music and another example of the D.I.Y.-spirit. Koekrant writer Diana Ozon said: Hippie had had its best time, I wasn’t ready to become a normal citizen, I wanted to do something bohemian, so Punk attracted me.’240 It was seen as the new Provo, a place for Homo Ludens. Pop critic Fer Abrahams noted that Punk, as well as later House, was first noted by a trendy art-academy public in the Netherlands, it had more to do with teenage rebellion than a social protest movement.241 There were a lot of connections with Dada and Situationism.242 It shared its primitive and anti-societal character with those movements. The rude and aggressive style attracted people from the Rotterdam art academy who started a famous Dutch Punk-band called the Rondos. The clothing style designed by Vivienne Westwood, then the wife of Malcolm McLaren, manager of the Sex Pistols, borrowed heavily from S&M, mod and ‘teddy boy’ culture. This style was copied at home by loads of Dutch Punks who couldn’t afford to by her clothes. In 1978, the Punk scene started to become more aggressive, and a lot of Punkers changed to Disco music.243 The thinkers quitted the movement and especially the fighters remained.

232 Andere tijden. (2012, April 8). NPO. Punk: Van pret naar protest. http://www.npo.nl/andere-tijden/08-04- 2012/NPS_1198666. 0:20 233 Andere tijden. (2012, April 8). NPO. Punk: Van pret naar protest. http://www.npo.nl/andere-tijden/08-04- 2012/NPS_1198666. 2:20 234 Goossens, J. (1996) Het gejuich was massaal. Punk in Nedderland 1976-1982. Stichting popmuziek Nederland 235 Jonker, L. (2011). No future nu: Punk in Nederland 1977-2012. Overamstel Uitgevers. 236 Andere tijden. (2012, April 8). NPO. Punk: Van pret naar protest. http://www.npo.nl/andere-tijden/08-04- 2012/NPS_1198666. 2:40 237 Goossens, J. (1996) Het gejuich was massaal. Punk in Nedderland 1976-1982. Stichting popmuziek Nederland 238 Goossens, J. (1996) Het gejuich was massaal. Punk in Nedderland 1976-1982. Stichting popmuziek Nederland. P. 29 239 Goossens, J. (1996) Het gejuich was massaal. Punk in Nedderland 1976-1982. Stichting popmuziek Nederland. P. 30 240 Goossens, J. (1996) Het gejuich was massaal. Punk in Nedderland 1976-1982. Stichting popmuziek Nederland. P. 35 241 Goossens, J. (1996) Het gejuich was massaal. Punk in Nedderland 1976-1982. Stichting popmuziek Nederland. P. 36 242 Jonker, L. (2011). No future nu: Punk in Nederland 1977-2012. Overamstel Uitgevers. P. 20 243 Goossens, J. (1996) Het gejuich was massaal. Punk in Nedderland 1976-1982. Stichting popmuziek Nederland. P. 56

In 1980, the Dutch economy worsened. There was rampant youth unemployment, a housing- crisis, and an enormous fear for a nuclear attack by the Soviet Union.244 In 1982, 13.5 percent of the Dutch working population was unemployed, and another 13 was labeled ‘unfit for work’. President Lubbers tried to fix the economy with a neoliberalist strategy of cutting government services, privatization and deregulation. Social cohesion collapsed because colleagues became competitors. The Punk-movement started to become related to neo-Nazis, vandalism, and hard- drugs.245

The band ‘the Rondos’ from Rotterdam drew heavy on the working class of Rotterdam, being involved with a strike in the harbor. In the 1980s the Punk movement combined itself with the Dutch squatters-movement. There were heavy riots and a lot of protest against the three K’s ‘Kapitaal, Kerk en Koningshuis (Capital, Church and Crown).246 Punks often were uneducated, and called themselves anarchist of communist without knowing what it meant. However, they did feel attracted to the D.I.Y. spirit.

As the economic climate worsened in the Netherlands around 1980, youth-unemployment rose.247 A lot of young people were living of welfare. The Punk look grew more popular on the street. Because people couldn’t afford housing, squatting became popular, especially in the large cities. Punk and the squatters’ movement became closely related.248 Punk lyrics became politically engaged, and placed attention on the exploited working-class and imperialism. Violence in the scene occurred more often, culminating in squatters riots and protest at the crowning of Queen Beatrix. Some Punkers left the Punk scene because they didn’t want to be a part of this.

Nowadays, Punk has left a deep impact in society in a number of ways. Parts of Punk fashion have become mainstream. Black clothing, leather jackets, tattoos and piercings have become very common. Shirts with The Clash and Sex Pistols on them are being sold by big corporations. The images and the connotations have become separated from each other. Punk graphic design has become synonymous to authenticity, which has become very hip for companies which want to have a wild image.249 Punk graffiti displaying society critical messages are still common in an urban environment.250 The media uses filming-techniques which originate from the Punk years, like fast montage and collages.251 Modern urban art has become common in museums.252 The Do It Yourself mentality lives on on the internet, where everybody can start his or her own blog and share anything he or she wants on sites like Facebook or YouTube.

The power and the aggression of it attracted people, like Bert Broodje253, who documented the times on the television show Andere Tijden. Just having fun seemed to be the number one priority in the first stages of the movement. The Do It Yourself mentality was popular and seemed to replace the Hippie mentality of the sixties. Young people who had never played an instrument started their own Punk-bands. Art reflecting the Dada-culture was created in the Punk movement.

244 Goossens, J. (1996) Het gejuich was massaal. Punk in Nedderland 1976-1982. Stichting popmuziek Nederland. P. 79 245 Jonker, L. (2011). No future nu: Punk in Nederland 1977-2012. Overamstel Uitgevers. 246 Goossens, J. (1996) Het gejuich was massaal. Punk in Nedderland 1976-1982. Stichting popmuziek Nederland. P. 85 247 Jonker, L. (2011). No future nu: Punk in Nederland 1977-2012. Overamstel Uitgevers. P. 101 248 Jonker, L. (2011). No future nu: Punk in Nederland 1977-2012. Overamstel Uitgevers. P. 104 249 Jonker, L. (2011). No future nu: Punk in Nederland 1977-2012. Overamstel Uitgevers. P. 153 250 Jonker, L. (2011). No future nu: Punk in Nederland 1977-2012. Overamstel Uitgevers. P. 171 251 Jonker, L. (2011). No future nu: Punk in Nederland 1977-2012. Overamstel Uitgevers. P. 192 252 Jonker, L. (2011). No future nu: Punk in Nederland 1977-2012. Overamstel Uitgevers. P. 214 253 Andere tijden. (2012, April 8). NPO. Punk: Van pret naar protest. http://www.npo.nl/andere-tijden/08-04- 2012/NPS_1198666.

4.3 Hip-Hop in the Netherlands Since the 1980s, Hip-Hop has also become an important youth-movement in the Netherlands. From the time the first people started rapping and breakdancing, a lot has changed. Nowadays, a lot of Dutch youth derive their identity from it. In the book ‘Van Brooklyn tot Breukelen’ (From Brooklyn to Breukelen)254, key figures from the Dutch Hip-Hop scene share their story.

One of the first Dutch rappers ‘Anonymous Mis’ says about it: ‘Everyone acts like the Netherlands is paradise, but for a lot of immigrants, it is a cold and complicated country where they don’t feel at home.’ He explains that the situation in the U.S. is distressing, but in the Netherlands, there are problems at a same level: minorities are under-represented in top positions in companies, and a lot of minorities can’t seem to find their way in the bureaucracy of the Netherlands. Anonymous Mis feels Hip-Hop can function as a news medium for them.255

Rapper Shyrock tells that he would have never been interested in Black history if he had had to learn it from political debates and complicated books. Public Enemy got him involved. He describes Hip-Hop as an essential part of life and a rare way to release tension. 256

Hip-Hop also creates its own jobs in minority neighborhoods, as an alternative to crime. An example of this, are Surinamese boys who used to breakdance for small amounts of money, then started a Crips gang in The Hague, and explain that they want to start a recording studio with criminal money and get out of their violent life.257,258 Even for top rappers, it is hard to live from a full time Hip-Hop career, but although it is may not always be a financial solution, it can be a spiritual one. So says Dutch rapper C.A.N.E, who claims Hip-Hop brings balance in his stressful life.259

The Dutch Hip-Hop scene consisted predominantly of minorities in the beginning. Dutch rapper ‘Deams’ says: Punk was very popular in those days, but for black guys, there was not such a thing. He was happy when Hip-Hop came around.260 In the Bronx, Hip-Hop was woven into people’s whole life but in the Netherlands, it seemed something just for the weekend.’ But at the end of the 1980s, Hip-Hop groups like Public Enemy and N.W.A. start to attract large crowds in the Netherlands, also consisting of white middle class kids. They supposedly felt attracted to the violent rhymes of black youths from the ghettos. Author ‘Van Stapele’ presumes that they hadn’t been able to shock their parents enough with Punk in the seventies. Hip-Hop appears to be the ideal way for rebel teens to establish a generation-gap.

Ironically, the rising popularity of Hip-Hop for white kids went together with a sense of black activism in the minority crowd, causing tension. Dutch rapper Shyrock recalls: ‘At a concert of Public Enemy there was an aggressive vibe towards the white fans. They weren’t welcomed on the scene and a lot got robbed for their tickets at the entrance.’261 Shyrock presumes that this was one of the reasons that a lot of white fans exchanged Hip-Hop for House at the end of the 1980s.

254 Van Stapele, S., Elstak, B., Dahlhaus, A., & de Koning, K. (2002). Van Brooklyn naar Breukelen: 20 jaar hip-hop in Nederland. Nationaal Pop Instituut. 255 Van Stapele, S., Elstak, B., Dahlhaus, A., & de Koning, K. (2002). Van Brooklyn naar Breukelen: 20 jaar hip-hop in Nederland. Nationaal Pop Instituut. P.10 256 Van Stapele, S., Elstak, B., Dahlhaus, A., & de Koning, K. (2002). Van Brooklyn naar Breukelen: 20 jaar hip-hop in Nederland. Nationaal Pop Instituut. P.17 257 Van Stapele, S., Elstak, B., Dahlhaus, A., & de Koning, K. (2002). Van Brooklyn naar Breukelen: 20 jaar hip-hop in Nederland. Nationaal Pop Instituut. P.18 258 Van der Valk, Joost. (2009). Crips, strapped ’n strong. BNN. Retrieved from: http://www.npo.nl/crips-strapped-n- strong/POMS_S_BNN_097359 259 Van Stapele, S., Elstak, B., Dahlhaus, A., & de Koning, K. (2002). Van Brooklyn naar Breukelen: 20 jaar hip-hop in Nederland. Nationaal Pop Instituut. P.20 260 Van Stapele, S., Elstak, B., Dahlhaus, A., & de Koning, K. (2002). Van Brooklyn naar Breukelen: 20 jaar hip-hop in Nederland. Nationaal Pop Instituut. P. 21-22 261 Van Stapele, S., Elstak, B., Dahlhaus, A., & de Koning, K. (2002). Van Brooklyn naar Breukelen: 20 jaar hip-hop in Nederland. Nationaal Pop Instituut. P.23

‘Hip-Hop could have been a lot bigger hadn’t it been for the aggressive atmosphere.’ The dip seemed temporary, for in the 1990s white kids swarmed Hip-Hop concerts of prominent rappers in great numbers. Even more, the black kids seemed to leave the Hip-Hop scene when ‘bubbling’ came up, a music style where erotic dancing is very common at parties. According to Deams, Hip- Hop has now penetrated all aspects of society, and kids from ‘The Bijlmer’ (a poor neighborhood in Amsterdam) still find purpose in Hip-Hop.262 LTH agrees with him, by saying that it can offer alternatives to crime for people in the Bijlmer.263 E-Life adds that Hip-Hop can give minorities confidence.264

Rappers Rudeboy & Fred Bomber further notice that there is a thin line between Hip-Hop and Punk.265 Rudeboy himself felt attracted to the aggressive energy of Iggy Pop and the Sex Pistols. Symphonic Rock had alienated itself from the public and Punk removed the smuck. It inspired them to form a Hip-Hop group in 1985. Both movements are connected to primal feelings. Just as Punk, it is easily accessible. You do not need an expensive studio or an education to do it. Everyone who can hold a guitar can play Punk and everybody who can plug in a mic can rap. Another thing that Hip-Hop borrowed from the Punk scene was graffiti, which had deeper relations with Punk in its early stages at the end of the seventies. However, they complain that real raw Hip-Hop still isn’t accepted by journalists and the media, most Hip-Hop which is successful in the Netherlands are crossovers, like hip-House at the end of the 1980s.

4.3.1 Dutch-Moroccans and Hip-Hop Miriam Gazzah has written her dissertation called Rhythms and Rhymes about music and identification processes of Dutch-Moroccan youth.266 In this dissertation she argues that delinquency of Dutch-Moroccan youth is not a result of Moroccan culture, but the result of Hip- Hop culture, which creates boundaries between ‘us and them’. Hip-Hop culture seems to be a source inspiration for young Moroccans, where striving for ‘bling bling’ and loyalty to friends are important street values. Gazzah writes that for Dutch Moroccan youth in a post migration context, music provides an opportunity to express themselves and form an identity.267 The socio-political climate has resulted in the need for musical genres which represents Dutch-Moroccan youth needs, desires and frustrations, and Hip-Hop can fulfill this function.268 Hip-Hop can be used as a tool whereby the rapper demands to be accepted as a Dutch-Moroccan, Dutchman or Muslim.269 Recurrent themes in songs can be battles with rival groups in other cities or the revealing of political awareness in songs that deal with international politics, the situation in the Middle East or a critique of US foreign policy. Most Dutch-Moroccan rappers remain conscious of their Moroccan and Islamic background.

262 Van Stapele, S., Elstak, B., Dahlhaus, A., & de Koning, K. (2002). Van Brooklyn naar Breukelen: 20 jaar hip-hop in Nederland. Nationaal Pop Instituut. P.23 263 Van Stapele, S., Elstak, B., Dahlhaus, A., & de Koning, K. (2002). Van Brooklyn naar Breukelen: 20 jaar hip-hop in Nederland. Nationaal Pop Instituut. P.27 264 Van Stapele, S., Elstak, B., Dahlhaus, A., & de Koning, K. (2002). Van Brooklyn naar Breukelen: 20 jaar hip-hop in Nederland. Nationaal Pop Instituut. P.49 265 Van Stapele, S., Elstak, B., Dahlhaus, A., & de Koning, K. (2002). Van Brooklyn naar Breukelen: 20 jaar hip-hop in Nederland. Nationaal Pop Instituut. P.54 266 Gazzah, M. (2008). Rhythms and rhymes of life: Music and identification processes of Dutch-Moroccan youth (p. 280). Amsterdam University Press. P. 231 267 Gazzah, M. (2008). Rhythms and rhymes of life: Music and identification processes of Dutch-Moroccan youth (p. 280). Amsterdam University Press. P. 232 268 Gazzah, M. (2008). Rhythms and rhymes of life: Music and identification processes of Dutch-Moroccan youth (p. 280). Amsterdam University Press. P. 233 269 Gazzah, M. (2008). Rhythms and rhymes of life: Music and identification processes of Dutch-Moroccan youth (p. 280). Amsterdam University Press. P. 235

4.4 House music in the Netherlands House music seemed to have gained popularity at a late time in the Netherlands. It seemed to be the next big trend in the Netherlands after Punk.270 It was seen as the successor of ‘Disco’, which was popular at the same time as Punk had been.271 House pioneer Eddy de Clerq introduced the first big Disco parties in Amsterdam in 1977.272 On the dancefloor it was not unusual that he played Punk songs between the Disco songs.273 In De Clerq’s opinion, Disco and Punk were not separated scenes. It was not unusual for people in Disco parties to wear Punk outfits and he himself wore clothes by Vivienne Westwood.274 The combination of Disco and Punk later returned in famous Dutch clubs like De Koer and Mazzo. Even the first Hip-Hop tracks by Grandmaster Flash started to be played there.275

Eddy de Clerq, then D.J. in famous club Paradiso in Amsterdam, started to play the first House tracks of Steve Hurley in the Netherlands in 1984 in his dance nights called ‘Pep Club’. It represented the transition from the cynic post-Punk squatter scene period into something positive and optimistic.276 It was perceived as very homosexual music.277 Newspaper ‘De Haagse Post’ asked itself if the androgynous appearance of pop artists finally had led to the acceptance of the homosexual fellowman’.278 In the mid-eighties, the Dutch Disco crowd wasn’t convinced about House yet, they found it too primitive and showing too little craftsmanship. Reviews by the Dutch broadcasting stations AVRO and VPRO on radio 3, were unenthusiastic, they described it as ‘nihilistic terror’.279 The arguments that were used against Punk ten years before, were now applied to House. It was House that made the Punk ideals come true. Artists were not idolized because they were often anonymous and no extensive musical education was needed to make it. House artists could fulfill the Do It Yourself ideal by letting the whole production process take place in someone’s bedroom.280 An article in the pop-magazine ‘Oor’ described House as a musical revolution that fulfills the Hippie ideal: ‘idiots, intellectuals, fashion girls, football supporters, bricklayers and scholarship students, all happy together on the dance floor of the new materialism. The House public was recruited from all kinds of scenes: new wave, Punk, Disco, Hip- Hop.281 Everyone was equal, in unity and in trance. It was totally new to dance all night in pure ecstasy. It seemed like a tribe ritual somewhere out of Africa.282

Around 1988, the Netherlands became European soccer champion and the Dutch economy started to restore itself. The time of black Punk clothing was over and the Dutch seemed to do away with term ‘No Future’ which was popular during the Punk years.283 From Chicago and Detroit it went to Ibiza and England and from there it came to the Netherlands. It was heavily related to the new drug XTC, which made users feel euphoric and entranced. It made people dance like they were performing a ritual, and many were given a feeling of spirituality by the drugs.

Eddy de Clercq, a D.J. in club RoXY in Amsterdam, was the first one who started playing House music.284 It failed to attract people in the beginning but grew more popular in a steady pace. In the

270 VPRO, NTR. Andere tijden: House, pillen en extase. (2013, May 26). Retrieved from:http://www.npo.nl/andere- tijden/26-05-2013/NPS_1218688 271 http://www.npo.nl/andere-tijden/26-05-2013/NPS_1218688. 3:40 272 de Wit, J. (2013). Roxy en de house revolutie. Fast Moving Targets. P. 11 273 de Wit, J. (2013). Roxy en de house revolutie. Fast Moving Targets. P. 13 274 Jonker, L. (2011). No future nu: Punk in Nederland 1977-2012. Overamstel Uitgevers. P. 217 275 Jonker, L. (2011). No future nu: Punk in Nederland 1977-2012. Overamstel Uitgevers. P. 227 276 Jonker, L. (2011). No future nu: Punk in Nederland 1977-2012. Overamstel Uitgevers. P. 228 277 de Wit, J. (2013). Roxy en de house revolutie. Fast Moving Targets. 278 de Wit, J. (2013). Roxy en de house revolutie. Fast Moving Targets. P. 58 279 de Wit, J. (2013). Roxy en de house revolutie. Fast Moving Targets. P. 88 280 de Wit, J. (2013). Roxy en de house revolutie. Fast Moving Targets. P. 90 281 de Wit, J. (2013). Roxy en de house revolutie. Fast Moving Targets. P. 138 282 de Wit, J. (2013). Roxy en de house revolutie. Fast Moving Targets. P. 141 283 http://www.npo.nl/andere-tijden/26-05-2013/NPS_1218688. 4:00 284 de Wit, J. (2013). Roxy en de house revolutie. Fast Moving Targets.

34 summer of 1988, a big House party called ‘London Comes To Amsterdam’, attracted 10 times as many people as expected. It is recognized as the first big House party of the Netherlands. In the beginning, House evoked the same feelings as Punk, according to De Clerq. It was something totally new and went against all the norms of civil society. People were provided with the drug XTC, the still legal, in the invitation. House started to become a big hit in the Netherlands.

Despite the feeling of brotherhood, the new music style has dispersed into countless subgenres, with their own styles, favorite D.J.s, norms and values. There now is trance, drum and bass, electro House and minimal which are equally separated as Hip-Hop, Disco and rock were in the 1980s. However, the House explosion of 1988 has changed the production and consumption of pop music enormously. Events like Dance Valley, Thunderdome, Mysteryland, Awakenings and Sensation have attracted countless of thousands of people in the last 30 years and XTC has almost become common practice.

In 1990, in the Dutch city of Rotterdam, the House subgenre of Hardcore-House, or Gabber-House, originated around the clubs ‘Energiehal, Parkzicht en Pompeii.285 It was a harder and faster version of regular House, and drug use was rampant at the parties. Especially XTC and speed were frequently used, often by very young people, sometimes below the age of 18. The typical outfit of a ‘Gabber’ was a shaved head and a tracksuit. One partygoer explained on television that this was beneficial to the extreme form of dancing, called ‘hakken’, because sweat would flow from your head more easily and the tracksuit would stay comfortable after hours of dancing. The subculture was often associated with crime and drugs, but later on also with racism. Early participants of the scene explain that it was just about the music in the beginning, but racists entered the scene and made it political. It was also claimed to have become too commercial, causing the subculture to ‘die’.

4.5 Conclusion It appears that there are a lot of similarities but also some differences between the Punk-, Hip- Hop- and House subcultures in the U.S. and U.K. on the one hand and the Netherlands on the other. Both Punk and Hip-Hop have been described as a ‘weekend-culture.’ They started out a-political and attracted people just for the music and the art. This might be caused by the ‘ontzuiling’ or destratification of the class system in the Netherlands in the 1960s. Just as in the U.S. and the U.K., there was a strong D.I.Y. culture in the Netherlands, with fanzines and amateur bands. After a while this weekend-culture changed, especially for the Punk subculture, which became associated with the squatters movement and an anti-establishment attitude, be it capital, crown or church. It also became associated with neo-Nazism and violence. This appears to have been a direct result of the dire economic situation in the Netherlands. Hip-Hop became bigger as gangsta-rap gained a lot of popularity, especially among the white population, which seems to be peculiar, because it suggests that the attraction lays more in a teenage-rebellious spirit than in a serious identification with the problems of that time. The beginning of the House subculture seems to be comparable to the U.S. and U.K. as well, with it strongly being connected to homosexuality in the beginning and became more mainstream with the popularity of XTC. Hardcore-House originated in Rotterdam in the Netherlands and just as Hardcore-Punk and Hardcore-Hip-Hop, was harder, faster and more aggressive than the original subculture. Some of the criteria of radicalization can be observed in these cultures in the Netherlands. Personal and group grievances against the Capital, Church and Crown can be observed in Punk culture. Isolation, polarization and group-competition can be observed in the Moroccan interpretation of gangsta-rap. Love, slippery slope and love for risk and status can be observed in the Hardcore-House scene, which showed because participants of the scene in the 1990s extensively spoke about the thrill and adventure of the parties, the addictiveness of the party lifestyle and love they felt for each other.

285 Van der Aar, W. (2014) 3doc: Gabbers. VPRO. Retrieved from: http://www.npo.nl/3doc/07-12- 2013/VPWON_1198542

5 Relevant features of Dutch youth When researching if features like socioeconomic class or ethnicity play an influence in the formation of youth cultures, it is important to know which developments are going on in these areas in the Netherlands. This chapter will discuss reports published by the Dutch government about the state of Dutch youth in 2016. 5.1 Socioeconomic status and ethnicity The Dutch youth population seems to be quite multicultural, with one in four Dutch youths being born outside the Netherlands or have a parent born outside the Netherlands.286 Two thirds of these minorities are of non-Western origin (mostly Moroccan, Turkish, Surinamese or Antillean). One third is of Western origin (Mostly German, Polish or Belgian).

Most minorities live in the big cities like Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, with about 60 percent of those youths being minority.287 These minorities seem to encounter larger amounts of problems than the native Dutch. They do worse in school,288 are often more poor,289 more often live with just one parent, and are more often suspected of crime.290 Youth in the big cities are more often doing XTC and are more often without a job.

The European Commission has recently criticized the Netherlands’ racism policies; it names exclusion of the job market, hostile political language against Muslims and unilateral ethnical police action as problems which the Netherlands copes with.291

5.1.1 Flexible working agreements Another thing which appears from the statistics of the ‘Jeugdmonitor’, is that there is a trend going on of youth unemployment and that jobs are getting more flexible292

Around 4 out of 10 Dutch workers don’t have a fixed contract.293 Especially young or lowly educated people have small chances for a stable employment position. Between 80 to 90 percent of employees with a flexible contract reports getting a stable contract very important. People with a flexible contract have a three times higher chance for unemployment, three times higher chance to live in poverty and they report their job two times as many to be ‘burdensome’. 294 In the Netherlands the law ‘Wet Werk en Zekerheid’ forces employers to make a decision after 2 years to fire a ‘flexworker’ or give them a ‘fixed contract.’ This seems to work counteractive.295 Between 2003 and 2017, the number of ‘flexworkers’ in the Netherlands increased from 1.1 to 1.9 million.

Good news is that youth unemployment is diminishing in the Netherlands.296 It is at its lowest point in 8 years.

286 Landelijke Jeugdmonitor Jaarrapport 2016, P. 20 287 Landelijke Jeugdmonitor Jaarrapport 2016, P. 22 288 Landelijke Jeugdmonitor Jaarrapport 2015, P. 39 289 Landelijke Jeugdmonitor Jaarrapport 2015, P. 29 290 Landelijke Jeugdmonitor Jaarrapport 2015, P. 76 291 ECRI. (2013, October 15) ECRI-rapport over Nederland. Retrieved from: http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/ecri/Country-by-country/Netherlands/NLD-CbC-IV-2013-039-NLD.pdf 292 Landelijke Jeugdmonitor Jaarrapport 2015. P. 50 293 Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek. (2016) Lusten en lasten ongelijk verdeeld. 294 Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek. (2016) Lusten en lasten ongelijk verdeeld. 295 Ingrid Weel. (2017, May 19). Steeds minder flexwerkers stromen door naar een vaste baan. Trouw. Retrieved from: https://www.trouw.nl/samenleving/steeds-minder-flexwerkers-stromen-door-naar-een-vaste-baan~af4b0b81/ 296 Rijksoverheid. (2017, June 15.) Laagste jeugdwerkloosheid in ruim 8 jaar. Retrieved from: https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/actueel/nieuws/2017/06/15/laagste-jeugdwerkloosheid-in-ruim-8-jaar

5.1.2 Income and expenditure of Dutch youth In the beginning of 2016, 1 in 15 children below 18 grew up in welfare. More than half of these children had a non-Western minority background. Two out of three of these children were growing up in one-parent families.

The way in which Dutch youths spend their money depends on their age and level of education. In high school students, more than half of parents pays the full costs of clothing, shoes and smartphones of children between 12 and 18. Children of 18 years old have 206 euros a month to spend on average. This is mostly spend on snacks, presents and going out. Besides this, boys like to buy games and girls like to buy make up and jewelry. 297

After children finish their high school they often go to college or university. Students spend most of their money on rent, health insurance, college tuition and groceries. On average, they spend 144 euros a month on leisure (like going to parties or out for dinner), 88 euros on big expenses like laptops, 49 euros on clothing and shoes, 26 euros on telephone-costs and 40 euros on things like cigarettes and presents.298 Since 2015, students no longer get a ‘student fund’ to help them financially during their student life. Since then, students more often stay living with their parents during their student time.299

5.2 Wellbeing of Dutch youth Dutch children score high when being asked for wellbeing and happiness. They report to be able to communicate well with both parents and have nice classmates. More than 90 percent is content with their friend-group and 90 percent is content with their physical health and their home. Around 80 percent reports to be happy with their appearance, neighborhood, physical health, schooling and employment.

5.2.1 Government support of Dutch youth Around 40.000 youths, or 1.2 percent of Dutch youth, was placed under Youth Protection in 2015.300 This means the authority of the parents is restricted or abolished. Around 11.000 were placed under Youth Probation. This means they have committed a crime and have to be guided and corrected to prevent recidivism. This occurs more in children with a minority background. The Netherlands has an extensive support system for these children. 5.3 Drug use in the Netherlands Drug use in the Netherlands is a lot higher than in other European countries. 301 In the age group 15 to 34 XTC and amphetamine use was highest in Europe. About 6.6 percent of people in this age group used XTC in 2015 and 3 percent used amphetamines. In cocaine use the Netherlands scored 2nd place and in marijuana use the Netherlands scored 6th place.

5.4 New media Social media play a large role in the lives of Dutch youths between 12 and 25 years of age. More than 50 percent spend 1 to 3 hours on social media, 20 percent spends 3 to 5 hours, and 10 percent more than 5 hours a day. Girls and non-western kids with a minority background spend most time on social media. About 20 percent of youths report to be addicted to it. Most kids don’t report social media to disturb study results or their jobs but 40 percent says it does disturb their

297 I. Blanken, A. van der Werf. Scholierenonderzoek 2016. Nibud. 298 I. Blanken, A. van der Werf. Scholierenonderzoek 2016. Nibud. P36 299 NOS. (2016) ‘Studenten blijven thuis wonen door afschaffing basisbeurs’. Retrieved from: http://nos.nl/artikel/2132278-studenten-blijven-thuis-wonen-door-afschaffing-basisbeurs.html 300 Landelijke Jeugdmonitor Jaarrapport 2016, P. 40 301 Telegraaf. (2017, june 6). Nederland in top drugsgebruik Europa. Retrieved from: http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/28319364/__Nederland_in_Europese__drugstop___.html

37 concentration.302 As their reasons to use social media, 75 percent reports to have something to do when bored, 60 percent uses it see what other people are doing and 50 percent uses it to not miss any information.

5.5 Emancipation 5.5.1 Female emancipation In the investigation of gender or sexuality as a way to be victimized, it is relevant to know some facts about emancipation of women in the Netherlands. Women are more often single parents then men, the percentage of single mothers of Antillean or Surinamese origin is relatively high.303 Around one third of Dutch marriages ends in divorce. Women graduate from higher education more often and quicker than men. The share of women in full time employment is much lower. Three quarters of women with a job work part-time. The number of women in management positions at the highest level is 25 percent.

5.5.2 Acceptance of homosexuality It might also be relevant to discuss the position of homosexuals in the Netherlands. Since the 1950s, the acceptance of homosexuals has increased drastically.304 Acceptance by non-religious groups is very high, the biggest percentage of these groups reports no to mind when their child would have a stable relation with someone from the same gender. The acceptance of homosexuals by immigrant groups and religious groups is a more difficult process. Within the religious groups, Catholics have the most accepting attitude towards gays. In Protestants, the acceptance is somewhat lower, less than half would find it acceptable if their child had a homosexual relationship. In the Reformed Protestant church, homosexuality is least accepted. Almost 80 percent claims to be disgusted by homosexual relationships. The same attitude is reported by Muslims. More than half of Moroccan and Turkish minorities disapprove of homosexuality in general. In Antillean and Surinamese immigrants, the attitude towards homosexuality is a lot more accepting. Two thirds report having no problem with their child being gay. 5.6 Conclusion It appears that the economic climate for Dutch youth is quite good at the moment. Although a lot of people have flexible contracts, youth unemployment is at its lowest point in eight years. Dutch youth also report high amounts of wellbeing. The amount of discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, gender and sex-preference in the Netherlands doesn’t look very shocking. At least not as shocking as it might have been in economic crises in the 1970s and 1980s. The Netherlands has an extensive social safety net. This doesn’t mean that income inequality and discrimination are abolished in the Netherlands. These could still be relevant themes for today’s youth, especially if they are more globally orientated. Dutch youth seem to spend a lot of time on new media and report that it sometimes disturbs their concentration or rest. These findings are relevant to keep in mind when investigating subcultural life in the Netherlands in the present. It could be that they still use subculture as a way of protesting against mainstream culture, or use it to escape the dread of daily life.

302 Sociaal Bureau voor de Statistiek. (2015). Jongeren over social media. P. 6 303 Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau. (2016). Emancipatiemonitor 2016. P. 281 304 Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau. (2016) De acceptatie van homoseksualiteit door etnische en religieuze groepen in Nederland P. 9

6 Methodology 6.1 Interview procedure Using the theoretical lessons gained from national and international literature, this thesis tries to test these assumptions by conducting interviews. A number of 5 respondents have been interviewed for each subculture, making 15 participants in total. Interviews have taken approximately 30 minutes and have been in Dutch. The goal of these interviews is to see whether the perceptions of participants of the subcultures correspond to the conclusions found in literature.

The nature of the interviews has been qualitative and exploratory. The interviews serve to explore the perceptions of members of the subcultures in more depth. Respondents have been asked if they would participate in research relating to gaining a deeper insight in the function of their subculture in contemporary Dutch society, and have agreed to be interviewed for that purpose.

To improve the flow and quality of the conversation, the interviews have been semi-structured. Respondents have gotten relative freedom in what they would like to share about the subculture they felt passionate about, and have for instance not been asked if they would describe themselves as poor or uneducated. With the theoretical framework in mind, the conversation has been steered into a direction useful to answering the main research question of this thesis. Topics focused on have been socioeconomic status, ethnicity, gender, new media, consumer goods, stability of subcultural identity, and personal consequences of subcultural life.

6.2 Respondents Respondents have been recruited in different ways. Because ‘Punks’ are somewhat rare to find, The Punk participants have been reached through a Facebook page created to discuss Punk culture in the Netherlands. These respondents were all male and three of them were somewhat older (respondents 3, 4 and 5). Two of them been Punk since its origin in the 1970s. One of them since the early 1990s. They agreed to an anonymous interview about their experiences of the Punk subculture in the Netherlands.

All of the Hip-Hop respondents have been contacted on Hip-Hop gatherings. Two of them in Bergen op Zoom (respondents 6 and 8), two of them in Amsterdam (respondents 7 and 10) and one in Tilburg (respondent 8). Interviews have taken about 30 minutes, no recordings have been made but notes have been taken on the spot and typed out the same evening. Three respondents were female (respondent 6, 9 and 10) and two were male (7 and 8). All were between the age of 20 and 30.

The House respondents have been contacted on a House or a House subgenre gathering. Interviews have taken about 30 minutes, no recordings have been made but notes have been taken on the spot and typed out the same evening. Two respondents have been contacted at a House gathering in Bergen op Zoom (Respondents 12 and 14). Two have been contacted at a Techno gathering in Tilburg (Respondents 11 and 13) and one at a Hardcore gathering in Tilburg (Respondent 15). Three respondents were female (Respondents 11, 12 and 14) and two were male (Respondents 13 and 15). All were between the age of 20 and 30. 6.3 Hypotheses The main research question of this thesis is: To what extent is participation in the Punk-Rock, Hip- Hop and House subcultures in the Netherlands the consequence of cultural victimization, and how do these subcultures offer solutions to that cultural victimization?

The goal of these interviews is to gain insight into how participants of the three studied ‘subcultures’ experience the role of their subculture in the Dutch context of this time.

Following on Andy Bennett’s work305, participants have been asked questions relating to the relevance of the following aspects of their subculture.

Firstly: Socioeconomic status, ethnicity and gender

Secondly: Consumer goods and new media

Thirdly: Whether these subcultures are perceived to be stable or ‘fluid, temporary and multiple’.

Besides these aspects, there will be investigated what the consequences of subcultural activity are for the respondents. For instance, does it engage them creatively, politically or socially? Do subcultures lead to drug abuse and violence?

In chapters below, hypotheses for these topics based on investigated literature will be set forth per subculture. 6.4 Socioeconomic status, ethnicity and gender Statements relating to socioeconomic status, ethnicity and gender could tell something about the way in which respondents feel part of a ‘victimized community’. From literature, it appeared that men and women from ‘poor’ neighborhoods, discriminated ‘ethnicities’, or a non-tolerated sexual orientation played a large role in subculture formation and participation. This is why statements about these aspects could be relevant in answering this part of the research question.

6.4.1 Punk As discussed in chapter 1, socioeconomic status appeared to be important in the emergence of Punk culture. Some authors claimed that violent strikes, doll cues and general misery in the 1970s in the U.K. were essential for the creation of the Punk movement. It was a movement that seemed to celebrate alienation and celebrated ‘proletarianism’. Ethnicity seemed to play a peculiar role in the Punk culture. The band MC5, one of the first punk bands, called themselves the ‘white panther movement’, signaling that dissatisfied white people also needed to fight against the system. Punk appears to be associated with an extreme attitude towards ethnicity. However, this could go both ways. It could be extremely racist, like the ‘English skinheads’ discussed in chapter 2 to the extreme left ‘antifacist’ movements that are often associated with the squatter movement in the Netherlands, as discussed in chapter 4. It will be interesting to see what attitudes ‘Punks’ have towards race nowadays. Gender also plays a peculiar role in the Punk movement. In chapter 2 it was concluded that Punk rebelled against the androgynous Hippie culture, the men shaved their hair and celebrated a more aggressive masculine culture. On the other side, the lyrics and clothing had a lot of S&M elements in them. Leather clothing was very popular and submissive lyrics like Iggy Pop’s ‘I wanna be your dog’ also indicate a less conservative attitude towards sex.

6.4.1.1 The hypotheses for the Punk participants on the topics of socioeconomic status, ethnicity and gender. 1. Socioeconomic status still plays a large role in the experience of Punk subculture, the culture celebrates and dramatizes proletarianism and poverty, and is often associated to the squatter scene and profoundly anti-capitalist attitudes.

2. Attitudes towards race play a role in this subculture but these could either be ‘white nationalist’ or ‘anti-fascist’.

305 Bennett, A. (2011). The post-subcultural turn: some reflections 10 years on .Journal of youth studies, 14(5), 493- 506.

3. Gender plays a role in this subculture because it’s a very aggressive masculine subculture but there could be some submissive S&M tendencies in the culture.

6.4.2 Hip-Hop As discussed in chapter 2, Hip-Hop originated in the South Bronx out of gang culture. Hip-Hoppers were often marginalized people with a minority background. In the U.S., participants of Hip-Hop culture were often Black or Latin American. The ‘Hippie’ ideal of the sixties had passed and spirits got a bit grimmer. The Bronx was especially hit by an economic crisis because Robert Moses demolished large parts of the neighborhood because it had to make place for a highway. This led the more affluent people to leave the neighborhood and created some kind of ghetto. Hip-Hop was described to provide outlet and opportunity for these people. In chapter 4, Dutch rappers confirm the same tendencies in the Netherlands. There are a lot of people unable to find their way in Dutch society as well. It provides an outlet and opportunities for kids in neighborhoods like ‘De Bijlmer’. Also in the Netherlands, ethnicity plays a role in Hip-Hop culture. For example, Miriam Gazzah described the prominent role of Hip-Hop culture for Dutch-Moroccans. Rapper Deams wrote that in the beginning, Hip-Hop was mainly for black guys but it started to gain popularity for white kids soon as well. Literature describes Hip-Hop often as a ‘male culture’, where women are objectified. One of the conclusions of chapter 5 was that racism still is a relevant topic in the Netherlands and the minorities encounter more problems than people who are full Dutch.

6.4.2.1 The hypotheses for the Hip-Hop participants on the topics of socioeconomic status, ethnicity and gender. 1. Socioeconomic status plays a large role in Hip-Hop subculture. Participants come from less prosperous neighborhoods where crime and drug-problems occur frequently. In contradiction to the Punk subculture, wealth is celebrated instead of hated. It’s a more materialist culture.

2. Ethnicity will play a large role in Hip-Hop culture. One of the hypotheses is that there is a large minority share of non-Western minorities in this subculture. In the Netherlands, minorities are often Moroccan, Turkish, Antillian or Suriname. In literature it was seen that Hip-Hop has become more of a mainstream culture since the development Gangsta Rap, so the hypothesis is that white youth is also into Hip-Hop, although to a lesser degree.

3. Gender will also play a large role in Hip-Hop culture. Just as Punk, it’s seen as a rather aggressive male culture where women are objectified. However, there are many styles of Hip-Hop and there are many female Hip-Hop stars. The masculine aspect of Hip-Hop culture will likely play a lesser role for women from a minority background.

6.4.3 House Socioeconomic status doesn’t seem to play a very large role in the House subculture. Although the subculture was made popular by gay Black men, the aspect of poverty or hardship has never seemed to have had a central role in House culture. An exception to this is the ‘hardcore’ house variant called Gabber house, which rose in Rotterdam in the 1990’s, as discussed in chapter 4. This seemed to be very popular amongst working class youth. Regular House culture is well associated with the Ibiza jet set life, as discussed in chapter 2. Not all house culture is associated with this kind of lifestyle, in the U.K. there were often illegal outdoor raves where the lifestyle was not particularly jet set, but a very own culture arose where glow-sticks, smileys and bandanas was popular, mainly driven by the popularity of the drug XTC. Ethnicity doesn’t seem to play a large role anymore for a long time. House culture seems to be very popular among white youth since House culture came from the U.S. to Europe. It seems to surpass race boundaries. Gender also doesn’t seem to be a big part of House culture. The XTC seems to create a ‘love-society’ where anybody is equal. The music isn’t very masculine or aggressive, making it very attractive for gay people as well. Gabber house seems to be an exception to this.

6.4.3.1 Hypotheses for the House participants on the topics of socioeconomic status, ethnicity and gender 1. Socioeconomic status will not be important for participants of House culture. It will be more attractive for ‘high-class’ youth than for more marginalized kids.

2. Ethnicity will not be an important aspect of House culture, participants will mostly not be non- Western minorities.

3. Gender will not be very important in House culture, it will be friendly for males, females, heterosexuals and homosexuals. 6.5 Consumer goods, new media and stability of subcultural identity 6.5.1 Consumer goods Chapter 3 of this thesis has focused on several theories on subculture. Some authors have stated that subculture has a ‘Marxist’ character of a people rebelling against an elite which represses them for instance for their socioeconomic status, their ethnicity or their gender identity. Punk and Hip-Hop seem to have such a character. Consumer goods and new media seem to play a role in the experience of these subcultures. One theory is that the ‘elite’ uses consumer goods to disempower signs of the subculture. Punk and Hip-Hop culture have their own clothing and art-style, involving leather, pin-ups, graffiti and (gang)signs. These signs could be used to rebel against a mainstream- culture. However, big corporations can commercialize these products to rob them of their meaning. One buys products from corporations to rebel against these same corporations. House culture often uses its own symbolism, like glow-sticks and smiley faces, but it hasn’t been widely claimed that these are to protest against an ‘elitist’ culture.

6.5.1.1 Hypothesis for Punk, Hip-Hop and House subcultures concerning consumer behavior The hypothesis for consumer behavior is that Punk and Hip-Hop are concerned with the authenticity of their subcultures, and have the feeling that their message is subverted by commerciality. The hypothesis for House culture is that these issues play an insignificant role. It might be that all subcultures feel that tickets and going out in general are expensive.

6.5.2 New media As has been examined in chapters 3 and 5, the way in which subculture is lived has changed significantly with the rising availability of new media like the internet. Before, participants of subcultures often had to rely on special physical ‘scenes’ to meet and participants in Punk and House subcultures got their information and music often through exchanging tapes and homemade fanzines. With the coming of mediums like Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, material of the subculture can be shared globally by anybody in the world. This could make it easy for anybody in the world to get submersed into subcultural life. However, it could also have the opposite effect. It could be that the power of the subculture decreases because of the overflow of material from all kinds of subcultures that allows people to ‘pick and choose’ from different subcultures, which makes it less special to be a part of something.

6.5.2.1 Hypothesis for Punk, Hip-Hop and House subcultures concerning new media The hypothesis is that for some people, the internet allows them to become submersed in subcultural life. For other people it will likely have the effect that they like parts of all subcultures and pick and choose between parts of them.

6.5.3 Stability of subcultural identity Closely related to the new media subchapter, it is interesting to which extend a particular subculture defines a person. Do people that are active in Punk, Hip-Hop or House culture feel that

42 this subculture defines them? Do they like to visit parties just for that one subculture or do they go to a Hip-Hop festival one day and a House festival or a Punkrock concert the next? The degree in which a subculture is tied into someone’s identity is relevant in answering the question whether allows people to escape a certain situation through protest or escapism or if it’s just something fun and interesting to do ones in a while.

6.5.3.1 Hypothesis for Punk, Hip-Hop and House subcultures concerning stability of subcultural identity The expectation based on literature is that the degree of participation in a subculture ranges from person to person. It might be related to socioeconomic status, ethnicity and gender whether someone defines itself along the lines of the subculture or just picks and chooses from different subcultural styles as they please.

6.6 The influence of the subculture on people participating in it From the investigated literature about subcultural life, it appears that a subculture can have a wide range of different influences on people participating it. For some people, it might offer a way out of poverty by being able to get a job in the music industry. In a less professional fashion, it could offer people identity and confidence by participating in making music, writing reviews on blogs or vlogs or other forms of D.I.Y. art. For others, it might offer a way to connect with likeminded people and enjoy music and other art forms together. For some it might offer a philosophy for life. It could incite people to participate in political life to try to improve race and income equality. On the other side, it could also lead people into a life of crime and drugs instead of out of it. In literature, it seems that every subculture has their own drug of choice. In Punk its speed, in Hip-Hop its weed, and in House music it’s XTC. In more extreme variants, heroin could play a role in all subcultures. The amount of money spend on parties, trendy clothing and drugs could have a negative effect on financial health and the amount of drugs one consumes could have negative effects on school or employment performances.

6.6.1.1 Hypothesis for Punk, Hip-Hop and House subcultures concerning the influence these subcultures have for people participating in them The hypothesis is that people participate in subcultural life in all kinds of different ways and that it has different effects on every individual person. Effects may depend on socioeconomic, ethnic and gender characteristics.

7 Results and sub conclusions English summaries of the full interviews are included in Annex 1 at the end of the thesis. In this chapter, relevant statements will be shown in a categorized fashion. Following on Andy Benett’s work, it is firstly important to analyze whether features such as socioeconomic status, ethnicity and gender play a role in the making of a subculture. 306 Secondly, Bennett proposed to investigate whether consumer goods and new media play a role in the formation of subcultures. Thirdly, he suggested to investigate the post-subcultural claim that there subcultural experience is stable or that it meets the criteria ‘fluid, temporary and multiple.’ The subchapters will start with a table categorizing relevant quotes and statements of respondents along the categories. Afterwards, statements will be discusses more extensively and the hypotheses laid out in chapter 6 will be tested. First, the results of the Punk subculture will be shown, secondly those of the Hip-Hop subculture and thirdly the results of the House subculture.

306 Bennett, A. (2011). The post-subcultural turn: some reflections 10 years on. Journal of youth studies, 14(5), 493- 506.

7.1 Punk 7.1.1 Quotes of Punk participants by topic Punk Respondent 1 Respondent 2 Respondent 3 Respondent 4 Respondent 5 Socioeconomic ‘Punks not ‘Some ‘Punk culture Was rebelling ‘Punk culture status content about participants in has diminished against has diminished their Punk culture are through thirty establishment with the socioeconomic unsociable and years of right before. Now has prohibition of status. Can’t violent. Not wing economic become squatting’. complain everybody.’ policies.’ establishment himself.’ ‘Punk is getting himself. ‘Capitalism and its society- Still happy when social injustice critical message Childcare are hot topics in back.’ arrives. punk culture.’ Ethnicity ‘Not many ‘Ethnicity ‘Punks are open ‘Some Punks foreigners at doesn’t matter to all kinds of very leftwing, Punk parties.’ at Punk parties. people. Does others very ‘Racism relevant All are many Hip-Hop rightwing.’ topic in Punk welcome.’ ‘Black projects ‘Colored blues culture.’ blues musicians himself.’ players are often respected in idolized.’ ‘Antifa Punk culture.’ closely related to Punk. Gender ‘Punk crowd is ‘Gender doesn’t ‘It is ‘unpunk’ to 65% male.’ matter at Punk be intolerant to parties.’ some.’ Consumer goods ‘Doesn’t care ‘Punk can make ‘Punk nowadays ‘Punk has Doesn’t like about Punk people self- is more about become more ‘commercialized’ culture being reliant.’ ‘D.I.Y. fashion and less about image and Punk bands like commercialized.’ culture still about politics.’ less about Greenday. alive.’ anarchism.’ New media Respondent Punk pages on Uses the People protest Respondent’s blogs about the internet can internet to on social media own Punk band Punk culture. play a part in download ‘Punk’ instead of on the stills releases making people books. streets. singles on vinyl. aware of injustice. Stability of Punk culture is a Goes to Punk Been listening to Has been in the Was Hippie first. subcultural large part of his parties since age Punk since the Punk scene for Has listened to identity identity. Not 6, visits other 1970s. 24 years. Punk since many genres but all Belonging to 1978, likes interaction with very similar to punk culture is harder music as other Punk. ‘tribalism’. he grows older. subcultures. Effects of Has tight friend Gives him a ‘Has a stable Politically ‘There are some subculture on group in D.I.Y. and ‘fuck ‘Punk’ friend- engaged him in horrible person subculture. you all’ group. Often the past. Has intolerant Music energizes mentality. Punk goes to now discovered people in the him. Interests culture has international that change is Punk scene him in art. made him Punk parties.’ hard to establish which do speed. friends. Engages ‘Punk is D.I.Y. because man is ‘D.I.Y. spirit very him politically. and creativity.’ egoistical. Still much alive.’ enjoys the music.

7.1.2 Socioeconomic status 7.1.2.1 Hypothesis Socioeconomic status still plays a large role in the experience of Punk subculture, the culture celebrates and dramatizes proletarianism and poverty, and is often associated to the squatter scene and profoundly anti-capitalist attitudes.

7.1.2.2 Results Some respondents made statements about their own socioeconomic status. Respondent 1 stated that he can’t complain. He does what he can to get by. Respondent 4 indicated that although he used to rebel against the ‘establishment’, but now he has become a part of it and is happy when child support arrives. He claims squatters should do so too.

Concerning the character of the Punk movement itself, some participants made statements as well. Respondent 1 claims that anti-capitalism and social injustice are hot topics in Punk culture. Respondent 3 claims that Punk culture has diminished through thirty years of rightwing political policies and respondent 5 claims Punk culture has diminished through the prohibition of squatting. Respondent 2 however claims that Punk is getting its political and society-critical message back.

7.1.2.3 Sub conclusion It can be concluded that based on these 5 interviews, socioeconomic status still plays somewhat of a role in Punk subculture. Multiple respondents claimed somewhat of an anti-capitalist and political engagement through their subculture. The conclusion that rightwing economic policies and prohibition of the squatter movement diminished Punk culture indicates that socioeconomic status plays a role in this subculture.

However, some of the Punks interviewed were a bit older and acknowledged that their rebellious political attitude had somewhat diminished. They are now happy with the Government support they can get, do what they have to do to get by and don’t like the violence and drugs associated with the subculture.

7.1.3 Ethnicity 7.1.3.1 Hypothesis Attitudes towards race play a role in this subculture but this could either be ‘white nationalist’ or ‘anti-fascist’.

7.1.3.2 Results A number of respondents made statements relating to ethnicity in the ‘Punk’ scene. Respondent 1 stated that ‘there are foreigners at punk shows but often no more than 5’. Respondent 2 claims that the prejudice exists that all Punks are Nazis. He refutes this claim, stating that ethnicity does not matter in the ‘Punk’ scene. He even claims that black Blues musicians like Bo Diddley are frontrunners of the Punk attitude. He also feels that Punk and Antifa (anti-facism) are closely related, making Punk culture an ally in the fight against racism. Respondent 3 also states that Punks are ‘open to all kinds of people’, even claiming that ‘it is un-Punk to be intolerant to some’. Punk Respondent 4 criticized his colleague that loves Hip-Hop and hates immigrants, and claims that Punks are accepting towards other ethnicities. Respondent 5 praised a Punk bar-owner he knows that regularly invites Ukrainian violinists and black blues guitarists to the stage as the epitome of Punk. This would also suggest that Punks are generally speaking open towards other ethnicities. He did however notice a left wing/ right wing division between Punks.

7.1.3.3 Sub conclusion None of the Punks interviewed showed racist tendencies themselves. Respondent 1 noted that there are few foreigners at Punk events and respondent 5 noted that there are Punks which are very right wing.

Almost all respondents claimed that the Punk spirit is open to all people, and some especially noted that Black blues musicians are perceived as particularly Punk. Respondent 5 claimed that some Punks are very leftwing and respondent 2 linked Punk to Antifa. These findings somewhat confirm the hypothesis. It most again be noted that the interviewed Punks are somewhat older and the fact that they want to cooperate to an interview makes it likely that their opinions are less extreme and radicalized than some in the Punk subculture.

7.1.4 Gender 7.1.4.1 Hypothesis Gender plays a role in this subculture because it’s a very aggressive masculine subculture but there could be some submissive S&M tendencies in the culture.

7.1.4.2 Results There have not been many claims made about gender and the Punk movement in literature, and not many statements have been made by participants. Respondent 1 claimed that the man/woman ratio at Punk events is about 65% male, and 35% female. No direct statements have been made about homosexuals, but some respondents claimed that Punks are tolerant towards all preferences, suggesting that there would be no prejudices against them. Almost all interviewed Punks claimed they liked the loud and aggressive music, but also preached a message of love and unity and were broadly interested in art.

7.1.4.3 Sub conclusion The hypothesis that Punk is an aggressive masculine subculture seems to be both true and false because there are both hard and loud elements in the subculture but softer qualities of life seem also to be appreciated. No statements about homosexuals or S&M tendencies in lyrics were made by respondents, so nothing can be said about that part of the hypothesis. This isn’t surprising however, it’s not something easily broad up in a conversation.

7.1.5 Consumer goods 7.1.5.1 Hypothesis The hypothesis about consumer behavior is that Punk and Hip-Hop are concerned with the authenticity of their subcultures, and have the feeling that their message is subverted by commerciality. The hypothesis for House culture is that these issues play an insignificant role. It might be that all subcultures feel that tickets and going out in general are expensive.

7.1.5.2 Results Concerning consumer goods, respondents show mixed positions. Respondent 1 spoke about ‘Punk looking outfits, now costing hundreds of euros, and being worn by Kim Kardashian’. He does not object to these developments. He calls it a nice way for bands to make some money, and a lot of cheap options to get Punk material are also available. Respondents 3 and 4 do object to the development that Punk has become more about fashion and image than the ‘Punk’ spirit itself. Respondent 5 mentioned that he does not like commercialized festivals displaying new Punk bands like Greenday. However, if Punk material like music, books or art would be commercialized, respondents 1 and 3 also note that torrents give fans the option to download Punk culture material illegally from the internet.

7.1.5.3 Sub conclusion It does appear that Punks have the feeling that their subcultures is being commercialized in a negative way. Respondents claim that Punk has become more about fashion or image instead of the deeper meaning of being ‘Punk’ or talk of commercialized ‘fake’ Punk bands. However, the D.I.Y. spirit is still very much alive, partly because of the internet.

7.1.6 New media 7.1.6.1 Hypothesis For some people, the internet allows them to become submersed in subcultural life. For other people it will likely have the effect that they like parts of all subcultures and pick and choose between parts of them.

7.1.6.2 Results New media seems to play a fairly large role in the Punk community. All Punk respondents were recruited via social media, from a Facebook community in which everybody can share posts about Punk-Rock and in which it seems that some people also now each other in real life. Some stated that the Punk scene in the Netherlands is relatively small, which could make social media a very attractive medium. Respondent 1 noted that where there used to be fanzines, there are now blogs and Facebook communities. He also blogs about Punk himself and puts a lot of time into it. He notes that it isn’t as charming as the fanzines used to be, but a lot easier. Respondent 2 noted that Facebook sites can be used to inform the public about Punk-ideas which are critical of the establishment. He warned however for Internet censuring by the government. Respondent 4 noted that instead of protesting in The Hague, people protest on Social Media, disabling Punk’s potential to effectively change things in society.

7.1.6.3 Sub conclusion There are mixed messages relating to the relationship between Punk and new media like the internet. On the one hand, there are ‘positive’ effects like improved communication and availability of subcultural material and ideas, on the other hand it might decrease the charm of the ‘fanzines’ and the D.I.Y. culture. It also might de-stimulate people to undertake concrete action against certain things which they disagree with in society, because they can vent their frustrations easily on social media, and settle for that.

7.1.7 Stability of subcultural identity 7.1.7.1 Hypothesis The expectation based on literature is that the degree of participation in a subculture ranges from person to person. It might be related to socioeconomic status, ethnicity and gender whether someone defines itself along the lines of the subculture or just picks and chooses from different subcultural styles as they please.

7.1.7.2 Results In literature it was found that it is important to see whether a subculture is something stable and enduring or that people just pick and choose bits and pieces of subcultures as they please, being active in many subcultural scenes at once. Some respondents have made statements concerning these ideas. One respondent indicated that the people visiting the Punk-Rock scene, often have stable and tight friend groups in the scene. Respondent 1 ‘knows his friends for years, all from the Punk scene’. He indicates that for a lot of the ‘Punks’, Punk determines a large part of the identity. Respondent 2 says that ‘Punk is a mentality, of doing it yourself and saying fuck it to people who want to control you’, giving an indication that this mentality is not something fluid, but more like a character-trait. Respondent 3 indicates that he ‘often goes to Punk parties with a stable group of

48 friends’. Respondent 4 says people define themselves according to groups to exclude others and be a part of something, although he does note that his own anti-establishment Punk-mentality has weakened over the years. Many participants note that they don’t only listen to Punk music, but assert other genres they feel attracted to, however, these show a lot of similarities to punk, like for instance: hard rock, metal, and ‘trash’. The participants all describe themselves as part of a clear Punk ‘scene’. Respondents see some connections with Hip-Hop and House though, as they see similarities in the creative processes of the subcultures.

7.1.7.3 Sub conclusion These findings somewhat indicate that the state of the Dutch punk subculture more resembles subcultural theories than post-subcultural theories. Punks seem to be a relatively stable subculture, having tight connections within the scene, and identify with the subculture. Respondents don’t pick and choose bits and pieces of this subculture, moving in and out as they please.

7.1.8 Effects of the subculture on the participant 7.1.8.1 Hypothesis The hypothesis is that people participate in subcultural life in all kinds of different ways and that it has different effects on every individual person. Effects may depend on socioeconomic, ethnic and gender characteristics.

7.1.8.2 Results The Punk participants mainly respond that Punk has given them a mentality and a lifestyle. They often state that they gain inspiration from Punk’s D.I.Y. spirit. It gives people stable friend groups, with which some also travel internationally to go to Punk festivities. It energizes respondents and makes them creative and interested in art. It also makes politically engages some participants. Some participants note that there are also very antisocial and violent people in the Punk scene, which is sometimes related to drug use.

7.1.8.3 Sub conclusion The effects of Punk subculture seem to be diverse but are mostly positive. Respondent claim that violence and drug use also occurs within the Punk scene. At this point, it’s hard to conclude if this is there is a cause and effect between Punk culture and this type of radicalization and which leads to what.

7.2 Hip-Hop 7.2.1 Quotes of Hip-Hop participants by topic Hip-Hop Respondent 6 Respondent 7 Respondent 8 Respondent 9 Respondent 10 Socioeconomic ‘Hip-Hop started Respondent is a Used to be People of all ‘Very politically status as completion white involved in walks of life can involved. between violent Economics crime and drugs. appreciate Hip- Oppression and street gangs.’ student at Street credibility Hop, she used to police violence ‘No ghettos like university. He is important in dance with very is part of daily in America in likes the parties Hip-Hop. neat girls who life.’ the Netherlands, for the girls and are not at all but it can be the music. ‘street’. tough here too.’ Ethnicity ‘White kids can He feels that Hip-Hop parties Parts of Hip-Hop ‘Feels Hip-Hop be ridiculed for most people that attract a mixed are about black is part of African trying to look make Hip-Hop crowd, awareness but heritage.’ black.’ are black or Moroccans often she likes the ethnic but the go to Moroccan dancing part. crowed is very Hip-Hop groups. mixed. Gender Female Guys at Hip-Hop He dislikes Used to dance in ‘Female friends respondent parties often try gangsta-rap that a girl group. approve of riots dislikes lyrics to pick up girls. disrespects Hip-Hop is not against police that humiliate Much more so women. just a male violence to women but still than at Techno culture. increase Black listens to them if parties. awareness.’ the beat is right. She feels like it can be a bad influence to young boys though. Consumer goods She feels like the He likes the Hip- Young children Isn’t interesting culture is very Hop message of buy clothing in materialistic materialistic. love and which makes aspects of Hip- Not all Hip-Hop compassion. them look like Hop but more is like that Doesn’t care gangsters. She on the political though, Fresku about doesn’t like this. message. for instance, materialism. makes emotional Hip- Hop. New media YouTube makes Uses Spotify to ‘Uses internet to Riots incite all her Hip-Hop listen to Hip- get inspiration media attention tracks readily Hop, but also for music and to of the internet. available to her. listens to a lot of find out what’s other styles. new.’ Stability of Hip-Hop is not a Listens to all Is very involved ‘People pick and Hip-Hop large subcultural large part of her kinds of music, in Hip-Hop, it’s a choose parts of part of her identity identity. It is doesn’t identify big part of his styles they like.’ identity. very important with Hip-Hop life. ‘She is for people who identity. passionate make about dancing themselves. but not very much else about Hip-Hop. Effects of She just likes the Likes Hip-Hop Allows him to Likes to get Uses it to subculture on beat and the parties but channel his together with celebrate ethnic person poetic aspects of other parties as energy into friends, doesn’t culture the music. Most well. positive feelings. do drugs, gets Hip-Hoppers excited by she knows have energy of Hip- a marijuana Hop. problem.

7.2.2 Socioeconomic status 7.2.2.1 Hypothesis Socioeconomic status plays a large role in Hip-Hop subculture. Participants come from less prosperous neighborhoods where crime and drug-problems occur frequently. In contradiction to the Punk subculture, wealth is celebrated instead of hated. It’s a more materialistic culture.

7.2.2.2 Results Respondent 6 feels that ‘despite there not being ghetto’s like there are in the United States, there are bad neighborhoods in the Netherlands as well. She feels that Hip-Hop is associated with working-class youth. She perceives that in schools of lower education (VMBO in the Netherlands), more kids listen to Hip-Hop than in higher education (VWO in the Netherlands).’ This would be in line with some literature, which suggests that Hip-Hop is a way for people coming from hardship to vent their frustration. Respondent 8 says that he comes from a life of crime and hardship, and feels like Hip-Hop gave him an opportunity to change. Respondent 10 is also very involved in battling social injustice.

However, respondent 7 claims that he just likes the danceable music and the girls coming to the parties. He also feels that people visiting Hip-Hop parties in the Netherlands are ‘in majority not struggling in life but come to celebrate life’. Respondent 9 also claims that you don’t have to come from hardship to participate in Hip-Hop culture. She enjoys dancing in a Hip-Hop group but doesn’t like certain rougher aspects of Hip-Hop culture.

7.2.2.3 Sub conclusion The hypothesis seems to be true for some but not for all. For some Hip-Hop is a tool to strive to escape from a life of hardship or strive for social justice in general. For others it’s just a way to enjoy music and hang out with friends.

7.2.3 Ethnicity 7.2.3.1 Hypothesis Ethnicity will play a large role in Hip-Hop culture. One of the hypotheses is that there is a large minority share of non-Western minorities in this subculture. In the Netherlands, minorities are often Moroccan, Turkish, Antillian or Suriname. In literature it was seen that Hip-Hop has become more of a mainstream culture since the development Gangsta Rap, so the hypothesis is that white youth is also into Hip-Hop, although to a lesser degree.

7.2.3.2 Results Respondent 6 feels that Hip-Hop belongs to black people, and that ‘white kids acting like black gangsters’ can get ridiculed for this. She feels that discrimination is present in the Netherlands, but more against Dutch-Moroccans than against black people. She feels that ‘teen mothers are common in the Hip-Hop scene, as fathers often desert the family, especially in Antillean families.’ Respondent 7 observed that although successful rappers are often ethnic, Hip-Hop parties attract mixed race crowds. Respondent 8 noted that Moroccans often attend Moroccan Hip-Hop groups. Respondent 9 claimed not to be interested in ‘black awareness’. Respondent 10 is very race-aware and uses Hip-Hop to celebrate her African heritage. She feels that discrimination is a very current topic in Dutch society, she claims that racism is present in Dutch society, for instance when viewing reactions to the Black Pete debate and the refugee crisis. She even viewed violent riots in America as useful, because it might do something about the racism in the country.

7.2.3.3 Sub conclusion The hypothesis seems to be partly true, race plays an important part in the subculture of Hip-Hop, but with a lot of variation between people. It still seems to have a very ‘black’ image, although also popular with white youth. This can sometimes lead to white kids being called out for acting black.

7.2.4 Gender 7.2.4.1 Hypothesis Gender will also play a large role in Hip-Hop culture. Just as Punk, it’s seen as a rather aggressive male culture where women are objectified. However, there are many styles of Hip-Hop and there are many female Hip-Hop stars. The masculine aspect of Hip-Hop culture will likely play a lesser role for women from a minority background.

7.2.4.2 Results Respondent 6 claims that she feels that ‘Hip-Hop is mostly a male culture which denigrates women’. Respondent 7 stated that he goes to Hip-Hop parties for the girls, and asserts that picking up girls is a bigger thing in Hip-Hop parties than at House parties, where boys and girls are more equal, partially because of the drug XTC., which is known to be a love-drug. Respondent 8 also acknowledges that certain Hip-Hop styles are denigrating towards women. For instance by objectifying them in lyrics or clips. He himself doesn’t like this and claims that there are Hip-Hop songs about being good to women as well.

Besides these perspectives, respondent 9 and 10, both female, experience Hip-Hop as empowering. Respondent 9 loves to dance to it with her group of female friends, and respondent 10 feels that the Hip-Hop environment can stimulate her activism.

7.2.4.3 Sub conclusion This suggests, in accordance with findings in literature, that Hip-Hop has many sides. There is a ‘materialistic’ side, which idolizes the gangster life, including the objectification of women. Many of the respondents acknowledged that this side of Hip-Hop exists but none of the respondents interviewed admired this worldview. A reason for this might be that this is not an accepted worldview to share, another reason for this might be participants which adhere to such ideas are not likely to participate in interviews.

There seems to be a more feminine side which uses Hip-Hop in a poetic way and preach unity. This kind of Hip-Hop might try to improve the world, and tackle problems of inequality and racism. It is however not excluded that this activist side can be violent as well.

7.2.5 Consumer goods 7.2.5.1 Hypothesis The hypothesis about consumer behavior is that Punk and Hip-Hop are concerned with the authenticity of their subcultures, and have the feeling that their message is subverted by commerciality. The hypothesis for House culture is that these issues play an insignificant role. It might be that all subcultures feel that tickets and going out in general are expensive.

7.2.5.2 Results Respondent 6 notes that Hip-Hop culture is very ‘materialistic’. Clips often show expensive cars, jewelry or bills of money. This doesn’t match her own identity but as long as the beat is good, she doesn’t mind listening to it. She is afraid that it gives a bad example to young people. Respondent 8 also states that a materialistic ‘gangster’ culture is often associated with Hip-Hop, which diverts attention from real societal issues which he thinks Hip-Hop is also about. Respondent 10 also feels that materialism diverts attention from things that really matter, like your roots, family and heritage. So although they recognize the image of Hip-Hop culture protrayed in the media, they don’t adhere to it themselves, and even criticize the way of thinking, and feel they can use Hip- Hop itself to undermine these thoughts and ideas.

7.2.5.3 Sub conclusion Respondents agree that the ‘materialistic side’ of Hip-Hop exists but don’t adhere to it themselves. They don’t spend lots of money on jewelry or fancy things to look ‘street’.

7.2.6 New media 7.2.6.1 Hypothesis The hypothesis is that for some people, the internet allows them to become submersed in subcultural life. For other people it will likely have the effect that they like parts of all subcultures and pick and choose between parts of them.

7.2.6.2 Results Respondent 6 agrees to the statement that the Internet makes it much easier to get access to Hip- Hop material, stating that ‘the internet and especially YouTube has made all tracks easily accessible for anyone interested’. She likes this and feels the barrier to feel associated to the subculture decreases through the internet. She feels this has a dark side as well though: ‘Kids under the age of 18 can make an 18+ YouTube account and access everything they like, including clips with a lot of violence and nudity in it.’ So although it strengthens the subculture, it might strengthen it too much, and badly influence children. Respondent 8 also uses the internet to get inspiration for Hip-Hop he makes himself. Respondent 10 uses the internet for active promotion of ideas and messages, which is strong support for subcultural theory: the subculture acting as a form of protest.

Respondent 7 also states that he can use the internet to listen to Hip-Hop, but that he doesn’t really make an effort to look for new artists but just puts on popular artists on Spotify.

7.2.6.3 Sub conclusion For all of the respondents interviewed, the Internet appears to play a large role in their subcultural life. Some use it to actively search for all kinds of Hip-Hop tracks that she might like, another for inspiration for his own music, another for participation in political movements. One participant also listens to Hip-Hop tracks on Spotify but likes a lot of other styles as well, making him able to ‘pick and choose’ between subcultures.

7.2.7 Stability of subcultural identity 7.2.7.1 Hypothesis The expectation based on literature is that the degree of participation in a subculture ranges from person to person. It might be related to socioeconomic status, ethnicity and gender whether someone defines itself along the lines of the subculture or just picks and chooses from different subcultural styles as they please.

7.2.7.2 Results Respondent 6 notes that she likes Hip-Hop but also likes a lot of other music styles, most of them ‘Black’ though, like reggae or R&B. She wouldn’t say that Hip-Hop is a large part of her identity but she states that for a lot of people it is. Respondent 7 states that Hip-Hop is not a big part of his identity, he likes to go to parties sporadically but likes all kinds of popular music. Respondent 8 states that Hip-Hop is a very large part of his identity, and that it is a strong passion of his. Respondent 9 states that Hip-Hop dancing is a large part of her identity but all other aspects of Hip-Hop are not. Respondent 10 states that Hip-Hop is a big part of her identity, for political and activist reasons.

7.2.7.3 Sub conclusion From these statements one could conclude that a Hip-Hop identity can be quite stable, some are only passionate about the music, others about the message. Others just like to listen to it if they feel like it but like a lot of other styles of music as well. It seems that Hip-Hop is very diverse and exists in all shapes and sizes.

7.2.8 Effects of the subculture on the participant 7.2.8.1 Hypothesis The hypothesis is that people participate in subcultural life in all kinds of different ways and that it has different effects on every individual person. Effects may depend on socioeconomic, ethnic and gender characteristics.

7.2.8.2 Results Respondents 11, 12 and 14 claim to just like the music to listen or to dance to. For respondents 13 and 15, Hiphop seems to have a larger meaning. For respondent 13, it’s a way to be creative and escape a bad situation by turning negative energy into good. For respondent 15, it’s a way to celebrate ethnic culture in the Netherlands and to politically engage people in the fight for race equality.

7.2.8.3 Sub conclusion The hypothesis seems to be true, for some, Hiphop is just entertainment which someone enjoys some of the time. Others are passionate but still only on a musical level. For others, it has a function of protesting a system or escaping a bad situation. This is indeed partly related to socioeconomic, ethnic and gender characteristics.

7.3 House 7.3.1 Quotes of Punk participants by topic House Respondent 11 Respondent 12 Respondent 13 Respondent 14 Respondent 15 Socioeconomic ‘Mostly highly House surpasses ‘Hardcore- ‘Looking nice is Everyone is status educated people class and age House consist of important in the accepted at at rave parties.’ boundaries. a more working House scene.’ Hardcore-House Even though class white parties. 'Gabbers parties are youth.’ ‘Drugs at often work in expensive. house parties construction or can make people security.’ ‘Tend open up about to be rightwing trauma.’ ‘Parties in political are expensive.’ preference.’ Ethnicity Mostly white, House surpasses ‘Hardcore- ‘Everybody is At Hardcore sometimes black ethnic House consist of equal at House House parties, people. boundaries, a more working parties.’ the crowd is everybody is class white mostly white, equal. youth.’ some Asian or Black people, but no Arabs. Gender ‘Techno parties House culture is ‘Boys and girls ‘Everybody is Women look popular for gays very accepts both open up equal at House tough and and lesbians.’ women. about parties.’ aggressive and ‘Special gay insecurities and are respected techno parties.’ traumatic and equal to experiences at men. Tehno parties.’ Consumer goods Fashionable Tickets and ‘Parties are ‘Looking nice is Hardcore clothing drinks are expensive.’ important in the ‘gabbers’ are important in expensive. Used House scene.’ simplistic and House culture. to buy Punk ‘Drinks are don’t like to look Parties clothing but not expensive, fancy. expensive. anymore. tempting to do XTC because it’s cheaper.’ New media ‘Facebook Afterparties in important to be living rooms are informed about important coming parties.’ where Youtube, ‘Mouth to mouth Spotify and still also Netflix are used important.’ to chill further. Stability of House parties Used to be a Best stable Only goes to ‘Most people subcultural used to be a Punk but now friendships are House parties that attend identity large part of her goes frequently created at sporadically. Hardcore life. ‘Often a to House parties Techno parties. Had boyfriends parties only visit stable group of with daughter who got lost in Hardcore people visiting and husband. drug-use in the parties and are parties.’ subculture. diehard fan.’ Effects of Addicting Does XTC with ‘Creates stable Likes to dance to Uses drugs as subculture on lifestyle, school her daughter friendships music. Stays part of person and money can and husband. where people clear of drugs. subcultural life. suffer. Can’t live can open up.’ ‘Drugs can make Likes to do silly without the ‘Dance like you lose weight.’ dances and music because there’s no socialize. people don’t tomorrow.’ wear a ‘veil’. ‘Drugs does take a toll on the body.’

7.3.2 Socioeconomic status 7.3.2.1 Hypothesis Socioeconomic status will not be important for participants of House culture. It will be more attractive for ‘high-class’ youth than for more marginalized kids.

7.3.2.2 Results Respondent 11 notes that the parties are often very expensive, which excludes poor people somewhat from the scene, which she feels is a bit paradoxical. She feels attendants of House parties are somewhat higher educated than people who for instance frequent Hip-Hop parties. Respondent 12 also notes the expensiveness of a frequent party-lifestyle, but states she can afford it. She likes that it seems to surpass age, class, race, and gender boundaries.

Respondent 13 notes that ‘techno’ parties often consist of somewhat higher educated people than the ‘hardcore’ crowd. But he notes that going to parties frequently has the consequence that people can lose grip on their achievements in their education or jobs, which might be dangerous for someone’s socioeconomic stability. Respondent 14 states the same worries about frequent rave culture as respondent 13, and states that that is why she doesn’t go to parties very often and doesn’t do drugs that much. She does complain that drinking beer is more expensive than taking drugs. She states that drug hangovers are not good for her education.

Respondent 15 notes that within the House subculture, there is a division between regular House and techno music and the ‘Hardcore-House’ subculture. People who attend the latter category are often less highly educated than the first category. People often work in construction or in security jobs. However, although the crowd is a bit rough, they are very kind, generous and accepting at Hardcore parties.

7.3.2.3 Sub conclusion The hypothesis seems to be true for the most part. Almost all participants complain that the House and Techno party lifestyle is expensive. It doesn’t seem to be a protest movement against some system or oppression. People attending these parties seem often to be highly educated. Many of the participants state that boundaries between people, for instance along the lines of socioeconomic status, ethnicity or sexuality seem to disappear through the communal use of drugs and the dreamlike music. Still this culture seems not to be very popular for people from marginalized neighborhoods or people that feel oppressed.

7.3.3 Ethnicity 7.3.3.1 Hypothesis Ethnicity will not be an important aspect in House culture, participants will mostly not be non- Western minorities.

7.3.3.2 Results Respondent 11 notes that the crowd at House and Techno parties is mostly white. There are some black people or people from a mixed heritage but they to don’t seem to adhere to an ‘oppressed minority’ image. She states that the ‘philosophy’ at House parties is one of a Hippie-ideal and people often have the political aspiration to fight racism and poverty, because everyone is born equal. Respondents 12 and 14 state that everybody is equal at House parties.

Respondents 13 and 15 note that the Hardcore variant of House is more visited by white people which have a somewhat right leaning ideology. Respondent 15 notes that a lot of people going to Hardcore parties feel like Dutch culture is threatened by immigrants.

7.3.3.3 Sub conclusion The hypothesis that ethnicity plays a smaller role in House culture than Punk and Hip-Hop seems to be true. The crowd is mostly white and in the ethnic people visiting House parties, their race doesn’t seem to be a large part of their identity. Participants state often state that race is not issue at House parties because everyone is equal. This seems to be different in the more aggressive Hardcore house parties, where people perceive Muslims more as a threat.

7.3.4 Gender 7.3.4.1 Hypothesis Gender will not be very important in House culture, it will be friendly for males, females, heterosexuals and homosexuals.

7.3.4.2 Results Respondent 11 notes that House music is often popular within the gay and lesbian community because they like dreamy music. Respondents 12 and 14 state that House and Techno parties are very popular for boy as well as girls because everyone is equal and respondent 13 claims that the drug use at House parties creates a ‘gender’ free environment where people love all and talk to all without there often being motives of picking up girls. Respondent 7, interviewed at an Hip-Hop party, confirmed this view. Respondent 15 states there is a lot of respect towards females within the Hardcore house culture.

7.3.4.3 Sub conclusion Hypothesis seems to be true. House culture creates somewhat of a gender-free society through its everyone is equal vibe created through repetitive beats and XTC culture.

7.3.5 Consumer goods 7.3.5.1 Hypothesis The hypothesis about consumer behavior is that Punk and Hip-Hop are concerned with the authenticity of their subcultures, and have the feeling that their message is subverted by commerciality. The hypothesis for House culture is that these issues play an insignificant role. It might be that all subcultures feel that tickets and going out in general are expensive.

7.3.5.2 Results As has been described in the previous subchapter, many participants state that a frequent party lifestyle is very expensive. There are some difference in the perception of the subculture’s materialistic philosophy.

Respondent 11 states that there is somewhat of a Hippie ideal which considers everyone equal, and respondent 12 claims that the House subculture surpasses class boundaries. However respondent 14 notes that looking good is a big part of the House subculture, which might cause people to buy expensive clothing. Respondent 15 states that this is less the case in the ‘Hardcore- House’ subculture, where people can wear and look whatever they like.

7.3.5.3 Sub conclusion The hypothesis seems to be confirmed in the sense that there doesn’t appear to be a problem of ‘commodification’ of the subculture. There is no message that gets subverted through consumerism. There are some nuances between respondents and different subcultures towards the way that appearance matters. At Hardcore house parties, this seems to be less of an issue.

7.3.6 New-media 7.3.6.1 Hypothesis The hypothesis is that for some people, the internet allows them to become submersed in subcultural life. For other people it will likely have the effect that they like parts of all subcultures and pick and choose between parts of them.

7.3.6.2 Results Respondent 11 says new-media is important in the House subculture because Facebook events show exactly where the parties are, who is performing at them, which one of friends is attending, how expensive they are etc. But she states that mouth to mouth advertisement is very important as well. Respondent 13 notes that ‘after parties’, often at home after a regular party, are a very important aspect of House culture as well. The fact that almost all music is also available at home through the internet, has a big influence on that.

7.3.6.3 Sub conclusion New media seems to play a somewhat smaller role for participants of House subculture. Possibly because there is less of a broader philosophy or ideology than in the Punk or Hip-Hop culture, participants of House, Techno or Gabber culture just use the internet to be informed about where parties are, and listen to music on after-parties.

7.3.7 Stability of subcultural identity 7.3.7.1 Hypothesis The expectation based on literature is that the degree of participation in a subculture ranges from person to person. It might be related to socioeconomic status, ethnicity and gender whether someone defines itself along the lines of the subculture or just picks and chooses from different subcultural styles as they please.

7.3.7.2 Results Many respondents note that House music is often a large part of someone’s identity. This is often connected to the fact that parties and their drug use are somewhat addictive and create a fear of missing out. Many respondents claim that participants of this ‘subculture’ are often stable and don’t attend other subcultures as well. Within the House subculture, there are some subgenres which include regular House, its harder variant Techno and the even harder variant ‘Hardcore- House’, and people often prefer only one of these as well, according to respondents 13 and 15.

7.3.7.3 Sub conclusion Participation in House culture seems to be stable, some participants claim not to be able to live without it and have stable friend groups with which they visit these parties.

7.3.8 Effects of the subculture on the participant 7.3.8.1 Hypothesis The hypothesis is that people participate in subcultural life in all kinds of different ways and that it has different effects on every individual person. Effects may depend on socioeconomic, ethnic and gender characteristics.

7.3.8.2 Results More than in the Punk and Hiphop subcultures, drugs and addiction seem to play a big role in House subculture. All respondents except respondent 14 claim that drugs is an essential part of House. It allows people to dance all night, feel love towards everybody and have therapeutic conversations. However, multiple respondents note that it takes a toll on the body, finances, and school and work performance. You need some time to recover and during that time, it is hard to concentrate and be productive. Multiple respondents talk about the addictiveness of House

58 culture. There is a fear to miss out. Tickets cost a lot of money. Respondent 11 notes that as people grow up and have to be responsible, they often drop out of the party lifestyle. Almost all respondents however, have friend groups which are very close because of this subculture.

7.3.8.3 Sub Conclusion The hypothesis is somewhat less true than in the Punk and Hiphop subcultures. Participants almost all use this subculture to dance all night and love one another. As was described in literature, this subculture doesn’t seem to be an attempt to establish change in society, but to escape it for a night at a time. Respondents didn’t particularly note that they used this subculture to be politically or artistically engaged. Drugs seem to be a big part of the subculture, independent of socioeconomic status, ethnicity and gender.

8 Discussion and final conclusion This thesis has given an insight in to the world of the subcultures ‘Punk’, ‘Hip-Hop’ and ‘House’. It has tried to give a detailed answer to the main research question: To what extent is participation in the Punk, Hip-Hop and House subcultures in the Netherlands the consequence of cultural victimization, and how do these subcultures offer solutions to that cultural victimization? There are numeral aspects to the answer of this question, and these will be summarized in this chapter. 8.1 Comparison between Punk, Hip-Hop and House subcultures 8.1.1 Socioeconomic status and ethnicity As expected on the basis of the literature review, socioeconomic status seems to play a bigger role in Punk and Hip-Hop culture than in House culture. Participants of House culture showed characteristics of a post-subcultural world in which a subculture isn’t used to rebel against class or race boundaries but escape society into a dreamlike state for a while, often with the help of drugs like XTC. The respondents that participated in Punk and Hip-Hop culture claimed somewhat more of a ‘victim’ role, for instance through their socioeconomic status or ethnicity. A ‘Marxist’ narrative of a suppressed group of people which rebels against a society which suppresses them played a more visible part in these subcultures. The respondents often claimed this either for their own lives or for the identity of the subculture as a whole. Some of the participants of Punk culture claimed that they used to be more rebellious and politically active in the past. This could simply be attributable to age, but it could also be a symptom of a ‘Risk-Society’, discussed in chapter 3. A more globalist world and less control over your individual life could lead you to be risk-averse. This might shine through some of the answers that Punks gave in their interviews. They for instance stated that people demonstrate on social media instead of in real life. Or they said that they were just doing what they had to get by and were happy that they received child support. On the other side, they didn’t claim that they used consumer goods and services to determine their identity. Another explanation could be, as was discussed in chapter 5, that wellbeing is pretty high in the Netherlands and ‘class-differences’ don’t exist in the same degree as they did in the 1970s in the U.S. or the U.K.

Conservative thinkers might even say that Punk and Hip-Hop participants participate in ‘competitive victimhood’.307 They might argue that they use skin color or affluence as a way to avoid responsibility and get special status. They might look at violent riots instigated by ‘Black lives matter’ or ‘Antifa’ with disdain and view people that sympathize with them as unjustified ‘white guilt’. Ideas about these topics are very ideological.

8.1.2 Consumer goods and stability of subcultural identity. Only some of the Punk participants really claimed to dress like Punks, in leather, with mohawks etc. Of the Hip-Hop participants, none claimed they wear a recognizable Hip-Hop style of clothing. One Hip-Hop participant stated that 14 year old kids sometimes try to ‘dress gangsta’ to impress people but that this is generally perceived to be unauthentic or posing. Another Hip-Hop participant tries to have an authentic African look, but this isn’t exclusively related to Hip-Hop culture either. Of the House participants, none identified a typical ‘House’ style of clothing. Only the respondent who loved ‘Gabber’ house, spoke of a shaved head and tattoos. A materialistic attitude or obsession with style over content does seem to concern participants of Punk and Hip- Hop subcultures. It diverts attention from the authentic spirit of the subculture.

It could be concluded that subcultures nowadays aren’t as recognizable as they might have been before. Mods, Teds, Hippies, Skinheads, Rastafari’s, Goths and Gabbers might have been more common to be seen in public life a few decades ago. This could indeed be attributable to risk- society, an intense focus on individuality, and a pluralism of available styles. It could be that on the area of ‘clothing’ and signs, subcultures have disappeared a bit from the public eye. On the

307 Young, I. F., & Sullivan, D. (2016). Competitive victimhood: a review of the theoretical and empirical literature. Current Opinion in Psychology, 11, 30-34.

60 other side, although maybe not that recognizable on the outside, on the inside people still seem to be grounded pretty stable within one subculture. The respondents interviewed for this thesis often stuck with one of the subcultures Punk or Hip-Hop or House for a long time and have stable friend groups within these subcultures.

8.1.3 New media The internet seems to play a very diverse role in the lives of people involved in subcultures. Some participants of Punk and Hip-Hop culture use it to activate or stay informed on political issues like race equality, police brutality or antifascism. Others use it to listen to popular subcultural music on Spotify or really scavenge the internet in search of all the newest tracks. Others use it to blog about their subculture or connect with fans all over the country or the world. And again others just use to be informed about where the next party is. The internet is used for many different things, but it’s certain to have changed the experience of subcultural life.

8.1.4 Gender As expected from the findings of the conducted literature research, Punk and Hip-Hop seem to be more masculine cultures than House. Those lyrics are often hard and aggressive, and sometimes denigrating towards women. However, participating in these subcultures could be empowering for women, as it might toughen up their identity. One female respondent within the Hip-Hop culture used Hip-Hop culture to fight for the position of black female minorities in the Netherlands. Gender equality seems to be the highest in House culture, where it is stated that repetitive dreamy music combined with XTC use creates a ‘love society’ where everyone loves each other in a more or less non-sexual way. At Hip-Hop parties, females might be approached by men more often with sexual interest.

8.1.5 Effects of subcultures on participants Subcultures seem to have many different effects, and offer many opportunities to people involved. It offers opportunities to socialize, be creative and be politically engaged, on the other side it can also lead to addiction, violence, materialism and drug-use. There is a possibility that subcultures lead to radicalization in some instances. Those may be related to socioeconomic status, ethnicity or sexuality.

8.1.5.1 Radicalization One can conclude that participants of Dutch subcultures show characteristics of both the subcultural as the post-subcultural vision on youth culture. There is a ‘hardcore’ group which is fully submerged in the subculture and there is a ‘peripheral’ group which attends parties occasionally, but doesn’t necessarily share the same visions as the core group. They might derive their identity from other characteristics, like their job or another hobby.

The ‘hardcore’ part of the subculture often has feelings of ‘oppression’ and has solution which might be a bit radical. This could be a vision of anarchy in Punk, a vision of violent protesting in the Hip-Hop culture, or a vision of non-stop raving on drugs in culture. This ‘hardcore’ submersion in a subculture might be labeled as ‘radical’. Criteria stated by McCauley and Moskalenko308 about radicalization might apply to this kind of radicalization as well. Personal or group grievances, love, a slippery slope, risk and status, and unfreezing might apply to ‘radicalized’ subcultural individuals and polarization, isolation and intergroup-competition can apply between groups. These factors could cause people to submerse in subculture in a way which might be dangerous for themselves and/or others. 8.1.6 Recommendations A Recommendation could be to install special social workers consisting of members of the subculture which have experience in dealing with subcultural issues. Older Punks, Hip-Hop fans

308 McCauley, C., & Moskalenko, S. (2011). Friction: How radicalization happens to them and us. Oxford University Press.

61 or ravers could guide young people in their struggles, whether they be socioeconomic, ethnic, or gender related, or maybe based on other personal issues. These people might need someone to talk to which they can relate to and which has some wisdom to offer. Another recommendation might be to bring ‘hardcore’ music styles more into the mainstream, for example by creating ‘hardcore’ sports classes where the energy of Hardcore-Punk, Hardcore-Hip-Hop and Hardcore- House music could be channeled into healthy behavior and people might be brought out of a situation of drug abuse or radicalization. Finally, of course the government should work on improving the living situation of young people in the Netherlands, through education about drugs, countering income-inequality, and racism.

8.1.7 Limitations and further research The number of participants is limited. Hard conclusions cannot be drawn yet. Possibly, with an increase in the number of participants, other relevant aspects of subcultural life would become visible. Because of the exploratory nature of this thesis, many different hypotheses have been tested, which could have led to less depth in the analysis. Future research could investigate certain aspects of the topic more extensively. Furthermore, it would be interesting to know if the recommendations fit the needs of subculture members. Subcultures are important for our society. Globalization and increasing pluralism gives way to new dynamics, which can be an enrichment but can also cause specific problems. Research and insight into the many subcultures the Netherlands knows is also important for the integration issue. Minorities might feel unheard or misunderstood, causing them to form extremist subcultures, causing major problems to society in the form of terrorist attacks. This thesis might give inspiration to more robust quantitative research to counter those problems.

9 Annex 1. Summaries of the interviews 9.1 Punk 9.1.1 Respondent 1 Respondent 1 has been listening to Punk music for 22 years. He feels that in that time, some things have changed within the Punk mentality. He explains that he himself can’t complain and does what he has to support himself, but he imagines other ‘Punks’ feel different about that or don’t want to participate in the system. The music itself is generally critical of society: capitalism, injustice and racism are still relevant subjects nowadays and are still being sung about. Within the Punk public, in the shows in his area, about 65% is male, age is between 20 and 50 years, which differs per show. There are foreigners but often no more than 5. Of people who visit these Punkrock concerts, Punk determines a large part of their identity. Tight friend groups come into being through the Punkrock subculture, he met all his friends through the scene. People wear leather jackets with studs and patches, and although he says the clothing has been commercialized, with for instance Kim Kardashian wearing Punk clothes, he doesn’t mind that, because there are royalties payed to bands, they can earn some money from it. He thinks the internet offers possibilities for the continuance of the Do It Yourself mentality, where there used to be fanzines, there are now blogs and Facebook pages. Respondent also blogs himself, about reviews and interviews with Punk- bands, and puts a lot of time into this. He explains that it isn’t as charming as it used to be, but a lot easier. In Punk-Rock music, he feels attracted to the energy and the mentality, he likes all kinds of loud music, but all within the ‘hardrock’ atmosphere. He doesn’t really see interaction between other subcultures, like Hip-Hop and House, but textual Punk shows some resemblances to some kinds of Hip-Hop, for instance Public Enemy. Not with gangster-rap which only revolves around money and ho’s. He explains that next to music, Punk also revolves around other forms of art, like movies and books, of which he gave some examples.

9.1.2 Respondent 2 Respondent has been listening to Punk music since the age of 6, when he found his mother’s Sex Pistols LP. He goes to concerts a lot, not only Punk. Sometimes he goes with a group, other times he goes by himself or meets them there. He likes that Punk is getting its society-critical message back, which had weakened in the mid-nineties. He also goes to Punk, Hardcore Punk and trash music, in which he notices some differences in the crowd although some people visit both. All people are welcome at a concert, gender or ethnicity do not matter, which really shows in the diverse crowd. There are a lot of prejudices about the Punk crowd, like that they’re racist or Nazi, but that is wrong. A couple of groups from England ruined it for the rest. There still are some violent ‘Punks’ in the Dutch Punk scene but he believes that they are in every music movement, even if you listen to classical music. He explains the attraction of the Punkrock movement is it’s mentality of ‘Fuck you, fuck it, I’ll do it myself.’ He doesn’t relate this to clothing or concerts because for instance Blues musicians like Bo Diddley already had this kind of attitude. He believes Punk music can make people self-reliant, as long as it operates in unity. He feels the internet can play a role in that, for instance with Facebook groups like Antifa (Antifacism) and copblock, can show people that the government and the police are acting wrong, corrupt and overly aggressive. He tells that the Punk culture and D.I.Y. mentality haven’t died yet and won’t for a long time, but notes that the things he says are his own opinions and not necessarily those of other ‘Punks’.

9.1.3 Respondent 3 Respondent 3 has been listening to Punk music since its beginning at the end of the seventies. He explains that a lot has changed since then, which he thinks is the result of thirty years of tough rightwing economic policies. The Punk mentality has not changed, but hasn’t been invented by Punks and now also exist outside of the Punk atmosphere. However, he notices that Punk today is more about fashion and music and less about the politics, although there are still some political messages in songs. The scene in the Netherlands appears to be relatively small, it is bigger in Spain or Germany. He often visits these places with a stable group of friends. He often visits Germany, where the scene is more alive. And in the Netherlands, there often are only old ‘Punks’ who

63 complain about everything being better in the past. Punk also used to be a larger part of someone’s identity, at the end of the 1980s it began to institutionalize, which he didn’t like, he knows a lot of people who ‘are’ more Punk than people who ‘look’ Punk. And people also listen to music outside of Punk. Respondent did a lot of large Hip-Hop projects in the last ten years, and noticed that there are a lot of similarities between the old Punk of the late seventies and early eighties, and the contemporary underground Hip-Hop scene. Do It Yourself, sharing, unfortunately also stealing, but a lot of creativity. Breakcore ‘House’ parties are a lot more Punk than some of the Punk-bands of 2016. When a subculture becomes a straitjacket, in which there are rules about what is and what is not ‘Punk’, it’s the death of creativity. Participant loves all sorts of art, he loves books and goes to an exposition at least once a month. Older Punks are open for all kinds of people, and participant feels that it is even un-Punk to be intolerant to some. The conversation ended with some quotes explaining Punk is about passion, heart and soul.

9.1.4 Respondent 4 Respondent has been in the Punk scene for 24 years, from the age of 14. The Punk ideology hasn’t changed in his perception, but it’s getting older. In the beginning he was rebelling against the establishment, now he is part of the establishment, and his Punk attitude is reduced to mostly a love for the music. When he hears younger Punks complain about how bad things are, he thinks to himself, well, that’s just the way it is. The Punk attitude is still fuck the state, long live anarchy, which is good because society needs an opposing force, but he himself is convinced that we have to learn to live with the state. He said he can yell ‘fuck the state’ as long as he wants, but he is happy when child support arrives. Punk doesn’t really change anything anymore, if we want to do that, we have to protest on the streets in The Hague, not on social media. And young Punks today are proud to be squatters, but they do collect benefits from the state. It’s more about image nowadays and less about anarchist-work, but those developments had been going on since before he became Punk himself. And we can complain all we want, but politicians are led by money and don’t listen to the people. If you really want to change anything, you have to climb to the top of the corporate world, and by the time you get there, you don’t want to change things anymore. Man is egotistic, he wants the best for himself. As long as there is good music, respondent says he is content nowadays.

Punk relates to other subcultures only in a sense that you can say you are part of something and others don’t, it’s the same for Punks, goths, or gabbers. Ideology isn’t really related to music styles anymore. You can love Hip-Hop and hate immigrants, as was told to him by a colleague. People are more acceptant towards other tastes, and attitude towards the establishment is of less importance. When thanked for helping with the interview, he said: ‘it’s the Punk way, haha’.

9.1.5 Respondent 5 Respondent has listened to Punk music since 1978, but feels that it needed to grow on him, and that he is one of the rare people who appreciates increasingly louder music as he grew older. In 1978 he was a full-on Hippie, but when he heard the stranglers and sex pistols, he dove into that, also as a musician, but it started out relatively soft. When he became a dad, he felt too busy to play, but since 2004 he has been playing in Punk-bands again. His current band also released a D.I.Y. single, on real vinyl. He feels that the D.I.Y. spirit is being blocked by increasingly stringent regulations, like the squatting prohibition and the fact that music can only be 85 decibels anymore. There are less Punk havens left than there were in the beginning, but the music is still alive. In the early days one didn’t care what the government had to say, but at his age he doesn’t want to be beaten up anymore. Politically, Punk has always been leftwing and rightwing, some people feel the government acts too hard, and others feel it acts too soft. He dreads that Punk has more or less become invisible, but he never was charmed by violence. The movement turned when people needed a permanent residence to get benefits in the 1980s, which was not the case before that time. Most hardcore squatters have become entrepreneurs and others got a job. He mentions however that there is possibly a large underground group which are completely off the radar. When asked about new Punks entering the scene, he indicated to be unsure. He lives in the east of

64 the country, which is more metal oriented in his perception, and thinks it’s more alive in the north of the country (in provinces Groningen and Friesland), because he doesn’t visit commercial festivals with bands like Green Day. He didn’t feel all Punk was necessarily commercialized, and give an example of a man who has ran a café for 35 years where all Punk bands have played but who also just as easily gives the stage to violinists from the Ukraine or a colored blues player on acoustic guitar. Everything is allowed, as long as it comes from the heart, which is the pure Punk- idea according to him. He notes however that he considers to stop on account of the complex regulation the government imposes on him. The government’s social engineering idea, which started in the ‘70s has gone too far. When he shared a link from the Evangelic Broadcasting station and I asked him whether he thought religion and Punk could be combined together, he said he thought not, because an aversion of systems can’t be combined with conforming to a book. However, Punks don’t care if you are religious, because someone is who he is. He noticed however than not everybody is as tolerant as that in the Punk scene, because it also contains horrible people, but he doesn’t know them personally, and he thinks that that behavior is drug related, specifically speed.

9.2 Hip-Hop 9.2.1 Respondent 6 Respondent likes to hear the anger in the voices of rappers, like Tupac and Biggie. It started off as a street culture, to express frustration, which could cause fights and competition between violent street gangs. But she especially likes the irregular heavy bass beats associated with Hip-Hop. This attracts people even though they don’t feel associated with the Hip-Hop culture. The beat is more important than the lyrics these days, lyrics could be very vulgar towards women, and idolize crime and materialism. She dislikes those lyrics, but if the beat is good, she will listen to it, even though it’s humiliating towards females. She also likes emotional rap, like the Dutch rapper Fresku, which she finds almost poetic and can give her goosebumps and make her emotional. She feels that although the Netherlands doesn’t know ghettos like America, life can be bad in certain Dutch neighborhoods too, and Hip-Hop can mean something to people which feel recognition in the music. It can inspire people to think that they can reach anything if they have the drive to do it. Some people don’t feel that way about Hip-Hop at all, and find it aggressive or posturing. She feels it’s a little bit associated with a working-class environment, and with teenage boys who want to be perceived as gangsters. White kids can be ridiculed for acting like black guys. Some Hip-Hop tracks might give them a bad example in treating women, especially if they are really young. There are certainly higher educated older people who like the music too. She explains that there are all kinds of Hip-Hop, for example, she also likes the innovative music of the group Outkast. She feels political Hip-Hop is less common in the Netherlands than in America, because police discrimination is less extreme here. If discrimination is present in the Netherlands, it is targeted more against Dutch-Moroccans than against black people. Teen mothers are common in the Hip- Hop scene, and fathers often leave the family, especially in Antillean families. She feels people often outgrow Hip-Hop because kids like to rebel against everything if they are teenagers, and stop doing that if they grow up. She feels the internet and especially YouTube has made all tracks easily accessible for everyone interested. She feels Hip-Hop is not a large part of the identity of people, except if they rap themselves. The music is very much associated with the use of marijuana.

9.2.2 Respondent 7 Respondent really likes Hip-Hop parties but feels there are too little of them, even in Amsterdam. He loves the energy that it arouses and the way that people can dance to it. Respondent studies Economics at university. He doesn’t really like Hardcore Hip-Hop or Hip-Hop with political messages in them, but mainly likes Hip-Hop to which he can easily dance to. Besides Hip-Hop he likes all kinds of danceable music, for instance techno and rock music. He says he wouldn’t claim he can deeply identify with the Hip-Hop culture, or that it forms part of his identity, but he feels

65 that that is the case for a lot of people, especially those who make the music themselves. He feels that successful rappers are often black or ethnic, but that the crowd is very much mixed. People who attend Hip-Hop parties are definitely not always struggling in life, but come to celebrate life, and try to pick up girls for example. That is definitely a big part of Hip-Hop parties, much more than in techno parties, where people are more loving in a kind way, without trying to get girls home with them. He ascribes that mostly because to the drug XTC, which makes people just want to dance and cuddle. He says that the internet can be a great place to hear new songs but he uses it mostly to listen to popular artists at Spotify and doesn’t make an effort to discover new Hip-Hop artists himself.

9.2.3 Respondent 8 Respondent makes Hip-Hop himself; he is a rapper himself. He claims that it is his life and his passion, and that it saved him from a bad spot. He comes from a life of crime and drug abuse and now tries to channel his energy through the making of Hip-Hop music. He gets a lot of inspiration through the internet and uses it to find out what’s new. He tries to inspire people with lyrics and to preach about good qualities in life like providing for your family, loving your partner, and being compassionate for others. He dislikes gangster rap which preaches violence and humiliates women. When he performs, his parents and his parents friends come to see him perform, because his lyrics are about hope and love. However, he says that in Hip-Hop culture, ‘street-credibility’ is important. He can rap about peace and respect because he comes from a life of crime and struggle. Someone who doesn’t come from that kind of situation isn’t respected, because people feel that they don’t know what they are talking about. He feels that there is a very mixed crowd at his events, but not many Moroccans, because they mostly go to Moroccan Hip-Hop groups.

9.2.4 Respondent 9 Respondent used to be in a Hip-Hop dance group. She used to go to dance battles and met a lot of people who were very passionate about Hip-Hop over there. It was a street-dance group and not a break-dance group. People there were mostly passionate about the dancing part and not really in the other aspects of Hip-Hop culture, like gang violence or black awareness. These people were mostly excited by the energy which is excited by dancing in a group, and the entertaining of a crowd. She recalls that most of the street-dancers came from very neat families and are very well behaved and decently dressed. She feels that Hip-Hop is very diverse nowadays, and people of all walks of life can learn to appreciate it. It has become a very mainstream culture from which people can pick and choose elements that they like and dispose of things they don’t like. For instance, she doesn’t like guys of 14 years old with baggy pants who brag all the time and try to act tough. Just be yourself is her credo. Respondent has never tried drugs but likes to drink wine.

9.2.5 Respondent 10 Respondent likes Hip-Hop because she feels it is part of her African heritage. She wears a long colorful African shirt and dons a large afro. She tells that she is very politically involved, and feels that discrimination and racism is still a large part of Western culture. Especially in the U.S., where police violence against the black population is a part of everyday life, which causes violent riots, something which she approves of, because it seems to be the only way to get attention in the media. Although she doesn’t approve of the killing of police officers, she feels that this might have the effect that police officers think twice before they shoot someone, because they don’t want to escalate the conflict which by now has gathered massive media attention, also on the internet. She explains that most of her female friends feel the same way. In the Netherlands, police violence against minorities is less extreme than in the U.S., but when you look for instance at the Black Pete debate, or the reactions to the refugee crisis, one can see that there is racism present in the Netherlands too. Not all Hip-Hop that she likes is political but Hip-Hop parties are a place to meet likeminded people and celebrate ethnic culture. She loves the language of Papiamento, which her friends from the Dutch Antilles speak.

9.3 House 9.3.1 Respondent 11 Respondent says the crowd at rave-parties is mostly white, but sporadically, black people are also seen. People from all steps of life visit the parties, but mostly highly educated people. Techno parties are also popular with gays and lesbians, the music is often a bit dreamy. You can see this for instance in the party ‘Holy Pink’ in Tilburg, an event celebrate homosexuality. She went to these parties with roommates, but when it became a too large part of her identity, she knew she had to stop. She started to develop problems with money, school and health. The body can’t handle too much partying, especially if there is drugs involved. Fashionable clothing is seen as important in the House community. There is a strong Hippie feeling present in House parties, a feeling of love and peace. It is often an escape from everyday life but there is also a feeling that something needs to change in society, there are often very like-minded people at House parties. For a large part it are often the same people who visit House parties, but there often are new people added to the House-community, and sometimes people stop attending rave parties because they are short on money or need to grow up. It has an addictive effect on people. She also feels that raving comes in waves, like doing sports, sometimes you do it a lot, sometimes a bit less. People who have less money, might be attracted to subcultures which are a bit cheaper, because the parties are expensive. The internet is important in rave culture, especially Facebook events, but there is often mouth to mouth advertisement. Respondent doesn’t listen to the music in her spare time. There are no taboos at House parties, but it is kind of taboo to talk about it towards colleagues at work, especially if you rave very frequently. The subculture definitely leads people to experiment with drugs, also those who wouldn’t come in touch with it regularly. This might be dangerous for people who are emotionally unstable.

9.3.2 Respondent 12 Respondent is an older woman who used to be a Punk-rocker, now she goes to House parties with her daughter and husband, which she likes a lot. She explains that she really likes young people, and likes that she can talk to all kinds of people at these kinds of parties, especially because it surpasses class, age and race boundaries. She doesn’t associate House parties with particular clothing anymore, but as a Punk she had a Mohawk and a leather jacket with studs. She tells that she feels lonely in the little village where she lives. Her husband works in Germany and often is away from home and her daughter works in the army. She does have a tight peer group in the House subculture, which is tolerant to drug-use, even in the family. She tells me that her lifestyle of parties is expensive but that she can manage it because they are older and her husband works. She feels that the philosophy of House music is love, friendship and respect. She states that she cannot live without music and parties, because people don’t wear a veil there. In normal life, there always is a distance between people, and there is enormous difficulty to reach beyond the point of small talk and really show your heart to people. People are at their best at House parties.

9.3.3 Respondent 13 Respondent argues that the harder version of House ‘Techno’ is a big part of his life. His best friendships are all created in the Techno scene, because it creates so many stories. All kinds of crazy things happen at these parties, in which drugs often plays a large role. It’s very therapeutic, girls and boys open up about problems which they have been afraid to talk about for many years. Traumatic experiences, secret feelings for people, heartbreak and insecurities. These all come to light at a party and they are instantly supported by a large group of people which just want to hug them. At the same time, the talking about these kinds of problems doesn’t make the mood depressed. Moments of deep conversation are alternated with moments of total surrender to the music, where people are not afraid to totally let themselves go and dance like there is no tomorrow. The fact that so much happens at Techno parties, does create a fear of missing out. If you miss a party, you are afraid that all kinds of things have been said and all kinds of crazy things have happened. This can be burdensome for people, because firstly, parties are expensive and secondly, drug use takes its toll on your body. It can be bad for production at school or work. Without drugs, you are in a very different vibe at a party, which makes it hard to connect to the

67 group in the same way. Furthermore, after a party, which often lasts until deep in the morning, there is the after party at home, where mattresses are laid out on the floor and people cuddle up against each other and listen to music further on Youtube or Spotify or watch Netflix movies. If you haven’t been to the party, you feel a bit out of place in such an environment, you have too much energy to be laying around all day. This also creates a bit of frustration for roommates who don’t like Techno music and feel confronted with a bunch of zombies that lay around and claim the living room all Sunday. There is also a bit of a schism between the Techno and Hardcore subcultures, where people often dislike each other’s music. Respondent has the feeling that the ‘Hardcore-House’ subculture consists out of somewhat more working class people.

9.3.4 Respondent 14 Respondent goes to House and Techno parties sporadically but doesn’t like drugs that much. She had a couple of boyfriends who took their drug use a bit too far and she has seen them lose control of their studies and life stability. She does like the music though, and feels she doesn’t need the drugs that much. There’s a mixed crowd and everybody is nice to each other no matter who you are. She can drink a couple of beers and also have a good time. She regrets that this is so much more expensive though. If you want to feel a bit tipsy in a party which might last 8 hours, you need to drink a lot, which can cost up to 30 euros, at a festival of multiple days, this can even be a lot more. If you do XTC, you spend 3 euros on a pill, and you can dance all day long. You just need a bottle of water which you can refill in the bathroom. Furthermore, it kills your appetite so you don’t have to spend a large amount of money on food as well. For girls who feel insecure about being a little overweight, this might be tempting as well because you lose weight in that lifestyle, whereas beer and fast-food makes you gain weight. It is even often said that sporadic XTC use is better for your brain than excessive alcohol consumption. This makes it tempting to just do drugs. But she has seen people lose control, and she doesn’t like the hangover afterwards. Alcohol hangovers are mostly physical but XTC hangovers just make her feel suicidal and depressed, because all serotonin is drained from her body. This can last many days, and be bad for her schoolwork. She is happy that she has a friend that feels the same as her, and doesn’t mind staying clear of drugs at parties. And she doesn’t really have to drink that much, the loud music energizes her enough. Finally she notes that looking nice is important in the House scene. Everyone puts on nice clothing which can be somewhat expensive.

9.3.5 Respondent 15 Respondent likes House music but mainly the hardcore version of it, which is popular in the Netherlands. He really likes the festivals ‘Dominator’ and ‘Decibel’. He likes the fact that the people at these parties are often very tough and a bit simplistic. People often work in construction or in security and are frequently covered in tattoos. However, at a Hardcore party, possibly due to the high use of XTC, but also of other drugs like amphetamines or cocaine, they are the nicest people. It doesn’t matter what you look like or where you come from, you are accepted. Everyone talks to each other and does silly dances while going ‘hard’ on drugs and music. Most people who attend Hardcore parties, only like Hardcore parties and are diehard Hardcore fan. Other music, like Techno or House is often perceived as too soft and Hardcore fans often don’t really like guitar- music or something like that. People often have right-wing political preferences but they are not neo-Nazis or something. He believes that a lot of people who have extreme right ideologies listen to Dutch folk-music, like Andre Hazes. The crowd is mostly white, with sporadic Asian or Black people attending, but almost no Muslims. Most people feel that Muslim culture is not compatible with Western culture and feel threatened by Islam. The position of women in Hardcore culture is quite high. Although they are often provocatively dressed they are often very tough themselves and often look a bit aggressive. They are equal to men and aren’t bothered much by men trying to treat them in a ‘cattle market’ way. Instead, the parties and drugs facilitate a situation in which people are completely open to each other and treat each other sincere and respectful.

10 Bibliography

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