Straight edge

For the drawing or cutting tool, see Straightedge.
Missing image
Straight_edge_tattoo.jpg
Straight Edge Tattoo

Straight edge, also known as SXE, is a mostly youth-oriented lifestyle and subculture, closely associated with punk or hardcore punk music in the United States, which advocates abstinence in relation to recreational drug use (especially psychoactive and stimulant drug use), and in relation to promiscuous sexual behaviour.

Although straight-edgers do not necessarily identify with a particular worldview on social or political issues, many do subscribe to precepts associated with vegetarianism, veganism, environmentalism and the ecology movement.

The relationship between straight-edge and punk music is such that some adherents hold that straight-edge cannot exist separately from the music scene.

Contents
1 Overview

1.1 Attitudes to spirituality
1.2 The 'X'
1.3 Tolerance and 'Hard-Line'
1.4 Backlash and critisms

2 Origins

2.1 Influential Early MacKaye Lyrics

3 Popular and Influential Straight Edge Bands
4 See also
5 External links

Overview

Hardcore punk
Stylistic origins: Punk rock
Cultural origins: early 1980s North America
Typical instruments: Guitar - Bass - Drums
Mainstream popularity: Little to none during the careers of the bands, has gained much popularity in recent years
Derivative forms: Emo - Crossover Thrash
Subgenres
Crust Punk - D-beat - Mathcore - Power violence - Queercore - Skate punk - Straight edge - Youth crew
Fusion
Grunge - Metalcore - Ska punk - Thrash metal
Regional scenes
Australia - Brazil - Canada - Scandinavia: Umeå - USA: Boston - Chicago - Detroit - Los Angeles - Minneapolis - New Jersey - New York - Phoenix - Seattle - San Francisco - Southern California - Texas - DC
Other topics
List of bands - DIY Punk Ethic

Straight-edge can be viewed as a lifestyle option, or as a long term commitment to abstinence from illicit substances and observation of the precepts outlined above.

There are various reasons why people choose to be straight-edge. Often the life-style is used as a 'stepping stone' to allow one to be more positively involved with one's own mental and physical health. Some straight-edgers do not use caffeine, or they choose to be vegetarian or vegan. Straight-edgers also have reservations about medication (particularly psychoactive medications), which they generally eschew. In its early days, straight edge tended to involve some abstinence from (particularly casual) sex, an ethos some still maintain today.

Attitudes to spirituality

Many straight-edgers feel that having a clear mind is a better way to approach life and/or spirituality. They tend to be atheistic or agnostic, often believing in self-responsibility and rejecting the idea of a deity or any divine moral law. However, in some circles the movement has associations with Christianity, and there was at one time a significant Hare Krishna straight-edge movement. There are also Muslim straight-edgers, especially in Islamic countries, most notably Malaysia.

The 'X'

At punk rock shows it became common practice to mark an X on the hands of under-aged concertgoers to ensure that the bouncers would recognize a minor attempting to drink alcohol. Early adopters of the "straight-edge" lifestyle voluntarily marked their hands in the same way to show their commitment to refusing alcohol. Also widespread is the tattooing of the X symbol on other parts of the body, or wearing it on clothing, pins, et cetera. Three Xs (XXX) have their origin in some artwork created by Minor Threat's drummer Jeff Nelson where he replaced the 3 stars in the bands hometown Washington D.C. flag with Xs. Some people interprete this as a symbol of Ian MacKaye's don't smoke, don't drink, don't fuck ethos (see below). Some people believe the three Xs are short for Body, Mind and Soul, although three Xs have also been used as an abreviation of Hardcore (Straight-Edge). The X is both a mark of negation and a mark of identity. Attaching the X to one's name or band name is common practice for straightedgers. For example, 'John Smith' would become 'XjohnXsmithX', or 'xxxjohnxxx', et cetera. "Straight edge" is sometimes abbreviated sXe (S.E. plus an X) following much the same logic. Note that sXe is still pronounced 'straight edge', or occasionally 's-x-e', and not 'sexy'.

Tolerance and 'Hard-Line'

Straight-edgers' attitudes towards drug-users are varied and change from region to region and group to group. Accounts exist of straight-edge people exhibiting violent behaviour towards others whom they do not consider straight-edge, however the majority do not promote violence at all. Intolerant interpretations of straight-edge ideas are sometimes referred to as 'hard-line' or 'Hate Edge'. Such "Hardliners" tend to be held in disdain by the majority of straight-edgers for attempting to associate them with intolerance and violence. In turn, Hard-liners have been known to target other straight-edgers who don't adhere to their interpretations of the life-style, usually including veganism and abstinence from sexual promiscuity. The band Vegan Reich forms a notable example of the hard-line philosophy.

Backlash and critisms

Despite ostensibly good intentions, Straight Edge has occasioanlly been mired in controversies. It is not uncommon to see many modern punks mocking and even intimidating "SXE" adherents, in an even newer, philosophical approach to indulgence, in that it is justified for what it is. Many Anti-SXE or Anti-Emo shirts can be found in stores and on the web: As one example, on the submit-and-publish T-shirt website OMG Clothing, one phrase that can be seen is "Straight-edge girls are SXE."

Police in a few communities such as Salt Lake City, Utah and Reno, Nevada have sometimes classified Straight Edge as a gang, due to violence associated with some Straight Edgers, and due to links some Straight Edgers had with the Animal Liberation Front. In Reno, police concede that only a limited subset of Straight Edgers engage in violence.

Origins

In the book Our Band Could Be Your Life, MacKaye reports that he and friends often missed musical performances by their favorite groups because they were held in clubs in and around Washington DC that served alcoholic drinks and banned anyone under 21 years old from entering.

MacKaye's group, the Teen Idles, made a brief west-coast tour in 1980. At San Fransisco's Mabuhay Gardens, club owners were sympathetic to youngsters wanting to see musicians perform, and had begun writing a large "X" on teenagers hands with a permanent marker as a warning to bartenders that such persons should not be served alcohol.

Upon returning to Washington D.C., MacKaye suggested this same notion to various area club owners as a means to allow teenagers into the clubs, while preventing them from being served alcohol. Several clubs began doing so, and the "X" drawn on one's hand quickly became a symbol of a growing ideological stand against alcohol and drugs. The Teen Idles' "Minor Disturbance" EP, released on the highly influential DIY label Dischord Records in 1980 featured two X'd up hands on the cover. This EP also marked the beginning of what would become the straight edge scene within hardcore and punk (see sample lyrics below).

The actual term "straight-edge" was coined by MacKaye's second hardcore/punk band Minor Threat in the early-mid 1980s, although it was not originally intended to be a life-style. However the straight-edge lifestyle is largely defined by the lyrics to Minor Threat songs, including the two listed below. It is worth noting, however, that Ian MacKaye has never associated himself with the straight-edge movement.

Influential Early MacKaye Lyrics

"I'm a person just like you
but, I've got better things to do
than sit around and fuck my head,
hang out with the living dead,
snort white shit up my nose,
hang out and pass out at the shows,
I don't even think about speed
That's something I just don't need...
I've got the straight edge!
I'm a person just like you
but, I've got better things to do
than sit around and smoke dope
because I know that I can cope
laugh at the thought of eating ludes,
laugh at the thought of sniffing glue
Always gonna keep in touch
Never wanna use a crutch!
I've got the straight edge!"
-"Straight Edge" by Minor Threat, 1981
"(I) Don't smoke
Don't drink
Don't fuck
At least I can fucking think
(I) Can't keep up
Can't keep up
Can't keep up
Out of Step (with the world)"
-"Out of Step (with the world)" by Minor Threat, 1981

Popular and Influential Straight Edge Bands

See also

External links

See also: Straight edge, 1980, 1980s, 1981, 7 Seconds, Abstinence, Agnostic, Animal Liberation Front, Atheist