LGBT+ and its representation in punk culture

When you hear the words punk or skinhead, you tend to instantly think of the last piece you read about them, usually involving some racist or homophobic attack. But what often is very rarely mentioned, is how kind and accepting the groups are.

An important thing to remember when hearing about punk is how important the idea of social equality is, with LGBT+ rights firmly included in that. In many groups of punks gay people are completely welcomed, providing the rest of their views are equally progressive, and quite a lot of punks believe in LGBT+ rights to the extent of kicking out homophobic punks, and socially shunning them.

My personal experiences of being out and a punk have mostly been very good, as I have never received homophobic abuse, and whenever I get shouted at on the street it’s due to my studded jacket, not my pride badge. However, like many of my gay friends, I have been verbally assaulted for being LGBT, but there is a very calming aspect to punk music, and being able to escape whatever people have called you in the past by going into a small local venue, listening to live music loud enough to deafen you for hours and mosh with people who mean no harm, and is still a very good place to get rid of any built up anger in a relatively safe way.

Although, it is important to remember that people have been killed over this. For example, Clement Meric, a French SHARP (Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice) who was very active in trying to get better rights for LGBT+ and migrants. One day Meric confronted a group of fascist skinheads where he was punched in the face multiple times with brass knuckles. Meric stood up to racists where he saw them. In this instance he thought not of his own safety, but rather he thought of the lives that are in danger from their dangerous views. This instinct to act ended with his untimely death, but highlights how many in this community think.

A lot of people instantly assume that punk is a highly aggressive, anti-everything genre, which is largely how punks are represented in media, leading to people assuming that we’re all homophobic scumbags, which often means that in people end up getting a poor idea of what punk is, and end up disliking it, and its fans, for pre-concieved ideas of what they are.

Some people (and even a couple that I know in person), have said that the typically more feminine appearance of gay men is directly against the aggressive look and feel of punk, and to that I have the response that that way of thinking is part of the homophobic mindset that punk is intent on destroying. And also that the idea that femininity cannot be aggressive is also very wrong, with there being many big female or gay fronted aggressive punk bands.

One particular band, The Restarts, is fronted by a gay man, Kieran, with their band  writing songs such as Out And Proud, which touches on the illegality of being gay in Imperalistic India, and XQ28, a song about how bigotted people view gay men; and how wrong and damaging that view is, for pretty much everyone involved.

Another subgenre that must have a mention here is QueerCore. This is a subgenre of punk that is almost purely songs about LGBT life by LGBT musicians.

        One good example from this is the band Limp Wrist. They were formed in the late 90s in New York, which while not being the worst place in the world, was far from complete sexual equality. One of their most famous songs is Thick Skin, a song about how LGBT people are often beaten for being who they are. Their line “Don’t be a defenceless punching bag” repeats through the song, and shows how they are trying to show their fans an option other than what they are subjected to.

In contrast, some very big bands have said racist or homphobic things and still get away with it, for example, Anti-Nowhere League, in their song The Day The World Turned Gay, they have the lyrics “Now we’ve got poofs, queers, faggots, dykes, ladyboys and fucking transvestites”, and for some reason very few people seem to care. This has happened before, where once a punk band reaches a certain size and popularity, they can get away with almost anything, with one of the most ignored cases being Wattie, the vocalist for the hardcore band, The Exploited.

For years, fans have been almost fanatic about this band, with it being one of the biggest bands in the genre. But for an equally long time, fans have ignored Wattie’s dark (not so) secret. This is that Wattie is a Neo-Nazi. For years he wore a swastika tattoo, with no attempt to hide it, showing that he is proud of what it means. He has also been photographed with members of an extremely right-wing band, Skrewdriver, and in this photo several people are performing the sieg heil salute. But very few fans of this band will accept what he has done, even when shown concrete proof, which shows that even if not actively participating in it, a worrying amount of punks will let homophobia and racism happen around them.

Sidney Gibbins

In conclusion, while punks and skinheads are quite often assumed to all be bigotted people who are highly aggressive, the truth is that for the most part we’re very accepting people who are, for the most part, actively trying to make the community a better place, but there are definitely still a lot of bad people or “good” people who will sit back and let it happen. This is in direct relation to the world we are seeing today, proving that until society changes, the way that we are seen will be unchanged.