ABSTRACT
PUNK The term “punk” generally refers to a youth subculture, or a member thereof, associated with punk rock. In Old English slang, “punk” referred to a prostitute or homosexual. In American slang of the twentieth century, the term described a young hoodlum or juvenile delinquent, or a worthless person. The name itself reveals the selfdeprecatory humor at the core of punk’s aesthetic, which might be characterized as embracing “beautiful ugliness.” is highly confrontational, illustrated by its outrageous fashions; its loud, fast, aggressive music with angry lyrics; and its violent crowd behaviors. Punk often exhibits an ironic combination of chaos and order; while it signifies and even glorifies chaos, it also represents a style that is thoroughly ordered. The subculture is filled with other ironies, such as the fact that its hardest-edged form comes from sunny, optimistic Southern California. These ironies also bring out the dramatic tension and countercultural, do-your-own vernacular tendencies in punk identity.
