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Consumption Styles and the Fluid Complexity of Punk Authenticity
Author(s) -
Force William Ryan
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
symbolic interaction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.874
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1533-8665
pISSN - 0195-6086
DOI - 10.1525/si.2009.32.4.289
Subject(s) - punk , consumption (sociology) , possession (linguistics) , stylized fact , perspective (graphical) , sociology , construct (python library) , ethnography , style (visual arts) , aesthetics , indigenous , social psychology , psychology , art , social science , anthropology , visual arts , linguistics , computer science , philosophy , art history , ecology , biology , programming language , economics , macroeconomics
Subcultures are distinguished in terms of what they are not, highlighting differences with broader cultural characteristics. From this perspective, authenticity is drawn from external contrasts. This ethnographic study of a local punk scene shows that internal comparisons among participants centered on consumption styles also construct authenticity. This activity was dominated by three indigenous cultural processes: the publicized possession of consumer goods, stylized presentations of self, and conversational display of acquaintance with punk esoterica. In contrast to previous studies, this article shows how the interpretive particulars of consumption in talk and interaction move beyond style alone to feature the fluid complexity of punk authenticity.