world as a whole,Becker (1982)andFine(1979)argue that specifying
the cultural patterns and social behaviors of an entire society is an
insurmountable task. Studies that probe how broad social forces affect large
populations usually fail to ground culture in interaction. Small groups
like a punk sceneon the other hand, are observable, capable of being
questioned, and permit a relatively complete elaboration of culture.
Studying macro structures and forcesthroughthem avoids vague accounts
of social life and can tie the construction and use of culture to the broader
exigencies of identity formation.
I began field research for the project in the fall of 2004 but collected the
lion’s share of my data from fall 2007 to spring 2008. As an active partici-
pant in the scene and a self-identified punk, I knew several subjects before
beginning research. I made contact with most participants, however, during
the research process. Much of my ethnography took the form of participant
observation at punk concerts. I also took part in mundane social outings
associated with subcultural life: I attended parties and other informal gath-
erings, went to punk bars, participated in protests and political projects
with subjects, and spent a considerable amount of time simply “hanging
out” with them.
Given my status as a punk and active participant within the scene, I was
treated as an insider at both concerts and informal outings. This strength-
ened my data, as it allowed me to deeply integrate myself into the subcul-
ture as a sociologist.Kidder (2006)arguesthat emotions are much harder
to gauge than behaviors, which creates a need for “insider-status” in many
research situations.Mitchell’s (1993)work, similarly, shows that insiders
often conceal their sentiments and emotions when in the presence of outsi-
ders. Assuming that others share their sentiments, they feel little need to
verbalize them at length. In these situations, “the only possible avenue for
understanding the affect-meaning of a social world is to participate in it”
(Kidder, 2006, p. 354). Given my implicit understanding of the subculture’s
meaning system, I was often able tofeelwhat participants experienced,
which heightened my understanding of what was going on (Mitchell, 1993).
Wacquant (2004)calls this “carnal ethnography.”
After most outings, I wrote self-reflexive field notes. In so doing, I
attempted to examine my own experiences and reactions to the data. This
took the form of bracketing my observations with reflections from the
standpoint of my identity as a punk rather than sociologist. My data
and my strategy in collecting thembring together two contemporary
approaches in ethnographic methods: “peopled ethnography” (Fine, 2003)
andautoethnography.^9
Ecstatic Ritual as a New Mode of Youth Identity Work 171