6.Katovich and Longhofer (2009),similarly, argue that punk subculture gener-
ates “mystified” spaces that lull participants into a sense of awea context that is
very conducive for probing the noncognitive, nondiscursive dimensions of self-
formation.
- Charlie, for example, has given up gainful employment opportunities and a
certaindegree of social esteem in order to devote his time and energy to playing in
punk bands and participating in the DIY punk scene.
8.Snow and Anderson (1987)define“identity work” as “the range of activities
individuals engage in to create, present and sustain personal identities that are con-
gruent with and supportive of the self-concept” (p. 1348). - Peopled ethnography builds on existing research in order to seek a “concep-
tualunderstanding of the phenomena in question. [It is] theoretically purposed
rather than simply offering detail on a particular phenomenon” (Anderson, 2009,
p.182). Autoethnography compliments its goals by applying reflexivity toward
one’s personal experiences, which facilitates the identification and formulation of
relevant analytical categories within the data. - While I experienced some difficulty in recruiting female participants given the
demographicsof the local scene, I made a strong effort to do so in order to account
for the experiences of women within punkan effort that past scholarship on
subculture has generally not accomplished (Bennett & Kahn-Harris, 2004;
McRobbie& Garber, 1975;Williams, 2011). - Many punks criticize slam dancing as a display of hegemonic masculinity.
Theyargue that it excludes all but the most hulking individuals from participation
and physically reinscribes patriarchy. This paper does not dispute their claims.
However, as with critiques of pugilism (Wacquant, 1995),such accounts do often
fail to access the experiential viewpoint of participants. My findings speak only to
those who could and did participate in mosh pits. While nonparticipants may have
experienced shows as violent and disempowering, my subjectsboth male and
femaleemphasized the cooperative rather than violent nature of shows.
12.Hancock and Lorr (2013)depictpunk concerts in a similar light, describing
moshing as a form of dancing that splits the difference between partner dancing and
isolated, in-place dancing in the sense that it is collective at the same time that it
encourages acts of individual self-expression. - Tom’s statement regarding mandatory participation at punk shows represents
emicknowledgean interpretation of the show-going experience that he and other
scene participants embraced. There were of course many individuals, who were not
unconditionally conscripted into ecstatic participation at shows. Like the marijuana
users in Becker’s (1954) classic study, participants had to first internalize a concep-
tion of the show’s social meaning prior tolearninghow to enact the behavior that
Tom describes as mandatory for concertgoers. - A great deal of work traces the way in which identity relates to “those institu-
tional forms of participation characteristic of some social world: a stream of more
or less identifiable positions, offices, statuses, and situations that serve as landmarks
for gauging a person’s movement through the social milieu (Barley, 1989,p. 49).
Kunda (2006), Hermanowicz (2010), andLight (1980), for instance suggest that
individuals seek identity within institutional contextsin case of their respective
studies, work. Scholars have also applied this framework to adolescents.Frise ́n and
190 PHILIP LEWIN