ABREU, Paula; GUERRA, Paula, SILVA, Augusto Santos; MOREIRA, Tânia; OLIVEIRA, Ana (2015) - Portuguese punk scenes: a social profile of their founders and participants

Portuguese Punk Scenes: a social profile of

their founders and participants.

Paula Abreu, University of Coimbra (CES/FE), KISMIF

Paula Guerra, University of Porto (IS/FH), KISMIF

Augusto Santos Silva, University of Porto (IS/FE), KISMIF

Tânia Moreira, University of Porto (FH), KISMIF

Ana Oliveira, ISCTE-Universitary Institute of Lisbon, KISMIF

Portuguese Punk Scenes

Objective

To present a sketch of the social space of Portuguese punk

between 1977 and 2014, considering the social profiles of

its protagonists.

To follow the sociological proposition establishing that the

positioning of the social actors in the space of social

relations influences what they do, say and feel.

To assume that the social profiling of the actors will help to

understand their participation in the music scenes.


The focus

We are interested in two particular aspects.

1. To draw a first picture of the participants of the Portuguese

punk scene through the social characterization of 214 of

these protagonists, who were interviewed between May

2012 and October 2014;

2. To propose some comparisons with other portugueses

musical scenes or the punk scenes in other countries.

Theoretical assumptions

Two main theoretical theses did underlie this research at its

beginnig:

The degree to which youth musical cultures expressed the

world of the working class in the industrial and services

cities of the 1950s, 60s or 70s;

The extent to which songs, artifacts and collective rituals of

those cultures represented a resistance to social order;

(Hall & Jefferson, 1976)


Theoretical assumptions


Simultaneously we refused two kinds of reductions:

• One would be to limit the punk subculture to the simple

and direct expression of a social condition.

• The other would be to reduce the social link of this

culture and its protagonists to the working class world.

This is, in fact, the meaning of various criticisms to the Cultural

Studies, particularly since the 90s, accusing them of forcing a

too close class homology, neglecting the specific

developments of youth cultures, namely outside the Anglo-

Saxon context.

Statements


It makes sense to inquire the social position of the protagonists of music

scenes such as punk, not just to "explain" the dynamics of the scene, but

also to understand their interaction with relevant features of the societal

context.

To do so, we define the class condition of the protagonists and explore:

• the positions held and duties performed in the scene;

• The gender relations;

• The age groups and the aging process;

• The territorial location, both in terms of origin and dwelling;

• The school capital;

• The socio-professional group.

Based on this range of status indicators, we can show the constitutive

diversity of Portuguese punk scene and compare it with other similar

scenes.

1. Versatility/PolivalencyWe identify three main types of

participation in the punk scene:

• the practice of music;

• the mediation activities;

• the intense and passionate

consumption;

More than two thirds are musicians;

Almost half of them have a

mediation experience;

The combination of roles is the

norm for two-fifths, especially those

who are both musicians and

mediators, former musicians and

fans;


Profiles of the interviewees %

Musician active 22,4

Musician and mediator active 19,6

Fans 13,5

Mediator active 12,6

Musician inactive and fan 10,2

Musician inactive 6,5

Musician and mediator inactive 5,1

Mediator inactive 4,6

Musician active and mediator inactive 3,2

Musician inactive and mediator active 1,8

Total 214

Versatility/Polivalency

The plurality of positions and the mobility between them:

• Related to the dynamics of musical scenes, especially the

punk scenes sharing and activating a particular philosophy

DIY (Rosen, 1997; Bennett, 2013; Gomes, 2013 ).

• A consequence of the smallness and marginality of the

scene, which requires the performance of multiple roles,

either along the life course or at a specific time.

This ethos of self-production and versatility is at the same time,

a practical necessity - which was also observed, for example, at

the Russian punk (Pilkington, 2014) and the Peruvian punk

(Greene, 2012).


2. Male Domination

The second element that stands is the question of gender.

Similarly to all the rock, this scene is an eminently male universe

and the few women that are present occupy background places.

The figures are impressive : from the 214 respondents, 86% are

men and only 14% women.

The small presence of Portuguese girls follows a general trend of

successive rock and punk subcultures, inside and outside the Anglo-

Saxon space (Hebdige, 1979; Clarke et al., 1997; Laing, 1985; Sickle,

2006; Downes, 2007; war, 2010, 2015; Humeau, 2011; Griffin, 2012;

Reddington, 2012; Gololobov et al, 2014;. Martin-Iverson, 2014;

Crossley, 2015).


Male DominationGirls not only constitute a small

minority as generally occupy

subaltern and rear positions in

the punk scene.

Table 2 compares the roles at the

scene by gender:

• 43% of women say they are

just fans (against 9% of men);

• 40% had or have a

performative musical activity

(against 74% of men);

• only 23% say they have it now

(against 49% of men);

• only 17% say they now

perform mediation activities

(against 37% of men).


Profiles of the

interviewees

Gender

TotalFemale Male

N % N % N %

Active musician 5 16,7 43 23,4 48 22,4

Inactive musician 4 13,3 10 5,4 14 6,5

Active Mediator 3 10,0 24 13,0 27 12,6

Inactive mediator 2 6,7 8 4,4 10 4,7

Fans 13 43,3 16 8,7 29 13,6

Active musician and

active mediator 2 6,7 40 21,7 42 19,6

Active musician and

inactive mediator 0 0,0 7 3,8 7 3,3

Inactive Musician and

active mediator 0 0,0 4 2,2 4 1,9

Inactive musician and

mediator 1 3,3 10 5,4 11 5,1

Inactive Musician and Fan 0 0,0 22 12,0 22 10,3

Total 30 100 184 100 214 100

Table 2: Profiles of the interviewees by gender

3. Youth and agingPortuguese Punk Scenes

Profiles of the

interviewees

Age

Total15-30

years old

31-45

years old

> 45

years old

N % N % N % N %

Active musician 19 50,0 19 17,4 10 14,9 48 22,4

Inactive musician 1 2,6 5 4,6 8 11,9 14 6,5

Active mediator 3 7,9 16 14,7 8 11,9 27 12,6

Inactive mediator 0 0,0 5 4,6 5 7,5 10 4,7

Fans 2 5,3 11 10,1 16 23,9 29 13,6

Active musician and mediator

10 26,3 27 24,8 5 7,5 42 19,6

Active musician and inactive mediator

0 0,0 5 4,6 2 3,0 7 3,3

Inactive musician and active mediator

0 0,0 3 2,8 1 1,5 4 1,7

Inactive musician andmediator

1 2,6 5 4,6 5 7,5 11 5,4

Inactive musician and fan 2 5,3 13 11,9 7 10,5 22 10,8

Total 38 100 109 100 67 100 214 100

Profiles of the interviewees by age

Looking at the distribution of 214 respondents by age group, it stands out the weight of young adults:

• The average age is in the 40s.

• 31% have over 45 years;

• 51% have between 31 and 45 years;

• Only 18%, less than two-fifths, are under 30 years.

Youth and agingThis distribution is related to the object and the method of our

research - the emergence and development of the punk scene in

Portugal between 1997 and 2014.

In fact, the elders are the protagonists of the first punk statement

vague, being natural to occupy a central position in the research

plan (see also, to France, Humeau, 2011).

But it is worth noting that 26% of over-45s continue to practice

punk music, 21% perform mediation activities (such as organizing

concerts, editing disks or zines, etc.) and 34% declare themselves

fans. These data corroborate the cautions about the underground

cultures that can not be reduced only to the youth condition

(Hebdige, 1979; Clarke et al., 1997).

Porrtuguese Punk Scenes

Youth and agingOn the other hand, the age group comprising those between 31

and 45 years, which is roughly half of all respondents, suggests

a continuity and generational renewal of punk .

Almost one in two members of these young-adults (exactly

47%) say that practice or keep playing music; and 42% deals

with mediation activities.

The renewal of the scene happens at very young ages: 5% of

our respondents have between 15 and 20 years, 4% between

21 and 25 years and 9% between 26 and 30 years.

The punk scene is far from being therefore a matter of history.

Porrtuguese Punk Scenes

4. An urban and suburban scene

Besides being an eminently male universe and continue to

attract and involve participants from different age groups, the

territorial configuration of the Portuguese punk gives it a clearly

urban and suburban tone.

This urban root is identified in several other scenes (cf. Crossley,

2015). In our case, it is in the two urban areas of Lisbon and

Porto that focuses the vast majority of respondents, whether

the criteria used is the birthplace (Map 1) or the place of

current dwelling (Map 2). 51% of those interviewed were born

at the urban area of the capital; and 49% live there. 12% were

born at the urban area of Porto, the second portuguese

metropolitan area, and 18% live there.


An urban and suburban scene


Map 1 Map 2

An urban and suburban scene

The city's punk roots not surprising. In big cities is a greater diversity

of ways and lifestyles, and is also on them more heavily to produce

and circulate different cultural expressions (see Costa, 2007).

With regard to music, the works of Paula Guerra (2010) on the

establishment of the alternative rock field, José Alberto Simões

(2011) on the hip hop or Rui Telmo Gomes (2013) on the world of

underground music, among others, show how the two main

Portuguese urban areas have been privileged territories for the

nurturing and development of new models of production and

dissemination of new artistic grammars.

This being true, it should not however make us forget other relevant

data of the punk scene development: its vast territorial spread.


An urban and suburban sceneSharing many features of the juvenile status, the speed and size of

the flow of information nowadays, and the nature of the production

process ("do it yourself") explain largely this spread.

In our the sample, it is well documented the fact that the group of

over-45s has a larger weight in Lisbon urban area.

Out of it, but equally important, is the constitution and the activity of

multiple bands claiming a punk identity in virtually all country (Silva

& Guerra, 2015: 62-67).

The latest emergence of multiple music scenes and local youth,

outside the big cities of Lisbon and Porto, is clearly marked by the DIY

philosophy and practice. This is a key strategy for survival in the most

isolated cultural and musical contexts with scarce resources -

musical, venues, equipment or even participation (Moreira, 2013).


5. Is a popular punk subculture?

Several authors have stated that the punk movement participants

came mostly from the working class (Hebdige, 1979; Humeau

2011, Pilkington, 2014; Gololobov, 2014).

It's not what is happening in Portugal, judging by the origin and

the social condition of our respondents.

The roots of Portuguese punk seem to be more in urban and

educated middle classes. As in Spain, where they were relatively

young descent favored with resources to travel, buy records and

props, which brought the London punk to Madrid (Sickle, 2006),

also in Portugal the first punk wave of the late 70s was led by

young people with some economic, social and academic capital.

This profile will endure.


Is a popular punk subculture?

Our set of respondents is quite educated, particularly in relation

to the average values of the Portuguese population:

• 38% hold a college degree;

• 13% have attended it but not (or not) completed;

• 33% had completed secondary education;

• are therefore very few that were just for basic education;

This advantage comes from the families of origin: 33% of parents

and 30% of mothers had attended higher education (which is

roughly double the 15% reported in the 2011 Census for the

national population); 59% of parents and 54% of mothers had

secondary or higher education level.


Is a popular punk subculture?Crossing the educational background of each respondent with the

respective parents we observe two other trends:

The first was expected, given the recent translational movement of

Portuguese society towards higher education - a large majority of

respondents coming from little schooling families significantly

increases their qualifications.

The second trend is more singular - the general tendency of rising

educational capital in the second generation is tempered by the

weight of some contrary trajectories: 40% of respondents whose

parents had both higher education were below that threshold, as do

39% of respondents that at least one parent had the same higher

education.


Is a popular punk subculture?What these data suggest is a very important fact - the diversity of

conditions or profiles which can be found in the Portuguese punk scene.

Does the analysis of professions and classes corroborates this diversity?

When we look at the occupations declared by the respondents, of course

it emphasizes the importance of musical professions, arts, communication

and education.

The most represented professional classes are, in descending order, the

"experts in legal, social, artistic and cultural issues" (22%) "Teachers" (8%),

the "experts of the physical sciences, mathematics, engineering and

related technical" (7%) and the "intermediate level of technical legal,

social, cultural and similar services" (6%).


Is a popular punk subculture?Accordingly, the socio-professional class of the interviewees reveals the

prevalence of the new middle classes highly educated and economic

elites.

The two groups of intellectual professionals and intermediate technical

professionals represent 37% of the respondents and 41% of the

respective families of origin;

The three groups of entrepreneurs, managers and liberal professionals

comprise 35% of respondents and 25% of their families. That prevalence

was already coming from their social origin.

Conversely, only a third of respondents comes from popular families,

such as self-employed workers, small farmers or industrial workers.

Theirs own socio-professional situation is proportionally lower: about a

quarter.



In summary, both in terms of family background and of the currently

social position, the majority of the founders or participants in the

Portuguese punk scene belongs to the middle and upper classes,

associated with liberal, intellectual professions and technical

framework.

The Portuguese case confirms therefore the latest sociological

demarcation from the original representation of punk as a movement

of the working class (Bennett, 2011).

Our work shows that we can not understand the social ties of punk

reducing it to one social origin. It would be both empirically and

theoretically impoverishing to classify the punk subculture as a

working class subculture, as well as to classify it as a bourgeois or

middle class subculture.



What really characterizes it is the crossroads of many, and often

contrasting, pathways and social conditions:

Continuity in the class of belonging (upper, middle or popular);

mobility pathways that in itself add nothing to the overall translation

of the society towards the strengthening and the role of the middle

classes;

Specific ascending paths in the social field, particularly by

professional music or around the music;

And an important margin of downward intergenerational mobility,

usually associated with early school leaving, which is nonetheless

experienced as a social "downgrading".


Many thanks.

[email protected]

Documents

ABREU, Paula; GUERRA, Paula, SILVA, Augusto Santos; MOREIRA, Tânia; OLIVEIRA, Ana (2015) - Portuguese punk scenes: a social profile of their founders and participants