is punk a fasion or a way of life?
 

i have been in the punk\hardcore scene for almost a decade. i have seen many changes in style. (i.e. clothing and music.) but the one thing that seems to stay the same with the "real" people in the scene is their beliefs. i hate the people who say you have to look certian way, comb your hair, wear certian clothes, or add "punk" accesories to your outfit. punk is not a fashion. punk is self-preservation. doing for you, having fun and being yourself. i have been listening to screamo for a long time, and i hate when people say, hey you don't have black hair and tight pants. you don't weigh 70 lbs. you don't belong. punk is not a fashion. check yourself before you check the label.

"i'll be original, so long as someone does it first?"

Then if it`s doing it for yourself then that means if you want it to be about fashion then it can be.

People who come out with this stuff always tend to overlook that.

^

I concur, people should be who they want and dress the same as well, I think you're pretty anti-stereotype.

I think fashion should have no place in punk. Rarely do you find that anymore though. When I go to dc to see a punk show you have kids in jean jackets with back patches next to kids with tight pants and small shirts next to kids in kahki colored shorts with polo shirtss and no one looks at another person twice because of it. Punk is an ideal that you can get together with people and listen to these dudes put everything they have into a song because they love it. Not because they're getting paid or getting a bigger fan base. You can tell when a band is playing it for themselves and not attempting to market themselves.

that is true. i a basically referring to the people who say you have to look certain way to fit into a certain scene. and these young kids who see a video on mtv and think they have to look a certain way to fit into a scene. look at the insert to the ink and dagger s\t cd or the orchid "chaos is me/dance tonight" cd, or even the ampere "all our tomorrows end today" cd. this is what i am talking about. if you think looking a certain way justifies a way of life, than live like that.

If fitting into a scene means having to dress a certain way (and here's the key) which means defending the way you dress at the expense of closing your mind and ears to other genres (I've seen it happen) then it's best not to belong to a scene.

After all what's more important...the fashion or the music?

I'd rather look a dork (which I don't) and have an open mind, than be a victim of scene fashion.

i don't know if i am putting my point across correctly. i am not saying that fashion defines punk. i was basically posing the question "is punk a fashion or a way of life? nobody has really addressed the question. you are all so quick to attack. think about what i am saying. i am saying that punk is a feeling, an emotion, a reaction. . . . . .

. . . . . not an outfit.

I don't understand.

You say, you are posing the question, "is punk a fashion or a way of life?".

People answer with their opinions and you seem to think it's an attack.

Is this thread designed to ask members their opinions, or is it designed to make a statement...namely yours?

Edit: If your thread had been called "Is it possible for punk to be a way of life?"
My answer would have been, yes.
The thread title is a bit ambiguous.

It`s different things to different people

To me personally it`s a genre of music 25 years past it`s sell by date.

who cares?