OXFORD, Miss. – Clean-living youths or violent gang
members? That’s the question National Geographic asks Ross
Haenfler about Straight Edge lifestylers on its upcoming
special “Inside Straight Edge” premiering at 9 p.m.
Wednesday (April 9) on TV’s National Geographic Channel.
Haenfler, assistant professor of sociology at the
University of Mississippi and a specialist in youth
subcultures, plays two roles in the primetime documentary:
expert and member.
“I conducted a field study of Straight Edge in the late
1990s, which led to my book ‘Straight Edge: Clean Living
Youth, Hardcore Punk, and Social Change’ (Rutgers, 2006),”
Haenfler said. “While the book is an account of my
eight-year ethnographic study, I also lead a Straight Edge
lifestyle.”
Kirsten Dellinger, interim chair of UM’s Department of
Sociology and Anthropology, said she is not surprised
National Geographic contacted Haenfler. “His book is the
most comprehensive ethnographic study of this subculture
available,” she said.
Straight Edge refers to the lifestyle and scene that
started within the Washington, D.C., hardcore punk
subculture whose members refrain from drinking, smoking or
doing drugs. Some youths who participate also abstain from
caffeine, psychiatric medicine and casual sex. The term was
coined by the 1980s hardcore punk rock band Minor Threat.
“Straight Edge subculture is about finding a place where a
young person can feel cool without using drugs or alcohol;
it’s about fitting in without giving in to peer pressure,”
Haenfler said.
The subculture, however, has been classified as a violent
gang in some large cities, including Reno, Nev. In 1998,
Salt Lake City, Utah, police classified the entire group as
a gang, pointing to the death of 15-year-old Bernardo
Repreza as proof. Repreza was beaten and stabbed to death
Halloween night, police said, by two Straight Edge
members.
National Geographic, with Haenfler as consultant, delved
inside the ever-growing youth movement that seems to be
caught between being a refuge for American teens and a
dangerous gang wanted by authorities.
“National Geographic is known for its interest in different
cultures,” Haenfler said. “The idea of young people with
tattoos who listen to punk music but don’t do drugs is
intriguing. The show focuses on the positive – which is the
vast majority – and negative of Straight Edge. Straight
Edge is not a gang as labeled by Salt Lake City. In fact, I
think that’s a mislabel. Straight Edge is a social group
with many different faces.”
An estimated tens of thousands of youths from all over the
world are part of the Straight Edge culture, although “it’s
impossible to count the total membership,” Haenfler said.
“It’s a large scene, especially in the states.”
Besides appearing on the show, Ross has been asked to
promote the documentary for National Geographic and may
travel to New York during the week of the premiere.
Haenfler is also the author of “The Better World Handbook:
Small Changes that Make a Big Difference” (New Society,
2007) and a specialist in social movements, social change
and gender. He is researching with plans to write a book on
other youth subcultures, including skinheads, Goths,
virginity pledgers, hip hoppers and computer geeks.
For more information on sociology and anthropology at Ole
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