Straight edge
[1][2][3] Some adherents refrain from engaging in promiscuous or casual sex, follow a vegetarian or vegan diet and do not consume caffeine or prescription drugs.
[6][7] While the commonly expressed aspects of the straight edge subculture have been abstinence from alcohol, nicotine, and illegal drugs, there have been considerable variations.
[18] This anti-inebriation movement had been developing in punk before Minor Threat, but their song "Straight Edge" was influential in giving the scene a name, and something of a (somewhat unwilling) figurehead.
[20] Ted Nugent was a key influence on the straight edge ideology as one of the few prominent 1970s hard rock icons to eschew alcohol and other drug use explicitly.
[16] Other early straight edge bands include State of Alert, Government Issue, Teen Idles, The Faith, 7 Seconds, SSD, DYS, and Negative FX.
The branches of straight edge that came about during this era seemed to originate from ideas presented in songs, and many youth crew bands had a strong heavy metal influence.
[29] Vegetarianism became an important theme in straight edge during this era,[30] starting with Youth of Today's 1988 song "No More", which contained lyrics condemning the consumption of meat.
[30] By the early 1990s, straight edge became a well-known part of the wider punk and DIY scene and underwent musical and political shifts.
During this period, the straight edge scene birthed two major offshoots: the more conservative hardline[32] and the Krishna Consciousness influenced, retrospectively known as Krishnacore.
[33] While the majority of straight edge punks and Hare Krishna converts were pacifists, those influenced by hardline showed a willingness to resort to violence to promote their subculture.
[41] Prominent Hate Edge groups include NS/WP and Sober and Angry Youth, both of which are responsible for attacks on and murders of drug dealers.
[49] According to NoEcho writer Ethan Stewart "the closest thing to a straight edge band for much of the [1980s] was Statement", a solo-project by the Apostles drummer Patrick "Rat" Poole.
Additionally, many groups from the UK punk and hardcore scene did include straight edge members, namely Napalm Death, Blitz and Heresy.
[51] Following this, a number of additional straight edge bands began to form, including XdisciplineX, False Face, Headstong, Step One and Kickback.
[53] Members of the existing punk and hardcore scenes in the country often reacted negatively to the straight edge bands, and on multiple occasions, fights occurred between the musicians and fans.
Mostly based around Leeds, the scene produced groups like Violent Reaction, Big Cheese,[50] Insist, Unjust, Rapture, Regiment, True Vision and Shrapnel.
[56] A number of musicians from other UK hardcore bands were straight edge at this time, including Jimmy and Alex Wizard from Higher Power.
As a compromise, management marked each of the members' hands with a large black X as a warning to the club's staff not to serve alcohol to the band.
Upon returning to Washington, D.C., the band suggested this same system to local clubs as a means to allow teenagers in to see musical performances without being served alcohol.
[59] The Teen Idles released a record in 1980 called Minor Disturbance with the cover shot being two hands with black Xs on the back.
[72] The California band Vegan Reich is most associated with the "Hardline" subculture, which espouses the sanctity of life, and draws connections between animal rights and anti-abortion activism.
[75] Haenfler writes that straight edge participants see veganism as an extension of the movement's emphasis on positivity, much like its preference to reserve sex for emotionally meaningful relationships.
