Whose Rebellion was Punk in the 1990s?

Abstract

While punk in the United States is often associated with white, male, suburban youth, the 1990s witnessed a dramatic increase in the vocal participation of women and Latinos in US punk bands. The all-Latino, Spanish-language band Los Crudos built a punk scene in the Chicago majority-Mexican neighborhood of Pilsen and went on to captivate the punk scene in the United States and internationally with their ferocious hardcore punk music and unapologetic assertion of Latino identity. The all-women band Spitboy as well as bands with women vocalists such as Anti-Product challenged patriarchy inside and outside the punk scene and fused the anger and energy of punk music with their own experiences of oppression and empowerment. The increasing and assertive participation of Latinos, women, and LGBTQ people in US punk generated responses ranging from supportive to hostile and sparked debate over the ideals and realties of punk values of unity and equality.