Living a Punk lifestyle has become increasingly less alternative overtime due to the growing interest in the beliefs the group share. The Punk frame of mind was focused on being different, breaking out of the social conformities, and creating a contradictory way of life. Through doing this they aimed to encourage people to question what they believed, and see that there is more out there than what society wants you to see.

A Punk way of life also meant the choice to lead a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle. Punks were known to hold strong opinions and beliefs about animal rights and their treatment, factors therefore reflected in their diets. Punks looked at society as immoral, wasteful, and excessive when it came to consumption, and they saw veganism as a way of freeing themselves from this destructive spiral that they assumed the rest of society believed in. This is an increasingly apparent phenomenon that’s spreading like wildfire across the world, and it all started as a small-time nonconformist trend.

Punk ideologies looked very much in depth at the issue of gender equality as well. Punks believed that it shouldn’t matter if you were male of female; there were no limits when it came to dressing. You would often see men in skirts, women in Doc Martens, and everything that could possibly be sexualised was sexualised. One of the group’s highest beliefs was that women should not be ashamed to flaunt themselves as it showed no limitations when it came to being, and feeling feminine. If you look at modern day trends, especially apparent in the youth of today, you will notice that what was once a call for individuality and freedom has now become a mainstream trend. This is equally apparent in political views if you look at the welcoming of diverse sexuality and also in the rise of equal salary debate for both men and women.

So could Punk be becoming the new mainstream? The dominant way of life for potentially majority of people, without them even realising? There is quite a lot of evidence for this being the case and you will most likely find that someone in your circle, if not yourself has already adopted this way of life. I guess that makes you Punk!

By Elannah Boyce