A Critical Study of Punk Narratives and Politics Through the Music of Poly Styrene

Abstract

In this dissertation I have reviewed the history of the punk genre with particular focus on developments that happened in the 1970s. I have explored theories about how capitalism and neoliberalism have influenced punk and vice versa, and how musicologist and music journalist write about the genre and subculture. In light of this a need to revise and review popular music history is revealed, because of developments in fields such as gender politics, and critical race theory. This dissertation does that by negotiating gender politics and racism in punk through a case study on the artist Poly Styrene from the 1970s punk band X-Ray Spex. I have looked at typical criteria that are used to define punk, and how she compares to other more popular bands that have been used to set those criteria. The assignment concludes that there is much to learn about punk from Poly Styrene, and that further research should be done on women and people of color in punk subculture.