Women & Performance: a journal of feminist theory Vol. 22, Nos. 2–3, July–November 2012, 239–260
‘‘Freakin’ Out’’: Remaking Masculinity through Punk Rock in Detroit1 Katherine E. Wadkins*
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Brooklyn, NY, USA Detroit, as a birthplace for some of the earliest forms of punk rock, had a unique set of political and social conditions that made it ripe for the negotiation of race, sexuality, and gender within punk. One band of four Black brothers named ‘‘Death’’ navigated the space between their parent community and the world of what was perceived as ‘‘white’’ music. By performing a refusal to enact any one sense of ‘‘self,’’ Death performed a transgression, which was key to their own straightforward aesthetic. This transgression ostracized them from white and Black communities alike. Death forces us to reexamine the white-dominated narrative of punk music, which was thoroughly influenced by Black cultural modes from the outset. Early white punk bands MC5 and the Stooges had ready access to Black music and political activity; they performed new masculine identities based on an admiration for Black culture, as well as Black stereotypes. Paradoxically, as young Black men playing an early form of punk music, Death was unable to break into the world of white rock and was generally misunderstood in their local Black music community. Rather than concern themselves with an aesthetic style, Death pushed boundaries through their imaginative musical and political visions. Keywords: punk rock music; Death; Detroit; Black masculinity; whiteness; cultural appropriation; MC5; Iggy Pop; Stooges
‘‘That’s right. I’m talking a black punk band, can y’all get to that? Because in the beginning, the kid couldn’t hang – I mean when I was coming up, you could get your ass kicked for calling another brother a punk.’’ In his 1982 review of Bad Brains, the all-Black, Washington, D.C.-based hardcore band, Village Voice critic Greg Tate subtly captured the complicated nature of punk’s underpinnings.2 For Black men, even aligning oneself with the word ‘‘punk’’ was a challenge to their peers, and during a time of violent clashes with police forces and the National Guard in many American cities, Black community was essential to survival. One band of four brothers named ‘‘Death,’’ from Detroit, Michigan, spent their (abrupt, and later, revived) career navigating the space between their parent community and the world of what was perceived as ‘‘white’’ music. In the following essay, I argue that Detroit, as a birthplace for some of the earliest forms of punk rock, presented a unique set of political and social conditions for the negotiation of race, sexuality, and gender *Email: mskatherinewadkins@gmail.com ISSN 0740–770X print/ISSN 1748–5819 online ! 2012 Women & Performance Project Inc. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0740770X.2012.721083 http://www.tandfonline.com