Queer Punk-formance Art

Punk has always been Queer and there are undeniable Queer roots of hardcore/punk, especially in the local New York City scene, including the importance of recognizing that Queer Culture is based within Black Culture. This dissects the experience of Queer punks through the lens of José Esteban Muñoz’s theory of “Queer failure”, Legacy Russell’s “Glitch Feminism”, and the intersection of Queer performance art and hardcore through an analysis of several specific historical movements (CBGB’s, Black Lips Performance Cult, Riot Grrrl and Kathleen Hanna, and Shotgun Seamstress) and current NYC Local musicians (Oboy!, T@b Grrrl, and Ian Andrew Askew, creator of SLAMDANCE garage and drummer for FISHLORD). Both communities stress the importance of local do-it-yourself (DIY) venues and mutual aid (from advocacy to fundraising to interdependence) as a way to reject societal norms within Western capitalist structures, whilst making art. The interview portion focuses on the experience of Black punks within the scene, because denying Black people’s historic accomplishments within punk and Queer rights is equally absurd as denying Queer folks place in hardcore history.