Rebelling in different ways: Older punk women, employment and ‘being/doing’ punk

Abstract

How do older women negotiate employment and the workplace alongside being and ‘doing’ punk? This article takes this question as its focus, exploring three key areas that a sample of older punk women raised in regard to relationships between punk identification and work ‐ dress, work/life balance and punk values. Drawing upon qualitative data with 22 older punk women, this article will argue the need to understand continued punk affiliation ‘post-youth’ not only through a lens that views ageing as social construct but also through a lens that sees experiences as gendered. Highlighted here are some of the various ways older punk women negotiate being/doing punk alongside their employment, acknowledging ways this can be constrained (or not) by gendered social ageing and demonstrating an adaptability of punk values that can help in accommodating adulthood.