‘No more heroes anymore’: Marginalized identities in punk memorialization and curation

The 40th ‘anniversary’ of punk in 2016 was marked by various events in London including museum exhibits. Missing from far too many of these events has been the voice and experiences of marginalized punks. Was the subversive nature of punk being undermined by the realities of a display space that must cater to a wide range of users and stakeholders? Or is the inclusive platform that punk sells itself on a well –disguised miasma that arises from its perpetuation of (and belief in) troubling norms such as sexism, ableism, racism and homophobia? This article will argue that it was a combination of both. Utilising interviews it will demonstrate the impact that the exhibit had on marginalized groups within punk and their reflections on whether it reflects wider norms within punk. Relying on the stranger fetishization theory of Sara Ahmed, this article will examine how punk’s memorialization of itself forces marginalized groups within it to be used as a means of bolstering a particular narrative of inclusivity that in reality ensures they remain strangers within their own subculture.