The DIY Ethos Explained

A fundamental part of the punk subculture is a do it yourself ethos that is applied throughout each aspect of punk rock. From hand made clothing, safety pinned and stitched together to music recorded in your bedroom on a home stereo, DIY was, and still is, praised and respected throughout the punk rock community. Amy Spencer describes the DIY ethos as a "celebration of the amateur" (2005). She also states that the connection between the zine communities as a whole, throughout history have all started through individuals sharing a similar ethos: "the urge to create a new cultural form and transmit it to others on your own terms."

During the 1970's, the Black Generation was born; a generation of men and women who'd had enough with the state of society. (Adam Wood, 2007) It was a decade of strikes in the UK, with high unemployment rates, racial tension and a lack of trust and respect in the monarchy, the young urban and suburban working class gave birth to punk rock music. A creative outlet for the oppressed youth, punk rock meant you could make and wear your own clothes, shout into a microphone without a singing lesson, release your own record without the need for a recording studio, and through this rebellion, a focus on DIY and its own aesthetic began.

The DIY ethos also reflected a political movement by the punk rock people of the 70's. A mistrust in their government and distaste for corporations forced the young to change their ways of consumption and seek other means of expression. This statement stretched across a wide range of creative opportunities, because they embraced "the DIY principle that you should create your own cultural experience" (Amy Spencer, 2005) S. Duncombe also describes the ethic of DIY as "make your own culture and stop consuming that which is made for you." (2007) With a strong belief in anti-consumerism, ethical trade, anti-corporation and self-reliance, the ethic of doing it yourself became a strong ideal within punk rock, and it still remains today.

The changes made within small punk rock communities could seem like it's functioning on a small scale, however the DIY ideal as a whole is a powerful movement that encourages the amateurs to have a go. Zines were a integral part of the growth of this movement, and were a way in which to spread the word of the DIY ideal, not just through its words, but through its very being. Amateur journalism began to expand with interviews, reviews, articles and responses starting in these underground zines. The DIY aesthetic linked with the 1970's punk zines was established as one of cut and paste, photocopying and low cost binding, which may not be so relevant anymore with modern technological advances, but remains a strong feature with many zines today. They also weren't created for profit, but for the opportunity to spread a message, a bold anti-consumerist statement. Hand to hand distribution cut out the middle man and allows for communities to communicate and exchange ideas, images, text and music through zine swaps.


Amy Spencer (2005). DIY: the rise of lo-fi culture. US, UK: Marion Boyars Publishers Ltd. p12

Adam Wood . (2007). Punk : London's Burning . Available: http://www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk/MagSitePages/Article.aspx?id=4246. Last accessed 22nd Feb 2013.

Amy Spencer (2005). DIY: the rise of lo-fi culture. US, UK: Marion Boyars Publishers Ltd. p16

S. Duncombe, Notes from the Underground: Zines and the Politics of Alternative Culture, Verso, 1997, pp. 1-2.