Social Media: Instagram: @chelseawanders_
Tell us about you? What do you do for a living? Do you have any pets, hobbies, pet projects?
I am a high school English teacher with a passion for writing, music, and the outdoors. I have an MFA in Creative Writing and am currently finishing up my first novel which I hope to get published. I also occasionally write short stories and poems. Before Covid, I went to a lot of concerts and hosted a radio show at my former college. I also really love hiking, and would like to visit all the national parks!
What is your definition of straight edge?
Abstaining from substances that alter one’s mental state.
There’s an ongoing debate on whether one can be straight edge without being a part of the music scene, what are your thoughts on this?
While the straight edge movement began as part of the punk rock scene, straight edge is a lifestyle choice that one can have separate from their taste in music. I think it should be more inclusive.
What are some funny/common misconceptions people have about you being straight edge?
There were a lot of social situations when I was younger where people assumed I was going through a phase and would drink/smoke/do drugs at some point. Some people questioned me really hard about why I don’t do these things, even though it is none of their business, and saw it as like a personal challenge to try to get me to not be straight edge. It made for a lot of uncomfortable situations in college.
What are some challenges you have faced when interacting with other people who are also edge? If you haven’t had any challenges, tell us some challenges you’ve faced when interacting with people who are not edge?
I actually don’t know a ton of people who are straight edge. With people who are not edge, it’s mostly just difficult interacting with people who think they are entitled to know all details of why I don’t engage in those behaviors.
Is your diet influenced or informed by your choice to be straight edge i.e. organic, antibiotic infused meat, genetically modified foods, vegan, vegetarian?
I definitely try to only eat meat a couple times a week, but other than that not really.
What’s your straight edge story? Was there a key moment that made you realize straight edge is the way you want to live your life? How old were you? How did you find out about straight edge, was there someone in the community that introduced you, or were you introduced to it through people/bands, etc? What drew you to it?
Alcoholism runs in my family, and from a very young age I saw how much more harm than good alcohol does. Many members of my family also smoked when I was younger, and my mom had a friend who had his vocal cords removed and talked through a box. I knew early on that lifestyle was the complete opposite of how I wanted to live my life. I’ve never had any urge or curiosity to try alcohol or cigarettes or drugs. When I got to high school, I started listening to punk rock, which led to discovering Minor Threat, which led to learning about straight edge. I felt so relieved to know I wasn’t alone, but as I don’t know a lot of straight edge people in my day-to-day life, I still felt very misunderstood throughout high school and college and early adulthood.
Define what straight edge means to you? Has this changed over the years?
No drinking, smoking, drugs, or sex outside of relationships. The definition has always been the same to me.
Do you consider yourself an activist? What is/are your cause(s), and how have you been working to advance them?
As a teacher, my main cause is just to make sure the next generation is full of well-informed critical thinkers who will make the world a better place.
As a fiction writer, I always try to incorporate straight edge characters into my stories, without it necessarily being the main focus. I don’t like that it’s the norm to just assume that everyone drinks and that characters in a novel or story should also be engaging in that behavior, because it’s “normal.” I want to normalize reading and writing about people doing other things to pass the time, without having to provide an explanation as to why they are not drinking.
What, if anything, keeps you committed to the straight edge lifestyle?
I’ve seen alcohol and other substances screw up too many people’s lives.
What do you do for stress relief instead of drinking/drugs, tips for peer pressure?
Getting outside is my main go-to for stress relief. If I don’t have time for a hike, I might go to the beach and watch the sun set or even just take my dog on a long walk. If people try to peer pressure you into doing something you don’t want to, then they are not worth your time.
If you are in a relationship is your partner straight edge, or have you had a previous relationship with someone who was not straight edge? What, if any, challenges have you faced relating to your lifestyle/choices?
My partner is not straight edge, which has taken some getting used to. He understands and respects why I am straight edge and has never pressured me to drink, but I have learned that I definitely have a limit with how much people around me drink before I start to get very uncomfortable, and he respects that.
Has your family and social life been negatively or positively impacted? Have you faced or are you facing any specific challenges because of your lifestyle choices? If your family/friends are unsupportive, how do you deal?
My family definitely does not understand my lifestyle choices, which doesn’t surprise me. I am not close with my parents, in large part because of our extreme lifestyle differences, and at this point I have mostly accepted that. At this point in my life, if people are going to be unsupportive of something as simple as me not drinking or doing other substances, then I don’t make time for them.
Some straight edge women/girls I have talked to have told me that they feel isolated and that they find it difficult to relate to people outside of the straight edge scene. Is this something you can relate to?
I definitely felt this way growing up, through high school and college when most people are into “partying.” I find it much easier to relate to people my age nowadays.
How do you explain your lifestyle to others outside of the scene? Do you find it difficult? What’s your elevator pitch?
I usually don’t bring it up unless the conversation goes in that direction. Like I said earlier, I had a lot of really uncomfortable conversations in the past where people felt entitled to know every detail of why I was straight edge. I’d like to think I am at an age where the people I interact with now are more mature, but if the conversation doesn’t have to go in that direction, I’m not taking it there.
Have you ever had a negative experience in the scene related to your gender?
So many. This is actually a topic that I am trying to incorporate more into the stories that I’m writing. I’ve received some really inappropriate comments from guys at shows, had a male “friend” try to toss ear plugs down my shirt, traveled to shows with all male friends only to be ignored once we arrived, etc. It’s one of the reasons I stopped going to concerts as frequently as I used to in high school and college, and why I stopped associating for the most part with any kind of “scene.”
What if any challenges have you faced that are specifically related to being a female in a male-dominated scene?
Overall, not being heard or respected. I played guitar in high school and college (I guess I still play but not with any kind of regularity) and trying to find people to jam with or start a band with was almost impossible because a lot of the people I knew just didn’t want girls in their band. And then there was the overall being ignored when I’d go to shows with guys. This was also 10-15 years ago… I hope it’s at least a little better now
Is the scene as inclusive as it likes to think it is? Do you think there’s work to be done? If so, what would you like to see change?
When I was more involved in the scene, I did not find it inclusive. It was definitely a boys club, and I went from initially feeling like I belonged to feeling super isolated. I’d like to think society in general is in a place now where people are thinking more about inclusivity in the spaces they occupy.
