Tell us about yourself!
Well, my name is Valentina, i’m from Chile (spanish is my first language) and i’ve been into punk since i was 14, i’ve been a straight edge since i was 21, i’m 30 now so it’s been a while, i’m no longer part of any crew related to punk, but i still follow some DIY ideologies.
I write for this alternative music media where we also love to cross promote lol but we are writing mostly in spanish, i also work at a record store. Music is all i care about, it saved my life and now i get to work with it, i interview musicians and i get to write reviews and articles about my favorite bands. I’m literally living my dream! Here’s the link for the post we made for this year’s edge day! https://www.instagram.com/p/DBPOFftyg0A/?igsh=bHU1M3d5bDZiZQ==
What’s currently on your playlist?
Oh right now i’ve been listening to glass beach a lot, also i LOVE anklebiter and i realized that they’re breaking up so i’m kinda sad about that.
Anklebiter’s latest album;
Here’s glass beach latest album too:
How do you define straight edge?
I found the term while i was discovering punk. Except my punk friends were drunks and they all did drugs. I did too, because i thought (at 14) that punk was music and getting fucked up. And so i did! I went to shows and drank and took any drug they gave me, i was coming from a christian, conservative and very violent home.
I had found a family in my punk friends and a very weird escape from reality in drugs, i was so young and they took me in and i felt part of something. It took a lot of research and a lot of trauma to realize that punk was made of music and strong ideologies more than just the looks and getting fucked up. Being. Steaight Edge means a lot of things to a lot of people and i will always respect that, but for me it was a way to stay connected to this subculture that i loved and still feeling validated whenever i said NO when someone handed me mushrooms.
Being sober is hard and usually lonely, when you’re straight edge and you build community everything is so much better. At first it was lonely because i had to stay away from these people that at first were so welcoming and fun, because as soon as i started to quit all these things they began shutting me out, it took me a while to find my people, but now that i have them, they are now my family.
How important is music to your relationship with straight edge?
To me it’s so important, history is written in the music, and within the music is how Straight Edge came to be. Minor threat literally made it into a song, and other projects like earth crisis carried it on. I understand if some people are straight edge and maybe don’t follow the music scene, but it’s always something I recommend when meeting people who are interested in the music scene or just being straight edge, try to get the bigger picture, listen to the music, if you don’t like it then you just don’t like it and it’s fine! I can’t tell anyone how to live their lives. Just have the proper respect for that you identify with.
What’s your straight edge story?
Well, i started going to shows and doing drugs when i was 14, and that took me to a lot of places i wish i never went. For years i just followed my friends into every adventure they felt like having. And since i never had to pay, and i was the youngest in the group, i was always somehow pampered like that, “we always have an extra gram for you” “don’t worry we’ll look out for you”.
It became complicated when one of the group ended their own life. The drinking got heavier in the name of grief and everyone became very violent. I saw myself in danger and i decided to get out of there for good. That was almost 10 years ago.
Can you recall a pivotal moment or experience that solidified your commitment to straight edge?
I think it was this grief, losing a friend in a way that was so drastic and sad, and the aftermath of that of course. In the months after the funeral of our friend i was getting into physical fights and i was abused at some point. That was what changed me, none of these people were going to help me and no hallucinogen was enough to help me dissociate. I really just had to get out of there, i decided to become straight edge and i never looked back, never regretted it, never doubt it. It was so easy for me to follow this principle, i wasn’t gonna let anything fucking my brain more than it already was.
How has straight edge influenced your relationships with family, friends, and others?
At first it was horrible. I ditched all my addict friends and i had no one for a while. My family didn’t even noticed because i was never home, i isolated myself because i felt everyone was either gonna make fun of me for not drinking or try to force me to drink.
I had my defenses WAYYY up at first too, like i was very mean to people who did drugs, smoked, drank, to me they were all evil and i was isolating myself a lot, until i met another straight edge, who never ever tried drugs. And i felt like shit because somehow it was like i was dirty for even having that past, but he was very chill and he didn’t really cared about my past and that i shouldn’t either! That helped me heal, and i was welcoming to make friends and community again, and now being a straight edge is something that my friends respect so much. The ones who do follow this lifestyle are also part of the subculture of punk and we understand each other. I love my friends, and they love me. Edge or not, that’s what i care about the most. I am finally in an environment that makes me feel at peace.
Looking back, is there anything about path into and through straight edge that you would do differently?
Uhm… I don’t think so. I would love to not having so much trauma from drug abuse and all that, but i would probably be a very very different person than who i am today! And i finally like who i am, so i don’t wanna change that.
True or False: “If you’re not now, you never were”?
Ohhh i have two acquaintances who did this, and i honestly don’t get it. I am very committed and i have a small sxe tattoo on my hand, with time my conviction only grows stronger. And at the same time i have learned to accept people who drink or smoke weed. But there’s nothing on earth that would make me go back.
At some party with my friends a few years ago they were drinking coke and rum, and i only had coke, i left my glass on the table for one second and then confused the cup with another that had rum on it, i only took a sip and i felt horriblec mostly because of trauma memories, but i really really don’t ever want to go back, and that just proved it to me. Since then i tend to write my name on my cup or have a different cup so this doesn’t happen again, it was my friends’ idea so i don’t ever get them confused again.
Have you encountered any challenges or misconceptions about being straight edge?
Oh yes, at first it was like: “You’re so boring”, “partykiller”, “oh your mommy don’t let you drink?” Like… Okay, i get it drinking and doing drugs is cool, what the fuck do i care? Just leave me alone.
Also sometimes, people think i don’t have casual sex or am a vegan, which i usually address on a lighter, more friendly tone. Mostly people just ask nowadays, they see me in this lifestyle and ask how hard it was to quit drinking, or if i’m actually punk, or stuff like that, i try to answer questions as nicely as i can.
Do you feel that your gender or age has influenced your experience within the straight edge and hardcore scenes?
Being a woman in any music scene is already hard, but within hardcore circles it could be great or horrible, to me there hasn’t been a in between. I’m a cis-woman, bisexual and aromantic.
I think for me the worst is when people assume i’m just someone’s girlfriend. Like the only reason i’d be at a concert, big or small, is because my boyfriend (because of course they always assume is a man) is an actual real fan of the band, or is part of the band itself. I had been with people who play in bands, but that has never defined me and i will never let it define me either. I’m a music fan first, human second. And when i was younger some men used to just… Ignore my words, pass me as just some fangirl or someone’s little sister that they were forced to bring to the show. And i hated that. I fought with nails and claws for being accepted in the hardcore scene and now that i’m grown up and actually respected by my peers i try put everyone on their place when i have to. Yes i am a fucking fangirl, yes i might or might not be sleeping with the drummer, why do you even care?
Recently i was with my girl friends at a turnstile show and some of the dudes were so insufferable towards the girls, we ended up on one side close to the stage, just girls, all having fun, some moshing, some just singing their lungs out, and we pushed away every dude that tried to yell at us or hit us, it was actually great.
In your view, how inclusive is the straight edge scene?
The only actual community in my city is just men, i’ve been invited a few times but i don’t feel comfortable being the only girl. And with my friends who are actually straight edge i try to be as open as possible to other people! But it’s always hard because i don’t know many chileans who are straight edge, let alone a group of people not only consisting of grown men. I think it’s different for every country, but speaking as a Latin-American, i think we just need to be louder about it so other people hear us and say, “you know what… I think i want this for my life too.”
Have you observed any evolution in the straight edge scene regarding acceptance and diversity?
Again, since in my country is a very small group, i can’t really tell. But at least on the internet i think there has been growth, i have always felt welcome in online straight edge communities, i haven’t even seen beef on the subreddit haha
