Ours is a Strange Pornography’: Reflections on Performing Punk in Academia

What is the place of punk in ‘punk studies’? How can we write punk, rather than just write about punk? Can we do this in a way that is more than performative affectation? More than just a(nother) punk cliché? Do we owe a sense of authenticity to our subjects in academic writing on punk? This article offers a critical reflection on a conference paper ‘performed’ as an attempt to address (rather than answer) these questions. I discuss the processes of writing, editing and presenting this article in a way that attempted to ‘show’ punk, not just ‘explain’ it. In so doing, I hope that I can open up a discussion about performance in academia more generally.