Audrey Golden – Queercore (paperback book)

“Queercore” by Audrey Golden offers a comprehensive exploration of the queer punk subculture that was never intended to be a genre but instead arose as an underground resistance movement rooted in DIY aesthetics and community defiance.

The book charts the origins of queercore from its naming in the 1980s by G.B. Jones and Bruce LaBruce through the spread of the movement via zines, cassettes, and grassroots networks across North America, Europe, Australia, and Japan.

This study highlights how queercore expanded beyond music into zines, visual culture, and independent film, introducing key figures, seminal bands, and the record labels and media forms that sustained the scene.

Golden draws on archival research and original interviews to document how queercore evolved, challenged norms in both punk and mainstream culture, and cast a long legacy for LGBTQIA+ artists and marginalized voices.

Structured around thematic chapters on zines, sound, queer identity, and cultural impact, “Queercore” situates this transnational movement within broader discussions of resistance, aesthetics, and community building inside and beyond punk.

About the Author: Audrey Golden is an arts and culture writer whose work intersects music history, gender studies, and underground cultural movements.