Underground Identities

Nightclubs historically served a number of important roles in the lives of queer people, allowing them to explore their identity and find community in a safe environment: from Techno clubs in Detroit and House parties in Chicago, to Ball-rooms in New York, among other places and music genres around the globe. In current times, electronic dance music has become mainstream, leaving aside all people who are different from the norm. However, there is an underground scene in which dance music culture extends far beyond having a good time, and it is used to form social bonds and assert identity. This thesis aims to explore in what ways this music genre, and the settings where it is played, contribute to develop identities outside of the societal norms at the present time. Thus, the purpose of this research can be summarised in the following research question: how can underground electronic music contribute towards developing queer identities in the Netherlands? With the purpose of obtaining in-depth answers, the chosen methodology is qualitative, directed through semi-structured interviews to queer people living in the Netherlands, and involved in the underground electronic music scene in one of the following ways: regular audience, DJ, or promoter. Three research sub-questions have been designed to split the study into three main areas involved in the experience of an underground electronic music event: the social aspect of the experience, the identifying and performative aspects of clubbing, and the economic aspect of the electronic music scene. The analysis of the elements involved in these fields of study was done by applying different concepts and theories developed in the theoretical framework. The main findings can be summarised in that the social element of the underground electronic music provides the foundations to the experiences that will contribute to develop queer people identities. Once queer individuals are on the dance floor of an underground electronic music event, besides being surrounded by people, they behave freed from the expectations and norms of society. That allows them to explore their identities through movements and self-expression, including gender expression. Later on, they take with them the experiences lived inside the party, incorporating the learnings and behaviours that they have performed on the dance floor into their everyday lives, mostly in terms of freedom of expression, openness towards other people, or incorporating fun. Consequently, instead of being reproducing normative lifestyles, queer individuals are showing to the world other possible ways of moving, dancing, dressing, in the end, living. Ultimately, they are breaking, to a certain extent, with the reigning societal rules, creating a more diverse and playful world.