Concepts and Movements
Do It Yourself
Also Known As DIY
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Building, repairing and improving things yourself instead of hiring it done: the ethic behind home improvement, kit building, zines and much of hobby culture. It boomed with postwar suburban homeownership, and the same phrase later named the self-reliant ethos of punk and independent culture.
Facts
Origin YearMarks when the phrase entered common usage in standard English; the term was already used in narrower home-improvement contexts earlier in the 20th century. OriginThe phrase was in use by the early twentieth century and became a household term with the home improvement boom of the 1950s 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
A marketplace built for handmade and vintage goods, the commercial face of the handmade revival
Access to tools: a founding document of the self-reliant making ethos
Sources
1. Do It Yourself (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHistory sectionQuote, History section
the phrase 'do it yourself' had come into common usage (in standard English) by the 1950s, in reference to the emergence of a trend of people undertaking home improvement
1. Do It Yourself (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationSubculture sectionQuote, Subculture section
DIY as a subculture was brought forward by the punk movement of the 1970s. Instead of traditional means of bands reaching their audiences through large music labels, bands began recording, manufacturing albums and merchandise, booking their own tours, and creating opportunities for smaller bands to get wider recognition through repetitive low-cost DIY touring.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does DIY stand for?
Do it yourself.
DIY stands for do it yourself: building, repairing or making things without hiring a professional or buying a finished product. The phrase was in common use by the early twentieth century and later spread from home improvement into music and craft, notably through the punk movement of the 1970s, which self-published records and toured independently rather than going through record labels.
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