Oh no you definately don't have to become a member... It's just something you do for yourself. It's mostly connected to the punk rock scene though, becuase that's where it was started. If you go to a concert and see a bunch of kids with Xs on their hands, that means they're straight edge. But it isn't like a cult or a memberish type thing. All you've got to do is make the decision not to have casual sex, not to drink, not to smoke, and not to do drugs, and you're straight edge.