Get Into the Goth Scene

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Goth, in its simplest form, is a subculture. A group of people who, primarily, share similar tastes in music, fashion and aesthetic. This article will give you an insight to the Goth subculture, and will help you get into the scene just as much as it will show you what being Goth is really about.

Steps

  1. Research into the Goth subculture. Research is one of the most important things you could ever do while trying to learn about something. Contrary to belief, Goth has a defined meaning. Goth being "anything you want it to be" is a too vague definition and almost makes it have no meaning. Some basic facts of the subculture are:
    • Goth is a music based subculture that was born of the post-punk genre in the early 80s. Some real goth bands are Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Sisters of Mercy.[1]
    • The goth term came about because a member of UK Decay (tongue in cheek) referred to their music as "gothic rock" and Ian Astbury jokingly called Andi Sex Gang a "gothic goblin" because he was small, like macabre music and lived in a building called "Visigoth towers" in Brixton, making their fans "goths".[2]
    • The Goth subculture includes music, fashion and aesthetic. They are the only three things that goths, in general, have in common. The music is the most important because a goth is a fan of goth rock/post-punk. The fashion usually refers to traditional goth fashion which the original goth musicians wore in the 80s and the aesthetic refers to the dark and macabre way of thinking that goths have.
  2. Look up Goth bands. Listening to Goth rock or deathrock is the most important part of the subculture, and the thing that makes you goth. Goth rock was born out of post-punk in the early 80s with Bauhaus' song Bela Lugosi's Dead.[3] Some other goth bands are:
    • Address Unknown
    • Alien Sex Fiend
    • All Gone Dead
    • And Also The Trees
    • Angels of Liberty
    • Ausgang
    • The Awakening
    • Arctic Flowers
    • Bat Nouveau
    • Bauhaus
    • BFG
    • Bloody Dead and Sexy
    • The Cemetery Girls
    • Christian Death
    • Cinema Strange
    • The Damned
    • Date At Midnight
    • Diva Destruction
    • The Faces of Sarah
    • Feeding Fingers
    • Fields of the Nephilim
    • The Flesh Eaters
    • Frank the Baptist
    • Gene Loves Jezebel
    • Ikon
    • Inkubus Sukkubus
    • Joy Division
    • Kommunity FK
    • The Lords of the New Church
    • Mephisto Walz
    • The Merry Thoughts
    • The Mission (UK)
    • Nosferatu
    • Red Temple Spirits
    • Rozz Williams
    • Sad Lovers and Giants
    • Screaming For Emily
    • Screams For Tina
    • Sex Gang Children
    • Sexbeat
    • Shadow Image
    • Siouxsie and the Banshees
    • The Sisters of Mercy
    • The Southern Death Cult/Death Cult/The Cult
    • Specimen
    • The Spiritual Bat
    • Two Witches
    • Voodoo Church
    • 13 Candles
    • 13th Chime
    • 1919
    • 45 Grave
  3. Remember that having your music taste primarily made up of goth/deathrock bands doesn't mean that you should only listen to goth/deathrock bands. If you want to listen to anything else, you can. You should be being yourself and not trying to be a "perfect goth" by only doing "goth things". The goth music makes you goth, so it's important, but a goth shouldn't be the only thing that you are.
  4. Dress goth. Dressing goth alone does not make you goth, it would make you Gothic. There are said to be many goth styles, but trad goth, deathrock and romantic (lots of bands in the 90s used to wear this style) are ones that are only really "goth" whereas others like Victorian goth, CyberGoth, pastel goth etc are all from different branches and just take the name goth, rather than actually being it. It doesn't mean that you can't dress in these, just remember that they're not exactly goth. Pastel goth and nu goth in particular are from Tumblr and are more of a trend/just a fashion rather than a type goth. Again, if you want to dress in these, go ahead. Just understand what you're doing because misrepresentation can harm the subculture.
  5. Understand the Gothic mindset. Most, if not all, actual goths have joined the subculture because they had an interested in the dark and spooky from a young age. This sparked an interest in dark movies, literature and fashion when they were older, leading them to learn about the subculture that focuses on this especially. If you don't already have the Goth mindset then you need to ask yourself what reason you're doing this for, as a dark mindset is not something that is gained overnight. Remember that having a dark mindset only does not make you goth. It's an important aspect of the subculture, but Goth was born out of the music (the fashion following).
  6. Read Gothic literature. Reading Gothic literature is certainly enjoyed by a good amount of goths, but it does not really make you goth. In Victorian times, barely anyone called their writing "goth" and since that was the most popular writing of the time, it would have made everyone "goth" which definitely was not the case. The subculture was born out of the music, which is the most important thing to remember. Some books you might want to check out are:
    • The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
    • Dracula by Bram Stoker
    • Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
    • Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
    • Zastrozzi: A Romance by Percy Bysshe Shelley
    • Anne Rice's works
    • Stephen King's works
  7. Teaching others about the subculture. During the original scene, when an elder spoke, it wasn't out of respect, it was because you were genuinely interested.[4] These days, people have started to throw goth aspects, customs, traditions and characteristics that make goth goth out the window.[5] People are losing the sight of the backgrounds, roots and history that make the subculture what it is, so preserving the important of the music and creativity that goes into the subculture is important because without it, new bands and artists can't tour and make new albums. They are not getting the support from new members like they deserve. The reason why other subcultures like the metal subculture is doing so well is because people understand that it's about listening to metal, and that it's not just an aesthetic. So if you see a baby bat, someone who is new to the subculture, teach them (if they are willing to learn). Show them music, fashion and what the subculture really has to offer.
  8. Be yourself. If you have suddenly just gained inspiration because you've seen something that you like, it doesn't mean that you should become part of an entire subculture. Goth is something you grow into, not out of.
    • Goth as a whole is (also) a Germanic tribe, type of architecture, a genre of literature, a movie genre, a fashion style, an art form, music genre and mindset. World Goth Day is on the 22nd of May and there are several large festivals/weekends to do with Goth and alternative music around the world each year. There are also Goth/alternative bars you can visit if you are of 18 years of age or up.

Tips

  • Do your research! Read books on the subculture, talk to other Goths who have been into it a long time and find websites / blogs written by Goths themselves (tends to be more accurate than something written by an outsider).
  • The only reason someone should be goth is because they're being themselves; other reasons like because you've had bad experiences, you're into the stereotypes which are commonly associated with goth (like devil worship, smoking/drugs, self harm/depression, wear black all the time etc) are not good reasons to be part of the subculture.
  • Calling yourself goth will not make you a poseur or a fake; it will mean that you describe yourself as goth because your most dominant natural interests and tastes associate with the Goth subculture.
  • Admitting you've got tastes outside the subculture, is fine. If you consider yourself part of the Goth subculture, it means your more dominant tastes are part of it. This is how it is meant to be because goths are not all clones, aren't meant to like "only goth things" and aren't forcing themselves into things they don't want to like.
  • All goths are not clones of each other, like some people think. All goths are still different because the only things they share or have similar is music taste, fashion (sometimes) and mindset - and there's a lot more to a person than that. Ignore or even try to educate people who have the whole "Goths are trying to be different but all dress and listen to the same music as each other" type attitude. They don't understand that a subculture is a group of people who have exactly that and that goths aren't trying to be different - they're just being themselves (and themselves happen to be similar to other people).
  • Goth and Gothic are two different things. Goth refers to someone who is a fan of the music (Goth rock, Deathrock if you are a Deathrocker) and Gothic refers to someone who likes anything Gothic that isn't included in the subculture (like Gothic literature, Gothic architecture and just dressing in Gothic fashion). This is why it's important to refer to the subculture as the "Goth" subculture; it's based around people who listen to that particular genre of music.

Warnings

  • Be yourself. You shouldn't force yourself to do anything "because it's goth".
  • You shouldn't not do anything because "it's not goth" either.
  • Be aware of poseurs and elitists.
  • Ignore people who make fun of you or laugh at you. Depending on where you live, you may receive different reactions. If you live in a small town or village, people might not be as accepting but if you live in a city then they might be more open minded because there are more people and they may have seen it before, especially if the town has had a goth/alternative scene from the start.
  • Some people may take your view as "elitism" or "policing others", especially if you are very strong in the definition of the subculture. Tell them the difference between stating facts (example. Marilyn Manson isn't Goth) and being an elitist (example. You can't be Goth and listen to Marilyn Manson). Some people prefer to believe that "anything and anyone can be goth" but it's not just a extra persona, it's a defined subculture which has very defined characteristics, aspects, values and customs.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.gothicsubculture.com/origin.php
  2. ↑ http://www.umbraum.com/original_undead.htm
  3. ↑ http://www.umbraum.com/original_undead.htm
  4. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIcHD-cV9T0
  5. ↑ http://thegothicalice.tumblr.com/post/148950458874/the-problem-with-some-young-goths-and-the

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