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Misconceptions surrounding the Gothic subculture

Goths. You?ve seen them many times before?the darkly dressed and quiet ones huddled in the shadowed corner of a crowded room; the artists whose written or visual works raises eyebrows and cause average heads to shake in disapproval; the ones who walk down the street causing people to stare and scowl and toss names and obscenities. You?ve also seen the others?the young ones who suddenly begin dressing in black and becoming aggressive; the teens who make certain never to smile and to revel in angst and anger; the ones who take out their anger on others with guns and knives and bombs, and think they look ?cool? doing it. You know them both, but how well do you know either? Do you understand the difference, or do you lump them together as a self-same group of wayward kids? The Gothic subculture has crusaded for tolerance and understanding for many years, but never has the need been as urgent as now. With the increasing violence of America?s teens and the increasing suffocation of expression by well-meaning but ill-informed officials, understanding is not only desired but is painfully necessary in preventing needless violence, hatred, and resentment. The 1960?s saw the rise of African Americans to equality; the 1970?s liberated women from their kitchens; the twentieth century has been a bastion for the equal treatment of humankind. In this otherwise exemplary movement toward tolerance and equality, a few unfortunate souls have fallen through the cracks. These are the shadows that flit across the earth, hardly noticed, hardly missed when absent. (But they?re never really absent, are they?) In the omnipresent sunlight of society, it?s hard to make them out, but they?re there?and they want to be heard. My purpose with this site is to destroy the many abounding myths and misconceptions surrounding the Gothic subculture in an effort to promote tolerance, understanding, and peace. Whether you are Gothic and have come here for solace and moral support, whether you disapprove of the Gothic s ubculture and have come here seeking examples, whether you are honestly curious about people who are different from you and have come here for information and answers, I welcome you all. Regardless of your opinions at this starting point, all I ask of you as you explore further is that you maintain a heart free of hatefulness and a mind open to new possibilities.
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MAGAZINES AND MORE

Below are many areas for reading.
  • GOTHIC BEAUTY MAGAZINE
  • BLUEBLOOD.NET
  • GOTHIC.NET
  • HIP MAGAZINE (late 80s gothic fanzine)
  • RELEASE ME (KOOL)
  • THE REAL (JADE)
  • DARK CULTURE MAGAZINE
  • The Beginnings of the Goth Movement
  • MOVEMENT MAGAZINE
  • NEWGRAVE MAGAZINE
  • MORBID OUTLOOK
  • ROSA SELVAGGIA (obscure network)
  • GOTH PUNK COM (MUNITY)
  • SINS OF THE FLESH MAGAZINE
  • SEVERANCE MAGAZINE

GOTHIC NET SEARCHING

GOTHIC SITES
  • THE DARKSIDE
  • GOTH TO BE DIFFERENT
  • THE ARCTIC CHAOS GOTHIC OFFRAMP
  • THIS IS MY HOLE (kool)
  • SPELLOWHOUSE (gothic & fantasy)
  • GOTH METAL WORLD
  • GOTH RADIO
  • PROJEKT DARKWAVE
  • MARS DUST
  • GOTH IS DEAD

Stop the false alarmism about "Goth" lifestyle

I was reading this morning's "Our View" column ("A foiled conspiracy raises new concerns about our students," Nov. 26) and was basically agreeing with it until I got to the following paragraph: "The aloof, hostile, black-draped 'Goth' lifestyle hasn't redeemed itself. It still seems to represent alienation and mortal threats to others. At this point, it has to be taken as evidence of real trouble brewing, everywhere." This is pure nonsense and alarmism. The "Trenchcoat Mafia," and whatever dangerously stupid kids idolize them, are not Goths. "The Goth lifestyle" represents no "mortal threat" to anyone, any more than the punk lifestyle did in the 1970s, the hippie lifestyle did in the 1960s, or the beat lifestyle did in the 1950s. But even if some kids styling themselves Goths (wannabe Goths, let's say) were to be violent -- well, let's take the hippie example, which may be more relevant to our baby-boomer readers out there. Charles Manson could've been said to be living a hippie lifestyle. Because of his actions, did that mean every hippie everywhere needed to be monitored for "evidence of real trouble brewing"? Young people who rebel in a different fashion mode and with different musical tastes than their parents did as teenagers, well, they've got to be dangerous to the commonwealth, right? It's always been this way and always will, yet the parents who once wore peace symbols and hair down to their hips somehow don't remember how much static they got from their parents. Of course, they also weren't accused of being potential murderers just because they wore black and listened to depressing music. Those with Internet connections should visit this link, which offers links to articles written after Columbine, some that unfairly malign Goths (and implicate them in the tragedy) and some that speak for common sense: http://www.gothic.net/~mayfair/trenchcoat/ The gist of it is that the vast majority of Goths were as horrified by Columbine as everyone else, just as the vast majority of Muslims were as horrified by Sept. 11 as everyone else. But, see, in America we like our scapegoats to be different from us, and so mosques were burned, Arabic people were harassed and assaulted, because anyone not of the agreed-upon white male suburban appearance of "normality" is suspect. That's never been truer than in high schools after Columbine, and it's only going to get worse for area students after this conspiracy (or scare, depending on what it actually turns out to be). Mandatory dress codes were much discussed after Columbine, as if uniformity of dress would naturally lead to the uniformity of thought -- the unquestioning conformity right down to the soul -- that education higher-ups seem to want from their students. But let's not take time to think about it; that just hurts our brains. No, let's go after "the Goth lifestyle," movies, TV, video games, Eminem, whatever. That's a lot easier than blaming, say, parents, or ourselves. A final thought: if we're all now on alert for those nasty "aloof, hostile, black-draped" students (gee, should students now all dress in festive shades of pistachio and peach to elude suspicion?), that doesn't just mean school officials; that means class bullies, too? Yep, here's one more group of "different" kids for them to beat up on every day and shove into lockers, and now they have the imprimatur of The Standard-Times to do it.
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The Gothic Subculture: New Fad or Long-Running Tradition?

Most American parents and general society seem to be shocked at this "new" phenomenon of kids dressing in black and calling themselves "Goth." The concerned public is convinced that Goths have only been around since the mid-nineties or so, and they?re set in their ideas that the subculture revolves around Marilyn Manson and Devil-worship. The realities are these: the Gothic subculture has been around for a little more than twenty years (little Brian Warner, now known as Marilyn Manson, was still throwing spitballs on the playground at the time), and it began as more literary spin-off of 70?s Punk. (How many of today?s Goth naysayers were part of its parent subculture in their day?) The late seventies and early eighties brought a greater prosperity for the nation?s working adults, but some of the children in these newly prosperous families felt disconnected from this materialistic, purely capitalistic attitude. They were brought up to be happy, money-making suburbanites, but something went wrong-these young adults rebelled from their parent?s clean-cut, sanitized visions of the future and receded into dark coffee houses to read poetry and talk with like-minded youth about the hopelessness and emptiness of materialistic life. They were the Beatniks of the Reagan era, and adopted the "tortured artist" black attire of the 50?s Beat generation as well. When the movement gained momentum, they began calling themselves "New Romantics" in homage to the classic Romantic era of literature, a movement they felt held the magic of visionary imagination and freedom of revolutionary thought. Soon after, the name became "Gothic," pinning down the literary namesake to a more specific type, and a more fitting mindset. Poe, the Brontë sisters, and Blake would be honoured. The early eighties saw a flourish in growth in the fledgling subculture as it further defined its intrinsic fashion, music, and attitudes. These people tended to be shy, quiet, and highly intelligent, and were extremely well-read in classic literature. They were often artists, writers, musicians, and poets, each finding an outlet for his or her creative drive in innovative-and often "disturbing"-ways, such as the macabre Victorian-esque artwork of Edward Gorey or the often gruesome lyrics of Cinema Strange. The pervading attitude that united all of them seemed to be the belief in the beauty of all things: the beauty of stormy afternoons as well as that of sunny mornings; of homely faces as well as the classic Helen-of-Troy visage; of often-ignored death as much as that of celebrated life. Balance was the key, as was the challenge of traditionally held ideas, beliefs, and stereotypes. The freakish make-up and morbid attire of the Goths were testaments to their rebellion against these stereotypes, often explained to the young Goths as being "just the way things are, because that?s how they?ve always been." The Goths said, "Not anymore." By the late eighties, most of the "first generation" Goths had become adults and had shed their black fishnets and blue hair for more "acceptable" ties and slacks as they entered the working world. The subculture almost died there and then, but a few newly-discouraged teens of the late Reagan and early Bush years took up the torch, with the few remaining "first gens" going underground. The second-generation Goths were a bit more vocal than the originals, and often the two groups would come to heads, each calling the other "fakes" and "poseurs." The second gens shifted away from the quiet tortured-artist stance of the first gens-which, of course, antagonized the first gens considerably--but eventually the animosity wore away and the two groups became one, becoming more or less like the first gens were. This happy peace lasted until the early mid-nineties, when the third generation came to the fold. The third generation to call themselves Goth was a bit different. All along, there had been furrowed eyebrows at the "demented youth" of the day, and many parents and some of the media had attacked the black clothing and rock music of the first- and second-gens as being "Satanic" in some way. This media attention didn?t amount to much, but the third-gens heard the media portrayals and immediately adopted the "evil" ways of being Gothic because they knew it would irritate their parents and give them the coveted "rebel" status. The problem was, of course, that the media portrayal of the Gothic subculture was false because it jumped to conclusions without attempting to discover any real truths. Naïve third-gens, who had never heard of the Gothic subculture until the media attention came about, assumed the portrayal was accurate and jumped on the number-one-way-to-annoy-your-parents bandwagon. They didn?t know any better; the media did. Today, we still have the media feeding the flames of the violent, Satanic, evil stereo type of the quintessential "Goth." Far too many teens today who call themselves Goth probably have no idea where the subculture came from, what it actually consisted of, or the fact that the rebellion they revel in is a media-distorted creation based rather loosely on a real subculture that is actually nothing like them at all. Columbine?s infamous "Trenchcoat Mafia" and other nasty media portrayals of the Gothic subculture are, I have no reason to doubt, planting the seeds for an even further distorted caricature in an upcoming fourth-generation of Goths that are not Gothic at all. Nine-year-old worshippers of Britney Spears today may be the black-wearing, obscenity-spouting, bomb-tossing teens of the future.

Gothic Myths and Gothic Facts

Going simply by the most commonly heard reputation of the Gothic subculture, it?s no wonder why so many parents and teachers are so negative about it. Goths and non-Goths alike acknowledge the stereotypes-but "stereotype" is precisely the problem. "Stereotype" is defined in the Webster?s New World Dictionary as "a fixed or conventional notion or conception, as of a person, group, idea, etc., held by a number of people, and allowing for no individuality, critical judgment, etc." Stereotypes are almost always forced on the group of people they?re applied to by people who are not within the group but are instead critical of the group, most often due to simple lack of understanding. Stereotypes are essentially cardboard cutouts that represent tired ideas rather than real living, breathing human beings. But far too many people hold stereotypes in such high regard as to believe them to be true examples of members of the groups they?re meant to represent This leads to intolerance, resentment, loss of understanding, and eventually to the kind of deep chasm we see between general society and the Gothic community today. Let?s burn those cardboard caricatures and find the real truths behind the stereotypical fiction. With all those black clothes and all that freaky make-up, all Goths must be Satanic.
As far as clothing choices go, Goths are no more "Satanic" than tortured-artist Beatniks (where the Gothic trend of wearing black first came from). The ghoulish and morbid appearance of many Goths is derived from the method of rebellion devised by the original Goths of the twentieth century, who used the look to protest what they saw as a sanitized, materialistic "always keep your chin up no matter how bad it hurts" society. Some say it was a sort of mourning attire for a miserable and dying society; some say it was more a rejection of traditional ideas of beauty. Either way, it was more of a social protest than a declaration of (or mockery of) religion, and it remains so today. The Gothic subculture has no specific religious affiliation at all. There are Goths of all faiths, from Jewish to Ch ristian, Muslim to Buddhist, Wiccan to Atheist, and yes, even Satanic. Many of these faiths have special sub-movements within the Gothic community, most nota bly the Christian Goth movement, which has its own style of music, value system, and community.
Goths are all fixated on death. They all want to kill themselves-or someone else.
The commonly held idea of Goth is that of the maladjusted, antisocial outcast who attempts suicide on a regular basis and is incredibly proud of the scars left from previous attempts. This idea is utterly false. While some Goths are outcasts and often feel depressed or alone, the rest of the world isn?t immune to these problems either. Goths are no more maladjusted, antisocial, or depressed than any other average human being. It may be noticed more in Goths because Goths tend to be more open with their negative feelings, or perhaps because more attention is paid to depressed Goths than other depressed teens because the Goths seem "odd" when compared to the accepted norm. "Admittedly, people who dress and conduct themselves a bit out of the norm should expect to receive attention -- not all of it positive," Roland Dobbins, who runs an internet chat channel for Goths, said in an article in the Sacramento Bee, "But by the same token, blaming this on us is almost as bad as the mindset of the gunmen who were selecting victims based on race or whether they happened to be athletes." Goths deal with the same pressures that other teens deal with-academic failures and stresses, social anxieties, family problems, etc. They also deal with a great deal of rejection, intolerance, judgment, and prejudice, potentially creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. "The people who have set themselves so firmly against Goth kids and all the other kids who don't conform have yet to grasp that the suffocating perfection they present is the best argument for the styles they're decrying," says Charles Taylor in his article "Wild Children" from Salon.com. As far as the Gothic "obsession" with death, the more appropriate word might be "acceptance," or "acknowledgement," or "respect." One of the reasons why the Gothic viewpoint is so foreign and frightening to most people is because it challenges the way we traditionally think about "unpleasant" things. Goths refuse to see certain things as "beautiful" simply because they?re acceptable while seeing other things as "offensive" because they?re unpleasant or uncomfortable to deal with. "American pop culture focuses too much on the new and shiny, the bright and happy, [Goths] say. It does not deal well--if at all--with pain, loss and death," say Seattle Times staff reporters Janet I-Chin Tu and Alex Tizon in their article "Goths." They also describe the Gothic subculture as "a way to understand and come to terms with the darker aspects of life." The Gothic viewpoint on death is one of acceptance of the fate that awaits us all, rather than "whistling past the graveyard," denying death, and hoping it?ll just go away. Goths accept death as a natural part of life, part of the natural balance of things. This doesn?t mean, however, that Goths invite death by attempting suicide or homicide-those things would upset the natural balance as much as denying death does. Instead, Goths accept and respect death for what it is-and move on.
All Goths are Worshippers of Marilyn Manson.
First and foremost, Marilyn Manson should not be taken as a representative of the Gothic subculture. Why? Because most of what he does is the antithesis of the Gothic movement. The Gothic mentality is founded on the maxim "be thyself" (prerequisited by the more common maxim "know thyself"). Everything that Manson does is motivated by its shock value and his anticipation of society?s reaction to it; Manson compromises self in the name of image. He makes a wealthy living out of being a caricature of everything he believes parents and general society loathe and love to hate. His music, his appearance, his demeanor-everything is a slave to society?s opinion. "The controversial shock-rock star with the satanic leanings and violence-tinged music has never been a part of their [Goths?] community, artistically or philosophically," says J. Freedom du Lac of The Sacramento Bee. Goths simply want to be allowed to exist as what they are (which is, in general, a darker, more introspective version of "normal"). While it may be true that many Goths do indeed enjoy Marilyn Manson?s music, none "worship" him and almost all Goths agree that he is not Goth-even those who are fans. "Some Goths do like Marilyn Manson...but the vast majority of Goths do not consider his music to be Goth--they consider it heavy metal," journalist Diane Snyder explains in an article from the online news magazine APB Online. Besides, what about the countless other musicians Goths enjoy? Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy, Siouxie and the Banshees, Rasputina? No one attempts to hold those artists up as "demonstrative" of the Gothic movement. Then there are the thousands of "normal" musicians that are well-loved by Goths--I myself am a dedicated fan of Richard Marx, who is well known for his love ballads "Right Here Waiting" and "Endless Summer Nights" and who has most recently moved into doing music very reminiscent of pop heartthrobs N*Sync and country sweethearts SheDaisy. Nothing dire and evil there.