I’m sure Kaio will give her take on this as well but for starters not all Goth’s wear the sterotypical corpse-paint, black nail polish, etc. Some do yes, and as far as I look at it its the same as your choice to wear your hair short or long, grow a gotee (if you are a guy) or any other style of adornment. Its what that person happens to like. There is also a little bit of morbid pleasure that can be derived from shocking the mainstream and playing on their fears of the scary-person, but, I personally don’t go for that.
Just let me say, first and foremost regarding the clothing. You will find as many different clothing styles, color choices, and whatnot as you will find different Goths. Everyone does something different, but yes, there is a general preference for darker colors. For some its an outward expression of some sort of inner turmoil, for others, its just something they like, and for others still, its another way to seperate themselves from the mainstream which tends to prefer brighter things.
Let me ask you this, if you work in a white collar setting, do you wear a shirt and tie every day…if so do you always wear a white shirt as oppossed to colored shirts even though either is acceptable. In the end, it is simply what someone prefers. I for example, wear my hair long but have opted not to dye it black but rather leave it blonde (i’m a guy btw). Outside of what I have to wear for my job (my “uniform”) I have a preference for rather elegant, victorian style clothing (I love my cloak in the winter ) and will wear many different colors, though i do prefer blacks and darker colors. For me, mainly because I think they look the best and have a bit of a more formal flavor to them.
Social outcast I may be, and its a label I wear proudly, but if you must know, it is not a label I “prefer” over any others. I am a geek by trade working full-time as a systems administrator and in that sense it is a label I have always proudly worn. As far as being a freak, hey, everyone is entitled to their opinion and if someone thinks I am strange enough to be called that then I guess I am far enough away from the mainstream
As an aside, I was a freak before I was a Goth. My manner of dressing, my outlook on life, and everything else about me that is Goth was there long before I even knew Goth existed. I spent a few years proudly giving MYSELF the label of freak
I guess what’s confusing me the the notion that “Goth” is an ambiguous label that can mean anything the person wants it to mean. Every other subculture has at least one thing that all the people who subscribe to it have in common. If it’s true that I can ask 100 Goths and get 100 different answers, then wouldn’t that mean that they really belonged to 100 different subcultures?
Yet another take: I guess I have been goth (whatever that means) since the 80’s. To me it is simply a way of looking at the world. Seeing beauty in all sorts of places. Going wild on a dancefloor, to music I love, without feeling out of place. Yes, I often feel totally alienated in standard society. It seems somehow dreary and uninteresting. Mopey? Nope, quite happy thanks. Corpse paint? Only for a Halloween costume. OK, my entire wardrobe (including corporate wear) is black. I love my big chunky boots, silver jewellery. I go, once a month when it runs, to a goth club. All the local goths (over 18 for the drinking) go, as do the old-school punks. Everyone feels safe…I have never seen so much as a raised voice let alone a fight. We turn up the music really loud and dance all night. I went to a standard club once. i sat all night nursing a drink, not enjoying the music or the pickup posturing I saw people doing. 100 different answers…yes I think that would be true.
In general it seems to me, and I’ll be the first to confess that my outlook may be skewed, that we are, in many ways depending on the circumstances either told to believe that everything is wonderful and there is nothing, or very little wrong with life, or in some cases, such as with the beauty industry, that you are terrible and need to be improved superficially. One thing I take pride in, and one that seperates me from many people (present company excluded I’m sure) is that I make my own choices and have my own outlook on life, not one that has been fed to me through one way or another.
The one thing that every goth would probably have in common is the tendency to not avoid the darker parts of life. That’s probably the most defining aspect of the culture.
Originally a group of Germanic barbarians. After the Western Roman Empire collapsed the Goths took over ruling Italy.
Jump forward a thousand years to the Renaissance. Europeans are rediscovering their classical heritage. The previous medieval style of art is falling out of favor. Part of the campaign against the old medieval style is to label it “gothic”. The implication is that medival art and architecture are a barbarian import, and while the new renaissance style is a return to the classical Roman tradition. The fact that gothic architecture had virtually nothing to do with the original goths is conveniently ignored.
Jump forward another few hundred years to the Gothic Revival. Folks realized that despite what the Renaissance thought, those old medieval cathedrals were kind of pretty. In fact, they even started building new buildings that looked “gothic”.
This happened to coincide with the Romantic movement in art that emphasized feeling over ideas. One thing the Romantics loved was melancholy – a swoony rumination on some overgrown ruins was just their cup of tea. The idea of “gothic” would up getting mixed together with this melancholy, morbid streak of Romanticism.
Jump forward another hundred and fifty years. Neo-Romantics with a melancholy, morbid worldview naturally gravitated to the 18th and 19th century Romantics, particularly the “gothic” strain. “Goth” came completely unmoored from its old barbarian meaning and became synonymous with a dark, emotional, romantic view of life.
I’m not goth–way too fond of bright colors and peppy music–but I have a fair number of goth buddies. (That sounds horrible, doesn’t it? “Some of my best friends wear black!” ;)) While they do embrace the darker side of life, the goths I hang out with also have a sense of humor about themselves. And they tend to be more well-read and creative than your average schmoe. Their most distinctive attribute is that they embrace the sensual and the aesthetically pleasing in a very deliberate, Oscar Wilde-ish sort of way.
) and will wear many different colors, though i do prefer blacks and darker colors. For me, mainly because I think they look the best and have a bit of a more formal flavor to them.