Goth Tag:
1. How long have you been goth?
About one year.
2. How were you introduced to goth?
I've been interested in the Shadow Complex and dark aesthetic for a long time, so I decided to look into it. I'm not sure exactly how long I've been aware of it.
3. What Gothic sub genre would you put yourself in?
Romantigoth and/or ethergoth
4. What do you believe to be the bases of the Gothic subculture?
A dark aesthetic and mindset, with an appreciation for individuality and the unconventional.
5. What do you dislike about being Goth?
The music. I really don't like the music. Some goths believe you have to like at least some of it to be goth. I understand their viewpoint, but I really, really don't like the music. I basically don't like anything metal, punk, or rock oriented in terms of music, fashion, and community.
6. What do your parents think of it?
They seem fine with it.
7. Eyebrow or no eyebrows?
Eyebrows. I don't wear makeup.
8. What is your favourite band?
NOX ARCANA!
9. Your opinion on Marilyn Manson?
No. Just no. Not my style.
10. What were your baby bat days like?
Still a babybat
The only question the tag DOESN'T ask, for whatever reason, is why are you Goth? There can be a LOT of different answers to this question, and that depends on what your definition of Goth is.
The word "Goth" technically refers to a subculture that developed around eighties' post-punk music. There are some people (like the tumblr blogger thisisnotgoth) who believe that things are truly "Goth" only if they relate directly to the eighties music scene. There are also plenty of elitist Goths that believe that unless you look/act/think a certain way, you're "not Goth enough". This elitist attitude goes against the point of being Goth, which is to be original, authentic, unconventional, and non-conformitive. (Think of the Goths from South Park-- "To be one of the non-conformists, you have to dress like us and listen to the same music that we do." How ironic is that?) There are no rules to being Goth, EXCEPT--
You have to like the music.
Some Goths believe that you have to like at least one song by one traditional artist to call yourself "Goth". Why consider yourself part of a music-based subculture if you don't actually listen to the music? I understand their argument, but although the music may have been the essence of what Goth is two decades ago, I believe it isn't anymore. Of course, that's because I'm a babybat, right? Of course it is! I wasn't alive during the heydays of the music, so what do I know? Maybe I'll warm up to it eventually. I'm already warming up to Nightwish (which isn't a Goth band, to be clear). The writer of a response blog to thisisnotgoth was a member of the original scene, and believes that appreciation of that kind of music comes naturally to darkly inclined people, like a tendency to wear black (I agree with many of her opinions, but not this one).
I don't hate the music. I hate screamo. I'd listen to gothic rock if it came on, certainly, but it's not the kind of thing that I would download and listen to on a daily basis. Liking for music such as Nox Arcana's (and other dark music by fantasy artists) comes naturally for me, just as liking for Siouxie and the Banshees, Bauhaus, and the Cure comes naturally to other Goths. What confuses me is that Nox Arcana is not commonly listened to in the gothic community. On ultimategothguide.blogspot.com, there is a list of other artists that Goths listen to besides the traditional ones. Nox Arcana wasn't even mentioned. Seriously, if Goths don't listen to it, who would? It's very, very creepy music! Of course, Nox Arcana wouldn't appeal to all Goths. Nox Arcana is the kind of music you'd waltz to under a full moon in a velvet cape, not headband to in fishnets and spikes, but still!
I sort of wish that I liked the traditional artists a little more, because then I could share that with other Goths and feel more apart of the community. I haven't wanted to consider myself "Goth" (like I haven't wanted to consider myself "Wiccan"), because I don't fit that one requirement. I also wish more Goths were into dark fantasy music. I guess I'm SO unconventional and non-conformist, I listen to music that even Goths have never heard of!
Of course, realistically, Goth is not a subculture that surrounds the music. Maybe it started that way, and a true Goth knows the history and significance of the traditional bands, but it's evolved beyond that now. The reason why I've been drawn to the subculture is not because of its music or the traditional aspects of the subculture that are directly related to the music-- I couldn't care less about hair dye, spikes, and deathrock. Goth is the community of the darkly inclined. If the word Goth pertained only to the music subculture, then Romantigoths, Victorian Goths, and Pastel Goths wouldn't be called "Goths", whether they enjoy the music or not. There have always been darkly inclined people, even before the eighties bands; the Addams Family are from the thirties, and gothic novels became popular a century earlier! There always will be darkly inclined people, and in two decades, the next generation of darkly inclined individuals will be even less likely to listen to eighties bands than I am! The community is evolving; is it really a music-based subculture anymore? Is it? If that was all it was, I wouldn't have been drawn to it because of my interests, fashion sense, and for that matter, music tastes that are not traditionally Goth but are still darkly inclined.
For that matter, if the word "Goth" does refer to the subculture surrounding the post-punk genre of music, maybe "Goth" shouldonly describe that, and not the community as a whole. Maybe the community needs to start calling it something different, like maybe… Shadows?
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