First off, my name is suppossed to appear as ShedsRedTears but there was a login error.
I’ve been searching for something at least vaguely resembling a definition of what it is to be gothic for a few months now. I’ve had minimal luck.
However, I have been able to develop an outline of what will hopefully evolve into my own personal definition. I’ll share this with you now.
Being gothic has less to do with outward appearance than people care to believe. It is a mind set, a perspective, that is somewhat darker than that which has been determined the norm. “Darker” can me more morbid, pessimistic, or deviant than what society accepts. It is something different for each individual, so there cannot be a rigid standard.
I have observed goths to have tendancies to be drawn to beautiful, black clothing, and extreme makeup and sprayed hair. They tend to be nocturnal and listen to bands whose lyrics are on the emotional and melancholy side. They consume caffiene and clove cigarettes like air, and can be antisocial but not necessarily unfriendly. They are usually of above average intelligence, and are talented writers of poetry, short stories, and online posts. Their interests can include the occult, b&d/s&m, medieval culture, books, philosophers, music, clubs, and other goths, who they usually dismiss as posers, based primarily on appearance and personality. They tend to be somewhat depressed or melancholy, although this isn’t a….requirement, shall we say, and may have suicidal tendancies and/or psychological problems. I believe that there are many people with a gothic mindset that do not consider themselves gothic, and there are many people who consider themselves gothic but do not have a gothic mindset. However, I believe in acceptance of goths in all their forms, becuase if we are going to infiltrate society as we deserve to so that we can dispel all the misconceptions about us, we’re going to need all the well behaved, respectful goths we can find.
So…does anyone here agree? Or am I the driviling idiot I fear I am? Thanks for your time.