What is a Goth?
You may have heard about goth recently. Forget right now any connotations you may have of satanism, suicide,
murder, etc. Goth is a subculture borne of the ashes of punk, with it's heart ripped open and lots of eyeliner on.
It's dark beauty in response to the artificial brightness of society. It is an embracing of passion, of the past, a
reclaiming of the darker side of life as a source of creative energy. It is about beauty, as opposed to vulgarity.
Velvet, not plastic. It is also blatantly sensual in the midst of a culture that subverts/perverts sensuality (think Jenny
McCarthy.) Of course, these are all my own value judgments, and most likely you're still wondering what the
heck goth actually is. Peter Murphy, former lead singer of the band Bauhaus, has said "Goth was a myth dreamt
up by journalists sometime back in the '80s to describe Bauhaus, Joy Division, Iggy's vocal vibe on The Idiot,
and so on." The use of the term in its modern sense has also been attributed to Siouxsie of Siouxsie and the
Banshees, who used it to describe a new direction for her music.
Obviously, it does have to do with the gothic literary genre, which emphasizes darkness and romance, but it has
evolved far beyond that. It's a whole new mutation, full of crossbreeds, children, and ghosts. There have been
plenty of articles delving deeper into its history, getting Siouxsie, Robert Smith of the Cure, Gand Rozz Williams
of Christian Death (among other goth heroes) to deny that they're goths, or indeed, that goth even exists.
But I've thought a lot about goth, particularly in a sociological and psychological framework. Even when I go
through a phase where I deny its relevancy to myself, I'm fascinated by others who are into it. In exploring its
allure, I've run into all sorts of theories. None of it is entrenched and academic, since goth exists as an ever-
changing spectre below mainstream recognition, but rather, it is only speculation.
The biggest cliché is the rebellion explanation. Shock your parents, death is cool, rah, rah, rah! These are the kids
feeling eveeeeelll while listening to Marilyn Manson (whom most goths will violently deny is so) and putting on
Oxy10. But what about the 40-year old goth parents, or more to the point, people like me who are the children
of laid-back hippies? When I dyed my hair purple my mom wanted to do the same. I was the one who convinced
her that with her prominent position in the synagogue, some people might be less than thrilled. The idea of
rebellion in a context larger than that of teenagers and their parents does have some merit, however.
The most pleasant theory is that proposed by Antero Alli, a Seattle artist and astrologer. He notes that goth is a
healthy reaction to our sun-ruled culture, which focuses entirely on progress, modernization, happiness, and
brightness. He says: "It is time to embrace the moon. The Black Moon. The Black Moon champions the feminine,
the absurd, experience versus logic, and depression." He argues that depression is a natural cycle of real life and
one that our culture has forgotten how to deal with, one that we haven't been taught how to accept by society,
parents, and teachers.
"Our modern society," he continues, "shows a grave absence of Black Moon rituals and other 'arts for falling
apart' to honour and dignify the state of depression... you have to create your own rituals. Observe the species'
wisdom in the younger generation who are creating their own black moon rites with shocking fashion statements,
utterly depressing dress codes and the hard-core 'gothic-industrial' music they listen and dance to."
But what of the fact that my music and clothes make me genuinely happy, beyond being a means towards
working out depression? It seems to me that most goths aren't really that depressed most of the time. They have
too many things to amuse themselves with: bands, clothes, constantly changing hair colours. There's even a wily
goth subset: the much-feared perky goth, known to wear polka dots and neon, and to have a fondness for
bouncing around.
So, one explanation for the gothic subculture (and indeed all subcultures), is that they are a social arena in which
people express, commodify, and interact on the basis of the inner feelings they (theoretically) have in common.
Their love of dark beauty, their passion for that which is beyond the mainstream, and their dislike of beige is
expressed through outward material symbols, or products. We understand each other to be goth on the basis of material versions of abstract concepts (an ankh,
black, etc.), whether or not those abstract concepts are actually present.
This makes sense. In our increasingly complex society, where previous identities and roles based on gender, race,
and religion are breaking down, the rise of product-symbols as identifiers is understandable. Since I've moved to
Canada from Seattle, I've noticed that most people here have a stronger cultural identification than they do in the
States. However, there are still many people without a clear ethnic identity or religion. The need to identify with a
group--a tribe--seems difficult to overcome, and the human mind has never been very good at abstract concepts
without symbols to represent them. So the lure of subcultures for those who have reason to be dissatisfied with
mainstream culture is great.
So, who's dissatisfied with mainstream culture? (Raise your hands.) Besides the rational rejection at the adult
intellectual level, all the goths I know were outcasts as kids. Generally, this was for being smart and weird (or
effeminate, in the case of the boys.) Goth may be a way for them to say, "I'm different and I'm special." Thus, the
use of mystical, transcendental symbols of immortality and otherworldliness. They are also saying to a certain
degree, "You don't understand."
The experience of being ostracized seems a very vital aspect of goth culture. Indeed, some have said that when it
originated in Britain it had to do with feeling very oppressed by the rigid culture and depressed economy at the
time. At its worst, goth draws in those with an appetite for tasteless gore and death. These are the ones who
wear plastic Hallowe'en glow-in-the-dark fangs. Also, it can lure people who haven't quite got a hold on their
dangerous or self-destructive impulses. Some people take the beauty in the shadows pretty far.
But the simplest explanation may be the best. It is the one that holds true in my case: goth allures because it is
beautiful. It's a way of amusing ourselves, injecting the fantastic, beautiful and macabre into the mundane world,
which of course, isn't so mundane after all. Gothic motifs include all things old, particularly Victorian, but from
many other eras as well. Ruination. Decay. Cemeteries. Velvet. Lace. Silver. Black. Pale skin. Ghosts. Night.
The Moon. The Occult. The look is a study in contrasts--white skin, black hair, black clothing, bits of silver
jewelry glinting all over.
An incredible amount of time, effort and imagination goes into the way one looks. Someone once said that goths
are walking, talking, self-created works of art. That's why slapping on some black lipstick and a mesh shirt from
some cheesy shop is generally considered... less than admirable. Anyone viewing a large group of goths can attest
to the power of these flashing, sensual extravaganzas. Goth is about decadence, luxurious fabrics, candles,
incense, and plenty of makeup. The smiling, sexless Eddie Bauer model is about as far from goth as it is possible
to get.
On a related but even more abstract note, goth can be seen as a reaction to the blandness and sanitization of
society. Passion, magic, elegance--Hootie and the Blowfish just don't have it. Goth is also about the need for
intense experiences instead of the vicarious ones we are so often offered. Goth is about transforming your body
into a work of art, transforming your living space into a palace, and your life into a ritual. It seems extreme to
many, perhaps even escapist. But that is why I love it; the transformations it involves is precisely why it isn't
escapist.
That's why the rebirth of goth sometimes makes me happy, even if it has been brought about in the mainstream by
artists who, paradoxically enough, I abhor. But if the tide of spooky kids awakens some people's creativity and
opens their minds a little bit, then it has done some good. There are way too many people satisfied with things the
way they are, satisfied with an absence of power, magic, and beauty.
