Commentary on LeahMouse's "What Goth is NOT!"

Last week, I took a look at goth is, but this week, I think it's worth it to look at what goth isn't. Before you read the rest of the article, you may want to watch this YouTube video by LeahMouse, "What Goth is NOT!" because this post is essentially a commentary on it.

First, I want to touch on her explanation that it's a misconception that goths are innately depressed. I wholeheartedly agree with this. Based on personal experiences in the club scene, interacting with people regarding my musical interests, and dealing with the business of this site, I have no reason to believe that goths, as a whole, are overwhelmingly, overtly, and expressively depressed. I do know goths who do suffer from depression, but these people are certainly not depressed because they're goth or because they're trying to project a goth image. These people may have been somewhat attracted to the goth subculture due to their depression, but that relationship seems secondary to other reasons, such as the enjoyment of art and affinity to the music and style.

Most people who I've spoken to within the goth-industrial subculture, regardless of faction or fine-tuned identity, have been relatively well-adjusted people who lead happy lives and have a healthy self-esteem. The people who do have problems are those who have problems in regard to things that have nothing to do with the goth subculture, but from other internal or external causes. Of course, I do not claim to be the definitive expert on all people who identify as goth, but speaking from my own personal experience, I agree with LeahMouse on this point.

In regard to her next point about the religion and religiosity of people within the goth subculture, I think that's one of those points that has been beaten into the ground a bit over the years, especially in regard to goths in the US. The US has become more secular of a nation over time, and from my observations, the goth community has just as significant of a secular influence as everyone else does. From my observations, the only people who really care about the religion of a goth person are the people who care too much about the religion of anyone else. It wouldn't matter if the people in question were goths, preps, geeks, or whatever. It's not the kind of thing I would lose too much sleep over, because there is no pleasing that group of people who likes to stick their noses into the religious practices of others.

As for the points about troublemaking and delinquent behavior, I think LeahMouse could have been a little more eloquent and worded her presentation a bit better, but I agree with the ideas she presents.

People tend to look at the outside of a person and make immediate judgments based on it and previous knowledge and experience. Many people have preconceived notions of what "goth" is, and will make automatic attributions on sight. Obviously, it's unfair to judge someone by the outside, but everyone does it. I do it. You do it. If you say you don't do it from time to time, I'll immediately call you a liar. The key thing is recognizing that you do it and making an attempt to dig deeper. In regard to the goth subculture, that means that people should try to educate themselves on what it means to be goth. I don't have wild expectations that people are going to dedicate vast amounts of time delving into books, articles, and videos about every part of goth subculture, but even just a little bit of passing interest would go a long way and help to wipe away a lot of misconceptions. There are a number of misconceptions (e.g. widespread practicing ritual sacrifice) that would go away in a person with even the tiniest modicum of education on the goth subculture.

As for finding appreciation in darker beauty, I think that is part of why people who are outside of the scene get confused in regard to what it means to be goth. For instance, a goth person may find aesthetic pleasure in skeletons or blood, but that doesn't mean he or she has any interest in killing anyone to make these aesthetics come to realistic fruition. Those two things have absolutely nothing to do with one another, but a lot of people who don’t get the subculture can't really wrap their heads around it. Again, based on personal experience, I have no reason to believe that goths would have any greater propensity to perform violent acts than a non-goth, but some people tend to get worried by the level of comfort that goths have in regard to discussing the darker and sometimes more grotesque parts of life.

Finally, goth is not all about dressing in black, as LeahMouse said. There isn't a whole lot I can say about this that would not completely dominate the post, because goth fashion is something that entire magazines and websites are devoted to talking about. But in short, ignoring those who are not presenting as goth at all from a fashion standpoint, even among those who are trying to present a goth image, it's not always about dressing in all black. Depending on the type of goth, you may not even dress in black at all. There is just such a wide variety.

In short, watch this woman's video. She brings up some excellent points about what goth is not. If we want to set boundaries for the subculture, it's just as important to figure out what goes out as to what goes in.