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| Articles: warning: label |
Posted by
callei on Saturday, February 02, 2002 - 01:44 PM PST
I hear this argument that "goth" is just a "state of mind" a lot and it aggravates me. It is an overly simplistic catch phrase to explain away "belonging" to a crowd.
The argument goes something like this: It doesn't matter what I wear, read, eat, think, create, listen to, watch, talk about, dream about, desire, loathe, or ignore. I'm goth because I think I want to be goth.
Actually it does matter what you wear, listen to, READ, watch, eat, where you live, and every other part of life.
Follow me here ok? If you are goth, do you prefer mainstream music? Why?
If you are goth, do you prefer to blend in with the Gap crowd? Why?
If you are goth, do you read only those books that hit the NY times bestseller list? Why?
If you are goth, do you only watch blockbuster, made for your age group movies? Why?
If you are goth, don't these things appeal to your baser, prurient interests, but are not the main focuses of your income or attention?
If you are goth, why dress out of gap?
Why listen to music with so little flavor, why read books that offer no new interpretation of reality, why watch movies with the depth of wet cement?
Why bother, except as the jokes that they are?
Now really think with me here. If you are a Christian, doesn't it show in all aspects of your life? If you are a pacifist doesn't that influence what you read and eat and think?
If you are a money/success driven corporate ladder climber, doesn't that affect what you wear, read, and watch?
If you are a goth, doesn't that mean that your "state of mind" would influence these same things? I mean if it is a life style, then it is a lifestyle, a style in which you live your life.
I am not advocating being "goth". It is not easy, fun, nor does it pay well. It doesn't give you a group of friends, get you dates, or make your family proud. It is legal to discriminate against "goths".
It's also important to remember that "goths" are called "goths" by other people. If you have to call yourself a goth, then you probably aren't one. (See list below).
Being "goth" is a social disease. No one wants to admit that they know you, but get a strange thrill from breaking social rules and talking to the bad goth. Goths don't get invited to normal parties in groups, only one or two at a time because it "cool" to have a freak at the party. It's hard to get a job when you have individuality, real individuality, because who would want to hire a free thinker? They need cogs for their corporate wheels, not springs full of potential energy.
If you go to a shrink, they will put you on drugs to make you more normal. They are trying to do you a favor, but as of yet, there is no cure for being goth. Once you come of the drugs you revert to freak within weeks.
There is such a thing as a real goth. In general they are hard working, loving, giving, friendly, altruistic, and kind to small animals and children. In general their family (this includes those friends that they count as part of their family group) is the most important thing in their lives. In general they are emotional and logical and constantly work to balance these influences. In general they are spiritual people that believe in the greater good.
In short they are "normal" people.
They aren't too worried about death or sex or love because these things happen. They aren't overly driven to rule to world or convert people.
So before you decide to be cool and call yourself goth, think about it. Goths wont like you anymore than they do now, they might even like you less. Other groups will like you less. You have to be ready to stand alone, completely alone, yes that means eating your lunch alone, going to the movies alone, going to cafes alone, sleeping alone, being alone. If you need people then put the black shirt down.
You have to be ready to get hate mail, vandalism, verbal abuse, physical abuse, and police harassment. If this sounds like a pain, then take the fishnets back to the store.
You have to be ready to think, all the time about everything that you see, hear, feel, touch, read, see etc. If this sounds too brain straining, remove the chains and use them to lock up your bike instead of your pants.
If you feel that money is important, or status or an expensive car, then don't light that clove. Inside the goth society, there is no uber goth status. There are just people so you can NEVER have higher status than the person sitting next to you. It will be extremely hard to get a good paying job, and starting your own company is even more work. The car salesmen wont believe that you can afford that porche, even if you wave a check under their noses.
You are better off being gay than being labeled goth. At least you can sue for the hate crimes and every big company needs to have one or two on the pay roll.
If you wonder at my use of quotation marks and un-capitalized goth, it is because I want to separate the words "goth" and "state of mind" as the specialized symbolic words that they are. These are open to interpretation in general speach, but they do have exact and real meaning. I want to be clear that i am using the exact meanings, not what I may want them to mean at this moment.
For a bit of silly fun:
You might be goth if other people can identify you as goth. Total strangers walk up and ask you are you goth?
You might be goth if you start to feel upset and irritable if you can't create anything for weeks on end
You might be goth if your friends have really silly handles with extra "y"s in them and you don't
You might be goth if you actually LIKE going to museums and art galleries
You might be goth if you can name the most likely types of drama in a goth night out (but you said you were straight tonight!)
You might be goth if you wonder how cheerleaders can stand to look so strange
You might be goth if your own personal traumas have made you a nicer, more forgiving person
You might be goth if you tend to buy it in black out of laziness and the ease of laundry
You might be goth if you actually like ethereal music, candles, and dark chocolate and you are a boy
You might be goth if you actually like punk music, maglights, and messy sandwiches and you are a girl
You might be goth if you always smile at kids, not to be nice, but to perpetuate the lie that life is good so that the truth is even more of a shock when they grow up
You might be goth is you disagree with most of these and think this list is silly but still read it all
You might be goth if you honestly think that you look weird in tan/khaki
You might be goth if you still color in colouring books
You might be goth if you actually like something "unusual" in bed and think that it is OK to want it
You might be goth if you have at least one mental disorder that you think makes you saner than other people
You might be goth if you have experimented with personalities, just to see which one fit with your outfit the best
You might be goth if you secretly like some top 40 band or country band and hide the CDs before your friends come over
You might be goth if you have spent too much on make up and worried about it in mixed company late at night and had everyone else commiserates with you
You might be goth is you have actually read Poe, Shelly and Keats when it wasn't a school assignment and have opinions about their works
You might be goth if you spend waaay too much time (either now or in the past) worrying about your blacks matching
You might be goth if you have spent time in the company of Uber goths and not killed them for the fashion advice
You might be goth if you have spent time being kind to angsty teens while telling them that it gets weirder and worse, but not to worry soon they can drink to deal with it
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| warning: label | Login/Create an account | 10 Comments |
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goth..
by VampCourt (Morbidchic@hotmail.com)
on Feb 03, 2002 - 07:20 PM
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Im so goth. Im goth and your goth and shes goth. and my mom's the gothest coz she goth goth. Goth? goth goth gothy goth goth. My favorite word is GOTH!!!
I liked when i was just known as me.. she was known as her.. and he was him.. Know what i mean? and then boom! there we all are. Put in a class. to judge and be judged.
so.. Im Gawth.. Nnyah!
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Re: warning: label
by jadedraven (smithsm@alfredstate.edu)
on Feb 03, 2002 - 10:06 PM
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unfortunatley, no matter how much we analyze ourselves and are comfortable with ourselves, and our choices in how we want to live our lives, the masses will never get it, to them we will always be just goth, just whatever their preconvieved notions of that word means. I agree that life is tough when you are "goth" Being the ONLY female goth in my ENTIRE college, life is tough, I get shit thrown at me, I have people who walk up to me and ask me stupid questions, I get ignored, and stared at, and tlaked about all the time. When tour groups go through the college, I feel like i am on display. Some of my professers are cool with my opinions, which are contrversial, but I have in the past had problems with teachers, and it sucks sometimes, but learning to live with it really does make you stronger. I would never change the way I am, although there have been times when I get fed up with how hard it can be, but i just suck up and deal, I would rather go through a little hardship and be true to myself, then be a poser and fake my way through life with the moral majority.
Sarah
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Re: warning: label
by amigone (-)
on Feb 25, 2002 - 04:34 PM
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yes, i know i'm vaguely new to this site and may not exactly know what it all about, but there's a distinct vibe that i feel about it. it seems like almost everybody is so obsessed with labels and "being goth" that it's almost like they're making themselves into a stereotype. now, i'm not gonna say if i'm goth or not because i don't believe in stereotypes and "you might be goth if..." this all seems so silly to me. do you really WANT to be stereotyped? call me lame, but i just don't get it.
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