HOW DO I BECOME A GOTH?

isit every Goth web site you can, read every book, talk to every person that even remotely looks Goth, acts Goth or sounds Goth and you’ll hear as many different answers as to what exactly is Goth.

I’m no expert at what is and what is not Goth. I’d really rather not be an expert at defining and pigeon-holing people, but I would like to express a few personal opinions. If you don’t agree, and would like to add an insight or refine my thinking, please drop me a message. I’d love to hear what you have to say about it.

First of all, I think “Goth” is one thing and “gothic” is another. By Goth, I mean the underground scene, the subculture, the clubs, the Goth nights at non-Goth clubs, the music, the fashion—the whole bit. I’m making this distinction not to narrow the playing field but to widen it.

People want to belong and they’ll sacrifice themselves to do it. Goth used to be a place where people could be themselves. Today, one site lists over 175 types of Goths—each with their own definitions! So people decide they want to embrace Goth and the first question is, “what do I need to do?” How sad. It’s even worse when a new Christian does it. They watch TV preachers and listen to the radio speakers and look at the other people in the pew and say, “okay, that’s what a Christian is. So I’ll buy a new wardrobe, stop doing this or that, and then I’ll hate these people cause they aren’t like us, then I’ll be a Christian.”

No, no, no, stop! Hold the train! In a sincere effort to please God, so many fall into the trap of imitating hypocrites. Goths and Christians alike need to be less concerned with conformity to an arbitrary standard and more concerned with becoming the unique people God wants us to be.

The “gothic” has and always will be. It's a value; a way of defining beauty. It's a cultural sensitivity or taste. As such, it finds expression in all the varied ways in which a culture is expressed—literature, art, film, fashion, architecture, language, music, and so on.

In the Goth movement of the 21st century there is, in some circles, a “Gothier-than-thou” attitude that is seeking to rigidly define Goth—the haves and the have nots. I’m not particularly fond of this trend. Goth isn’t really about what you wear, the number of piercings on your face, the size of the tattoos on your arms, or the music you enjoy. It's really about who you are and being at peace with that.

Goth is a value system and, as long as it doesn’t become “Animal Farm” elitist, it’s a pretty decent value system. The core value of which is this; be the person you are, however Goth or not you may be. You can do that knowing that you have support from at least one segment of the culture at large—the Goth. Where other members of our broader culture may fear or reject your genuine uniqueness, Goth encourages it—even celebrates it. Goth is about respecting individual choice.

Focus more on what is important to you and less on how someone else feels about it. Celebrate your individuality—however much or little it conforms to someone else’s definition of what Goth or even what Christian is.

God made eagles and crows. He made robins and bats, and when He had done all His creating, He sat back and said, “it is good.” It’s only bad when a bat tries to be a robin. The other robins don’t like it and the bat feels out of place.

- David Dellman