WHAT IS GOTH? "Goth is not a religion or a cult but a lifestyle based on an appreciation for the darker side of life and art." – Lesley Pratt Bannatyne “Goth is a state of mind. Romance is at the heart of what it means to be goth. Most goths are goth because of a refined sensitivity to life... goths try to live with dignity; they aim to respect one another. The Victorian goth is a genteel character, mourning that environment which nurtured sensitivity and venerated consideration... goth is a realm devoted to the deepest yearnings of the collective unconscious. It respects what has been traditionally called feminine values in both men and women, beauty, love, refinement, creativity... survive with style and grace.” – Nancy Kilpatrick, The Goth Bible "Goths serve a shamanistic role in society to protest, to mourn, to amplify and relay mourning and anger for the collective mind." – John Shirley as quoted by Gavin Baddeley “Goth is a distinctive style of music and fashion.” – Paul Hodkinson, Goth: Identity, Style, and Subculture “A Goth is a fan of gothic music. They wear black and act melancholy. Themes that appeal to Goths tend to pertain to the dark aspects of human existence—such as death, romance, and feelings of loneliness or isolation. Many Goths are drawn to the scene due to experiences of abuse, discrimination or ridicule at the hands of “normal” people. To the outside, Goths are weird; black clad freaks who are obsessed with death. Take a closer look, however, and you will find a rich tapestry of ideas and practices and a menagerie of colorful characters. There are many kinds of Goths including but not limited to Romantic Goths, Death Rockers, Cyber Goths, Rivet-Heads, Ethereal Goths, Punks, Perky Goths, and Goth-a-Billys. Each has a distinctive style.” – Voltaire ‘What is Goth’ “Goth in its simplest form is a subculture, a group of people
who feel comfortable within each other's company. There is no specific
thing that defines what you need to do or be to fit into the goth scene
(except of course the implied black clothing). People in the goth scene
all have different musical tastes, follow different religions, have different
occupations, hobbies, and fashion sense.” – Goth.net
“Goth refers to the modern underground scene. But Goth is more than just a subculture, a gloomy aesthetic or literary genre. It is a philosophical perspective. In Goth, the strange and eerie are commonplace, while the everyday is somehow uncanny. Camp is an important concept to anyone who wishes to understand the gothic aesthetic. The essence of Camp is its love of the unnatural, of the exaggerated and the off.” – Gavin Baddeley, Goth Chic “Goth culture is a movement embracing the romanticism of darkness and the outcast persona... it is a statement against what is seen as the oppressive, materialistic, and superficial values of mainstream society... Goths are usually gentle people with artistic and literary tastes. Sometimes their deliberate off-putting look is a test to see who will accept them for what they really are. They are sensitive to artificial and superficial social behaviors.” – Marcia Montenegro “Most people pass through the valley of the shadow of death, you people build condos there.” – Lynn Vigliante Goth means many different things to many different people but this is what it means to me: Goth is beauty. Those that are Goth are tender, sensitive, and courageous. Goth is empathy and Goths are the bearers of sorrow and sadness for a lost and dying world. Goth is an expressionist response to the pain and injustice that diminishes every human being. When one suffers, we all suffer. Goth is a gentle and elegantly masochistic answer to a cruel and sadistic society. Goth is choosing life when death is a seductively tempting option. Goth is art, a means of expressing the darkest and saddest of all human emotion. Goth is, always has been and always will be as long as people hurt. - David Dellman |