Goth is a modern subculture that first became popular during the early 1980s within the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of post-punk. It is associated with characteristically "gothic" tastes in music and clothing. Styles of dress range from death rock, punk, Victorian, androgyny, some Renaissance style clothes, a combination of the above, and/or lots of black attire, and makeup.
- This article is about the contemporary goth/gothic subculture. For the Germanic tribes of the same name, see the Goths.
English usage
The word "goth" can be used as a noun, e.g. "my best friend is a goth." Plurally, an S is added, e.g. "at the club there were many goths." "Gothic" and "goth" can also be used interchangeably as adjectives, e.g. "she was wearing a gothic necklace" or "he is goth". The word "gothic" is sometimes used as a noun in non-English speaking countries, as in "I saw a gothic"; this is comparatively rare and grammatically incorrect in English. "Goth" cannot be used as a singular name for a group of people or the subculture in general. "A member of goth", for example, is incorrect because "goth" is not the name of an organized group. To refer correctly to the entire group of people, one says "goths", "Gothics","the goth subculture", or possibly "the gothic subculture". "Gothic", when used as an adjective, can potentially refer to anything dark or horrifying, or something influenced by medieval Gothic art, and not necessarily to something associated with modern gothic subculture.
Origins and influences
Original subculture
By the late 1970s, there were a small number of post-punk bands in Britain labeled "gothic." However, it was not until the early 1980s that gothic rock became its own subgenre within post-punk and that followers of these bands started to come together as a distinctly recognizable group or movement. The opening of the Batcave in London's Soho in July 1982 might be seen as marking the emergence of this scene (which had briefly been labeled positive punk by the New Musical Express)[1]. As one of the most famous meeting points for early goths, it lent its name to the term "Batcaver," used to describe old-school goths. Independent of the British scene, the late 1970s and early 1980s saw death rock branch off from American punk [2].
Etymology and Gothic horror literature
The original Goths were a Germanic tribe who played an important role in the fall of the western Roman Empire. The name "goth" later became pejorative synonymous with "barbarian" and being uncultured (a similar fate befell the name of another such tribe, the Vandals). During the Renaissance period in Europe, medieval architecture was retrospectively labeled gothic architecture, and was considered ugly and barbaric in contrast to the pure lines of classical architecture. In Britain by the late 1700s, however, nostalgia for the medieval period destroyed by the Reformation led people to become fascinated with medieval gothic ruins. This sometimes went to the extent of building fake ruins. This fascination was often combined with an interest in medieval romances, Roman Catholic religion, and the supernatural. Enthusiasts for gothic revival architecture in Britain were led by Horace Walpole, and were sometimes nicknamed "goths", the first positive use of the term in the modern period.
It was the gothic novel of the late eighteenth century, a genre founded by Horace Walpole with the 1764 publication of The Castle of Otranto, that was responsible above all else for the term gothic being associated with a mood of horror, morbidity, darkness and the supernatural. These stories established what became horror stereotypes by featuring graveyards, ruined castles or churches, ghosts, vampires, nightmares, cursed families, being buried alive and melodramatic plots.
Certain elements in the dark, atmospheric music and dress of the post punk scene were clearly "gothic" in this sense, exemplified in the names of post punk bands like UK Decay or Southern Death Cult. It was the use of "gothic" as an adjective in describing the music and its followers, which led to the term "goth" being given to the subculture.
In Germany, members of the goth subculture were called Grufties (engl. "vault creatures" or "tomb creatures") in the '80s and early '90s. They represented generally a fusion between the goth subculture and the New wave movement and were forming the early part of the "dark culture."
Early influences from Gothic literature and cinema
The influence of the Gothic novel on the goth or gothic subculture can be seen in numerous examples in the poetry and music of the subculture; while sometimes it came second hand, through the popular imagery of horror films and television. In particular, the imagery surrounding male and female vampires, witches, sorcerers, spies, and others had a significant influence on the evolution of gothic fashion. A notable element in the gothic novel was the brooding figure of the gothic villain, which developed into the Byronic hero, a key precursor to the male goth image. The most famous gothic villain is the vampire, Dracula, but it was the iconic portrayal of Bela Lugosi, rather than Bram Stoker's original novel, which appealed to early goths, who were attracted by Lugosi's aura of camp menace, elegance and mystique. Some people even credit the band Bauhaus' first single "Bela Lugosi's Dead", with the start of the Gothic movement, though there are certainly other contenders. On that note, many prior art house movements also were influential to what constitues today's Gothic or goth fashion and stylized appearance. A notable early example would be the performer, Siouxsie Sioux, of the musical group Siouxsie and the Banshees, as well as some of the members of Bauhaus, who were fine art students and/or active artists.
The concept of the femme fatale, which appeared in Romantic literature, Film Noire, as well as in the Gothic novel, went on to become a vital image for female goths. In cinema the femme fatale style adopted by silent movie actress Theda Bara (whose first name is an anagram for "death"), nicknamed the vamp, amongst others, established the look for pale predatory women in later films.
The powerful imagery of horror movies began in German expressionist cinema in the twenties then passed onto the Universal films of the thirties, then to camp horror B films such as Plan 9 From Outer Space and then to Hammer Horror films. By the 1960s, TV series, such as The Addams Family and The Munsters, used these stereotypes for camp comedy.
Some of the early gothic rock and death rock artists adopted traditional horror movie images, and also drew on horror movie soundtracks for inspiration. Their audiences responded in kind by further adopting appropriate dress and props. Use of standard horror film props like swirling smoke, rubber bats, and cobwebs were used as Gothic club décor from the beginning in The Batcave. Such references in their music and image were originally tongue-in-cheek, but as time went on, bands and members of the subculture took the connection more seriously. As a result, morbid, supernatural, and occult themes became a more noticeably serious element in the subculture. The interconnection between horror and goth/Gothic was highlighted in its early days by The Hunger, a 1983 vampire film, starring David Bowie, which featured gothic rock group Bauhaus performing "Bela Lugosi's Dead" in a nightclub. In 1993, Whitby became the ___location for what became the UK's biggest goth festival as a direct result of being featured in Bram Stoker's Dracula.
The word "gothic" in the literary sense is a broad term. It is hard to predict which direction gothic literature will take in the twenty-first century, but there is interest in many to adapt the old gothic influences and renew them. Gothic fiction before Edgar Allan Poe, Algernon Blackwood, and H. P. Lovecraft wasn't generally seen as frightening, particularly by today's gothic standards, though there were major authors who showed gothic sensibilities, such as Charles Dickens with his ghost story "A Christmas Carol." Throughout the evolution of the gothic subculture, familiarity with Gothic literature became a significant part of the subculture for many gothics. Poe, Lovecraft, Shelley, Dante and the other heralding names became just as symbolic and identifying as dressing all in black, wearing the hair dramatically stylized and dyed black, adorning oneself with dark jewelry and body art, and carrying around a decorated tin lunchbox.
A newer literary influence on the gothic scene was Anne Rice's re-imagining of the idea of the vampire. Rice's characters were depicted as struggling with eternity and loneliness, this with their ambivalent or tragic sexuality had deep attractions for many goth readers, making her works very popular in the eighties through the nineties. Movies based on her books have been filmed in recent years - notably Interview with the Vampire, which starred Brad Pitt, and the more recent Queen of the Damned, in which goths appear directly and indirectly. The first film, in particular, helped further encourage the spread of Victorian style fashions in the subculture (although period inspired clothing has been a recurrent trend in the gothic subculture). Rice's novels influenced Poppy Z. Brite's vampire novels. Brite, who is familiar with the gothic scene, distinctively refers to it in her novels as the ___location of where her vampires hunt. Both Brite and Rice are connected to New Orleans, often seen as a gothic mecca.
One reason "gothic" is such a broad term is because its content and themes can vary greatly. For example, as aforementioned, some gothic writers like Brite and Rice utilize erotic themes while other writers, such as Rod Serling, do not use an erotic undercurrent at all. Works that vastly differ from one another in these and many more ways still share the category of gothic literature, such as Serling's Night Gallery, Macey Baggett Wuesthoff's Sacrifice, Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and Joseph Armstead's Darkness Fears and Moon-Chosen series.
Goth after post-punk
After the demise of post-punk, goth continued to evolve, both musically and visually. This caused variations in style ("types" of goth). Local scenes also contributed to this variation. By the 1990s, Victorian fashion saw a renewed popularity in the goth scene, drawing on the mid-19th century gothic revival and the morbid outlook of the Victorians (partly owing to the state of national mourning which developed in response to Prince Albert's death, and partly to the Victorians' general obsession with romanticism, and Christian funeral practices). The 2003 Victoria and Albert Museum Gothic exhibition in London furthered a tenuous connection between modern goth and the medieval gothic period.
Over time, the gothic subculture has developed its own "goth slang", with regional variations.
Later media influences
As the subculture became well-established the connection between goth and horror fiction became almost a cliche, with goths quite likely to appear as characters in horror novels and film. Movies such as The Crow drew directly on goth music and style, and the movies of Tim Burton, especially Beetlejuice, featuring a goth teen, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Corpse Bride are all significant. In turn they drew new people into the gothic scene. Anne Rice's book series "The Vampire Chronicles" and the popular World of Darkness roleplaying games, especially Vampire: The Masquerade, also referred directly to gothic music and culture and encouraged an interest in the scene. In these pop-culture depictions of vampires, vampires are depicted as suave, gothic sophisticates, with naturally darkened eyes and pallid skin. Influences from anime as well as cyberpunk fiction such as The Matrix have also crept into the goth scene, which helped give rise to a new subculture and a new label, Cyber subculture, or the Industrial/goth offshoot, cybergoth; they also added to the popularity of Industrial music.
Current use of the term Goth or Gothic
By the 1990s, the term "goth" started to become once again contentious in the English speaking world. New youth subcultures either evolved or became more popular, which the general public and the popular media tended to term "goth". This was based primarily on appearance, and the fashions of the subcultures, rather than the musical genres of the bands associated with them. As time went on, the term was bastardized even further in popular usage, being sometimes applied to groups that had neither musical nor fashion similarities to the original gothic subculture.
This has led to the introduction of terms which some goths and othersuse to sort and label members of the other subcultures or trends that are loosely related. These include mallgoths or Neo-Goths in the US, Cuervos in Spain, Dark In Latin America, gogans in Australia, and spooky kids or moshers in the UK. Melbourne playwright Sai Ho is particularly vicious in his hatred of what he terms baby goths. More positive terms, such as mini-goths or baby bats, are also used by some older goths to refer to youths they see as exhibiting potential for growth into "true" gothics later on.
The response of these younger groups to the older subculture varies. Some being secure in a separate subcultural identity feel deeply insulted at being called "goths" in the first place, while others choose to join the existing subculture on its own terms. Still others have simply ignored its existence, and decided to appropriate the term goth themselves, and redefine it in their own image. Even within the original subculture, changing trends have made defining what is and is not goth more complex to some.
Elder goth
An elder goth is a senior member of the goth subculture, usually between the ages of 29 and 40, and on occassion, younger. People over 40 who identify themselves as goth are generally considered to be geri-goths, though they are simultaneously elder goths. Elder goths are generally longtime veterans of the scene, perhaps going back to the Batcave era, but there are some late bloomers.
An elder goth is more likely to draw upon the artistic aspects of the scene, as opposed to their younger counterparts who sometimes are motivated by and act out for shock value. Consequently, an older goth will regard them as poseurs, often this will happen to a Mansonite or a "pretty hate machine". An elder goth may refuse to acknowledge them as a fellow gothic.
In contrast to the stereotypical image of a gothic as a maladjusted outcast loner, some elders are married with families, and most have close knit ties with other members of the subculture.
Corporate goths
Though some gravitate toward working in Bohemian establishments that allow a great deal of personal expression, or for workplaces that do not care what one looks like (for example, warehouses, factories, call centers, driving, I.T., tech support, or self employment), some goths often do work in the corporate sector where certain dresscodes are enforced. They usually add a Gothic twist to their ensembles; some would say they wear corporate gothwear, which satisfies gothic tastes in fashion without alienating more mainstream and conservative co-workers, as well as keeping with management policies that may be in place. Corporate gothwear varies based on individual taste, though a David Bowie influence is often prevalent, as well as 1920's through the 1960's styles. Examples include, but are not limited to, a black pinstripe suit and burgundy shirt for men and a black turtleneck and skirt or suti with silver jewelry for women. A recent study by Sussex University suggests that goths are likely to grow up to be doctors, lawyers or architects, and that goths are usually intelligent, refined and sensitive, and keen on poetry and books [3].
Music
The bands which began the gothic rock and death rock scene were limited in number, and included bands such as Bauhaus, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Southern Death Cult, 45 Grave, The Damned, And Also The Trees, The Virgin Prunes, Joy Division, The Cure, The Cramps and Christian Death. By the mid-eighties, the number of bands began proliferating and became increasingly popular, including The Sisters of Mercy, The Mission UK, Sex Gang Children,Xmal Deutschland, Rudimentary Peni, The Dead Can Dance, and Fields of the Nephilim. The nineties saw the further growth of eighties bands and emergence of many new bands. 4AD and Cleopatora records amongst others released much of this music in the US, where the subculture grew especially in New York and Los Angeles, with many nightclubs featuring gothic/industrial nights. The popularity of bands such as Dead Can Dance and The Cocteau Twins resulted in the creation of a label called Projekt that produces what is colloquially termed Ethereal as well as the more electronic Darkwave, both forms of music popular with gothics for years.
By the mid-1990s, styles of music that were heard in venues which gothics attend ranged from gothic rock, death rock, darkwave, industrial, EBM EMO, ambient, experimental,synthpop, shoegaze, punk rock, black metal, 1970's glam rock (not to be confused with later glam rock),techno music,indie rock, to 1980s dance music. This variety was a result of a need to maximize attendance from everyone across the alternative music scene, particularly in smaller towns, and due to the ecclectic tastes of the members of the subculture; but it also signaled new shifts in attitude. Gothic rock was originally clearly differentiated from industrial and heavy metal by older participants in the alternative scene, but newcomers and media misconceptions blurred the boundaries in the nineties as gothic rock became significantly less popular in the US and UK. Thus while industrial or heavy metal bands such as Marilyn Manson, Jack Off Jill, Nine Inch Nails, Type O Negative, Lacuna Coil, Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth, Slipknot, AFI, and Mortiis were often labeled as "goth" by the media, this categorization was strongly resisted by goths and indeed also by fans of the bands. Many elder goths responded by affecting increasing disdain for the popularity of Marilyn Manson and the likes. Even more confusion was added with the rise of gothic metal, with such bands consciously using gothic imagery from the dark ages in their own music and appearance and started even following fashion trends indistinguishable from older goth ones. Arguments about which music is and is not goth became an ever more significant part of how the subculture tried to define itself.
The other significant development of the nineties was the popularity of electronic dance bands like VNV Nation and Covenant in the goth scene. The rise of what has been called cybergoth music and style which has much in common with techno/synthpop, caused bitter divisions between those firmly attached to the analog and/or guitar based sound of gothic rock and newcomers or other goths, whose musical and even fashion tastes changed. Bands with a darkwave sound or those such as Soft Cell, or The Cruxshadows which combine an electronic and gothic rock sound can appeal to both sides to some extent.
Recent years have seen resurgence in the Batcave and death rock sound, in reaction to the EBM, futurepop, and trance, which had taken over many goth clubs. Bands with a more early goth sound like Cinema Strange, Mephisto Walz,Bizarre Music Machine,Black Ice, Rasputina, and Antiworld are becoming very popular. Nights like Ghoul School and Release The Bats promote death rock heavily, and the Drop Dead Festival brings in death rock fans from all over the world.
Today, the scene is most actively thrives in Western Europe, especially Germany, with large festivals such as Wave-Gotik-Treffen, Zillo, and others drawing tens of thousands of fans from all over the world.
Religious Elements
Religious imagery has frequently played an important part in gothic fashion and also in song lyrics. However, many goths aspire to free themselves from the perceived limitations of traditional belief systems, and express a belief in open-mindedness and diversity.
One widespread misconception is that the goth subculture as a whole represents a unified cult-like religion, when in reality there is a wide diversity of religious beliefs throughout the subculture. A large number of goths adhere to atheism or agnosticism, not wanting to commit to organized religion or what they perceive to be repressive and/or irrational belief systems. An interest in neo-paganism and the occult amongst goths appears to be higher than amongst the general population. Many goths also follow traditional religions such as Christianity or Judaism, creating a demand for religious goth arts and literature, as illustrated by such websites as GothicChristianity.com.
Popular intolerance and media characterizations
Like many other music based subcultures, goths have faced differing levels of social intolerance due mostly to outward stylistic appearances. Social intolerance ranges from looks of indignation and verbal taunts to physical violence. A preoccupation with themes of death, romance, and the generally macabre have occasionally raised public concerns regarding the overall mental well-being of, mainly, young goths and general fears of cultic indoctrination. Such conceptions are often reinforced by popular media, as exemplified in the Columbine High School Massacre, which was carried out by two troubled students inaccurately linked to the goth subculture. The Columbine massacre caused a widespread public backlash against the goth scene in America; however, investigators of the incident later denied that any such link between the students and the goth scene, in fact, existed [4].
Cultural significance and ideology
The goth subculture is heavily inspired by romanticism and neoromanticism, with its fascination with the importance of the individual defining themselves through experiencing extreme emotions. The allure of dark and morbid imagery and moods for goths clearly lies in this tradition. Defining an ideology of goth subculture is difficult because of the overwhelming importance of mood for those involved. Balancing this, the other central element is a self-conscious sense of camp theatricality.
It should be noted the rise of the gothic novel saw such feelings of horror being exploited for a form of mass entertainment for commercial purposes, a process now continued in the modern horror film so important in defining goth. While in the nineteenth century individual defiance of social norms was a very risky business, today it is far less radical in social terms. Thus the significance of goth's subcultural rebellion is strictly limited, and is tied into drawing on imagery at the heart of Western commercial culture. Unlike the hippy or punk movement there is no wider political message predominant within the subculture, except for individualism, tolerance for sexual diversity, a dislike of social conservatism and a strong tendency towards cynicism, and even these ideas are not common to all goths. However, this is hardly surprising as the original goths were punks who had seen that a subculture no matter how radical could not shake the foundations of Western world.
Occasional attempts of cultural appropriation by the mainstream of elements from gothic fashion have left the subculture largely intact. While people love going to see people dressed like goths in movies, there is little sign that many people, besides teenagers, wish to join them.
For the individual goth, joining the subculture can be extremely valuable and personally fulfilling, especially in creative terms. However, it also can be risky, especially for the young, because of the negative attention it can attract. The value that young people find in the movement is evidenced by its continuing existence after other subcultures of the eighties such as the New Romantics have long since died out. Paul Hodkinson's book, Goth: Identity, Style and Subculture, explores how the Western cult of individualism, usually expressed via consumerism, is drawn on by goths and other subcultural groups. Many who are drawn to the culture have already failed to conform to the norms of existing society, and for its participants the goth subculture provides an important way of validating themselves against the outside world. Hodkinson shows how inside the goth subculture status can be gained via enthusiastic participation and creativity, in creating a band, DJ-ing, making clothes or writing a fanzine. He suggests that the selfconscious artificiality of a subculture is a valid alternative choice in a post-modern world, compared to submitting to the invisible manipulations of popular consumerism and the mass media.
References
- Baddeley, Gavin: Goth Chic: A Connoisseur's Guide to Dark Culture (Plexus, US, August 2002, ISBN 0859653080)
- Davenport-Hines, Richard: Gothic: Four Hundred Years of Excess, Horror, Evil and Ruin (1999: North Port Press. ISBN 0865475903 (trade paperback) - A voluminous, if somewhat patchy, chronological/aesthetic history of the Gothic covering the spectrum from Gothic architecture to The Cure.
- Hodkinson, Paul: Goth: Identity, Style and Subculture (Dress, Body, Culture Series) 2002: Berg. ISBN 1859736009 (hardcover); ISBN 185973605X (softcover)
- Kilpatrick, Nancy: The goth Bible : A Compendium for the Darkly Inclined. 2004: St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0312306962
- Voltaire: What is Goth? (WeiserBooks, US, 2004; ISBN 1578633222) - a humorous and easy-to-read view of the goth subculture
- Andrew C. Zinn: The Truth Behind The Eyes (IUniverse, US, 2005; ISBN 0-595-37103-5) - Dark Poetry
See also
External links
General Websites
- BlueBlood.net
- DarkLinks.com
- DarkNation International Goth Community
- Goth.net
- Gothic Startheaven More gothic links
- ScatheWeb History of Goth
Events
- The International Gothic Club Listing — Worldwide Goth club directory that is sorted by region. Content is contributed by visitors and usually consists of club specifics such as ___location, music type, cover charge, drinks, dress code, directions and other miscellaneous club information
- Drop Dead Festival Largest US Deathrock & Goth Festival
- GothicChicago.comChicago's Online Gothic/Industrial/Spooky Resource since Halloween 1997
- Netgoth UK based goth event listings
- NYC Gothic Events Concerts, festivals and weekly events in New York City
- Wave Gotik Treffen Annual Goth festival in Leipzig, Germany (English version)
Magazines and Press
- Drop Dead Magazine US Goth and Deathrock Magazine
- "Undead Undead Undead" (Alternative Press November 1994 article by Dave Thompson and Jo-Ann Greene, with retrospective quotes from early '80s post punk bands on the "goth" label)
- XianGoth.net Reviews, Interviews and articles pertaining to progressive spirituality and Gothic subculture
- Religious tolerance.org: The Goth Culture: Its history, stereotypes, religious connections, etc
- Eulogy for The Bank A History of the Infamous NYC Goth Club
- Gothic Beauty Magazine Gothic lifestyle, beauty & fashion magazine