What is a goth?

Question

I asked a question what is a punk and people said people are more goth now, what does a goth do, dress like listen to hobbies etc.?

Answer 1

Goth is more a lifestyle or outlook on life than anything. They tend to accept that there are bad things as well as good things in life, rather than 'sweep them under the rug', to say, and pretend they don't exist. They can dress however they want, although many prefer darker colors and more dramatic clothes and makeup, and listen to lots of songs and varied genres of music, which can include but are by no means limited to, new wave, darkwave, ethereal, Celtic, goth rock, punk, postpunk, chants, heavy metal, industrial, Latin, et cetera. Not all are interested in vampires - in fact, relatively few are. Many if not most have good relationships with their parents. Very few have mental or psychological problems. Most are actually quite nice, if a bit saturnine. Very, very, very few are 'satanists' or 'devil worsippers'. Most of the young teenagers who listen to Marilyn Manson, Disturbed, Slipknot, Korn, My Chemical Romance, Drowning Pool, et cetera and wear heavy thick makeup and studded spike collars and bracelets are called 'Mall goths', shop mostly at Hot Topic, and - this is important - they're not real goths. They just seem to think they are. They act disturbed and surly and try to impress/intimidate people. It seldom works, as most are obviously pathetic, and almost all will (thankfully) grow out of it. If you'd like a comprehensive explanation, try visiting goth.net. Some songs that goths might listen to:
Dragonfly (Conjure one mix) - Cruxshadows
Dazzle - Siouxsie and the Banshees
The Passion of Lovers - Bauhaus
Lucretia My Reflection - Sisters Of Mercy
Lullaby - The Cure
She's Lost Control - Joy Division
In Our Angelhood - The Cocteau Twins
Funeral Night - Bella Morte
Deliverance - The Mission UK
Cemetary Gates - The Smiths
Are 'Friends' Electric? - Tubeway Army
Love Is Stronger than Death - The The
Nowhere Girl - B-Movie
Twilight Of The Mortal - Killing Joke
Seconds - The Human League
Indigo Eyes - Peter Murphy
Right Now - The Creatures
Walk on the Moon - Daniel Ash
No Big Deal - Love and Rockets
Fire Woman - The Cult

Answer 2

I'm an actual goth (have been for about 5 years, or 9 if you count my 'mallgoth' period when I wasn't actually goth), and most of these answers are way off base.
Goth is a music subculture, nothing more, nothing less. It came from punk and post-punk of the late '70s and early '80s. Early, early on in Britain it was known as positive punk and goths before they became called goth were known as monochrome punks.
Early (British) goth bands include Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and arguably bands like The Cure and Joy Division get lumped in too.
There was also deathrock which was basically a darker form of punk that was evolving in Los Angeles around the same time. Some of the LA deathrock bands include 45 Grave, Christian Death, and Kommunity FK.
Also, in the early '80s, in England there was a club called the Batcave and thus the bands who played there are now considered a genre called batcave (which had a glam influence). Those bands include Specimen, Sex Gang Children, and Alien Sex Fiend.
Later in the '80s, there was the second wave of goth which was more rock based and included bands such as The Sisters of Mercy, The Mission, and Fields of the Nephilim.
In the '90s, there was the third wave and included bands such as Nosferatu and Element.
And now there is a deathrock revival including bands such as Cinema Strange, Bloody Dead and Sexy, and Murder at the Registry.
(Also some people try to lump industrial and it's subgenres and related genres such as synthpop, futurepop, EBM, darkwave, etc. in with goth, but it would take too long to get into that.)

So that's the music history. As for what goths do and their hobbies, they do pretty much anything. Some are interested in the darker side of things, but that's definitely not a requirement. Many goths are creative in some way through music, writing, art, etc. But in general there isn't set things that all goths "do".

Here's some good info about goth culture:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goth

Answer 3

I Never Really Knew Much About Goths Until I Started Speaking To One, Friendly & Down To Earth, Yet Made No Bones approximately Being Different. Tends To Be What Most Are Like. Emo's, Lol, Well Their Alright I Suppose, But I Hate Their Music (Metal & Classic Rock Only For Me) & I Dont Like The One's Who Are So Obviously Emo's, Yet When Asked Say: "I'm Not An Emo, I'm An Individual...". I Prefer Goths Due To The Fact Musically I'm On A Similar Level, Also they Seem To Be A Little More Low key Than Emo's. Not Got A Problem With Emo's (As People) Either Though... Power Metal Band: Iced Earth...

Answer 4

Goths dress in all black, they party a lot, their hobbies are usually parting/ drinking,or staying to themselves. They wear a TON of pancake make-up, which destroys their skin. Many are eventually diagnosed with depression, and some cut themselves. Although those are the extremes, many people think they worship the devil, and once again, that is only the extreme end. Some are actually cool, and if the makeup doesnt get to their skin, or they don't wear it, some are actually cute when they clean themselves up. Generilizng goths, or emo's for that matter, is very hard, they are becoming a culture, almost a sub-race of whites. They are a hard culture to understand, grown from the punk culture taken to mass extremes.

Answer 5

Traditionally Goths (abbrev. for Gothic) were a barbaric Germanic people that existed in mid evil times. Today the term applies to almost anyone with a dark or sinister nature, especially those who dress themselves in mostly black with dark make-up. Since there are many different groups that would classified as goth there is also many different types of music that they listen to. And many different hobbies or lack thereof.

Answer 6

well you have gothic clothing, gothic music and gothic culture. I tend not to call myself goth because I only really wear the clothing, I dont listen to much gothic music, I prefer to listen to suicide silence, motionless in white and slipknot. Then i do not take part in any goth culture. If you want to learn more there is a youtuber called 'sebastian columbine' and she makes lots of videos discussing the culture side etc.

Answer 7

Goth is generally associated today with people who wear all black [normally baggy pants (sometimes with chains), spiky bracelets, and black hoodies or trench coats], are often depressed, listen to loud music and generally try not to follow society's conventions. The movement to become gothic has increased, creating a gothic society (ironic, as previously pointed out) and of course there are many different levels of going against society's values, from those who worship Satan (or those who worship soft cloth, such as satin) to those who simply disagree with society's rules. Either way, worshipping anything is not a requirement to be gothic, although the music is highly emphasized.

Answer 8

A goth dresses up in black, and I don't know the rest!

Answer 9

Damn, you people are a nice bunch of little bigots aren't you. Whatever happened to diversity, acceptance, conciliation, liberal, free from prejudice? The funny part is you apparently don't even see it. little social skin heads, all dressed up and ready to judge, lol.

Answer 10

A goth is a real dark and quiet person stays in the dark listens to rock and roll and crazy music and hate their parents