What are your definitions of being punk, goth, or emo.... and do you think you are one of them?

Answer 1

Goths: It would be safe to say, at least, that there is a belief that beauty can be found in sorrow and dark things in general. Their emphasis is shifted toward the mystical and the other-worldly. They are artistic and impractical. Goths are a sensual people.

Punk: Punk ideology is concerned with the individual's intrinsic right to freedom, and a less restricted lifestyle. Punk ethics espouse the role of personal choice in the development of, and pursuit of, greater freedom. Punks seek to outrage propriety with the highly theatrical use of clothing, hairstyles, cosmetics, jewelry and body modification. Punk clothing adapts existing objects for aesthetic effect: previously ripped clothes are held together by safety pins or wrapped with tape, written on with marker or defaced with paint; a black bin liner might become a dress, shirt or skirt. Leather, rubber and vinyl clothing are also common, possibly due to its implied connection with transgressive sexual practices, such as bondage and S&M. Some punks wear tight "drainpipe" jeans, brothel creeper shoes, T-shirts with risqué images, and possibly leather rocker jackets (often painted with band logos and decorated in studs) and Converse sneakers, skateboarding shoes, or Dr. Martens boots.
Some punks style their hair to stand in spikes, cut it into Mohawks or other dramatic shapes, and color it with vibrant, unnatural hues. Punks will use safety pins and razor blades as jewelry. Punks tend to show their love for a band or idea by pin-back buttons or patches, which adorn their jackets.

Emo: While "emo" is often used to describe the dress and attitudes of fans of emo music, "emo" as a musical genre and "emo" as a slang term are largely separate. "Emo" as a musical genre long pre-dated the use of "emo" as a slang term. At the same time, most current bands are labeled "emo" unwillingly, largely because they share some of the fashion trends and attitude associated with "emo" as a slang term.
popular style of dress focuses on darker colors. Commonly seen styles include straight, dark colored hair, either black, red, multi-colored (brown and black, red and purple, etc.) which covers one eye, males wearing pants tailored for females, lip, eyebrow, and labret piercings, and dark make-up on males and females (most notably black eyeliner, although red and pink eyeshadow is becoming increasingly popular). A common accessory for both males and females is glasses with a dark coloured (usually black), thick rim, a style sometimes even worn by persons who do not require corrective eye-wear. Wristbands in various colors are also popular.

As for myself, I'm a normal non-hardcore modern hippie with goth vaules.

Answer 2

For goth:
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 3

Goth--A subculture that branched out from punk around the 1970s defined by gothic bands such as Siouxsie and the Banshees and Bauhaus. Members of the goth subculture are usually defined by wearing lots of black and/or other dark colours, having a dark sense of humor/morbid outlook on life, enjoying Dark Wave or Ethereal Wave types of music, and a taste for gothic literature. Notable writer's of gothic literature and poetry are: Lord Byron, Edgar Allan Poe, Mary Shelley, Shakespeare, Anne Rice, Bram Stoker, etc. Other bands include: The Cure, Depeche Mode, The Awakening, Autumn's Grey Solace, Lycia, Bella Morte, Corpus Delicti, Black Tape for a Blue Girl and more. Goth stereotypes include: all goths are satanists, all goths are terrorists, all goths are suicidal, all goths hate other people, goths don't smile or laugh, etc. Punk--Subculture that emerged in the mid-70s. Punks are known to be rebellious and sometimes rulebreaking. They enjoy music like Minor Threat and other punk, rock and metal bands. Their clothing is defined by plaid, band t-shirts, tattoos, piercings, spikes, skulls, and wild hair, such as mohawks. Dance styles associated with punks are pogo dancing and moshing. Punk culture has also generated a lot of 'punk poetry' that can be found in certain 'punk 'zines'. Emo--Emerged in the 1980s, often described as the meeting point between punk (rebellion) and goth (with the suicidal stereotype). Most emos are young people who are often known to wear skinny jeans and band t-shirts, in dark or light colours. They are also known for their side-swept bangs, or short, choppy hairstyles that are died black and straightened, oftentimes highlighted with bleached blonde, pink, blue, or red. Emos are sometimes suicidal and are known for slashing wrists and hanging themselves. This does not describe all emos but a studies have shown that a large number of them have troubled pasts or issues in their present life. New Found Glory, Jimmy Eats World, Dashboard Confessional, and Thursday are a few examples of popular emo music.

Answer 4

Listen to them. ^^^

Getting a piercing, a mohawk and a pair of skater shoes doesnt make you punk.

Wearing nothing but black clothes/Dark makeup and piles of pentagrams and stuff doesnt make you goth.

and yes, emo is just a fad all the cool kids are pushing onto the world. Just because youre a guy wearing tight pants and have a girly haircut doesnt make you emo.


Its a running joke in my family that im a gothic freak... so if you ask them theyd probably say that i am. but I just like to be me.

Answer 5

Punk, imo, is someone who does and says absolutely whatever they feel. Not someone with a mohawk and lip ring. That doesn't make you punk.

Goth is someone who appreciates a darker, deeper outlook on life. Not someone with black lipstick and shitty poems.

Emo is just a fad. It's just what kids do these days. It's just another way for the mindless sheep of society to get their fill of acceptance.

Answer 6

these are simple categorizations made to group people together who have similar dress sense, music choice etc... it is very easy to get into a category, and it is not that i condemn the formation of them, but its just that i believe that people in all social classes should speak freely with one another as i have seen a lot of prejudice based on man made rules that certain social classes cannot talk to certain others. If we discriminate in such ways we are being no better than caste systems or to take it to another level...hitler, who discriminated on the basis of religion.

Answer 7

Well I used to be emo and found it to be pointless. But I don't have nothing against them I have goth and emo friends.

Answer 8

i definatly wouldn't consider myself any of the 3. punk to me means someone who listens to screamo music and skips school all the time to smoke pot and has there eyebrow pierced. goth is when they wear all black, are artistic, listen to music with strong words, and are possibly wiccan. emo is someone who takes forver makeing there myspace page, is possibly depressed, wears lots of eye makeup, and writes poety. scene people, are kind of like emo, they are OBSESSED with myspace, they where like little girl bows and stuff. they think they are ninjas and they are so cool, and such and such. you can find other definitions for these words at www.urbandictionary.com

Answer 9

i DONT put labels in myself or any people..how ever someone dresses or music they listen to doesnt truly define them