Do REAL Goths still exist?

Question

Last time I checked Goth wasn't just a fashion/media idea that shells out money to soulless corporations while raising millions of mindless conformists that are deluded into thinking they are somehow unique. I think that is pretty much what the Goths were rebelling against then idiots exaggerated the soul of the Goths and forgot the meaning of it all. I am a man with brown hair, that never wears black or advertisements for Nightmare before Christmas and consider myself a Goth because of my perspective on life and intellect, and like a few retro Goth things (Sandman comic book).

Are there any true Goths still out there? Anyone true new ones (not born in the 80s)?

Answer 1

I have found that there are several "types" of goths. Though, what I'm about to list I have come about in my twenty years of life, not by major research.

Pseudo-Goth: Wears black EVERYTHING. Hair must be dyed black if not dark enough, black makeup applied liberally to face (even more so if you are a boy) to the point of ALMOST being mistaken for being a KISS groupie. If questioned about anything answer with "Life is pain/death/bleak," or any other answer that makes you sound so "deep" and "traumatized." Bonus points if you have no idea when the Goth movement started.

Vampire Goth: Love Anne Rice and Dracula. Wear Victorian age or pirate-like fashion. Speak about "masters and slaves." Never speak a paragraph without having blood, eternal life, or some hint/direct wording of your "nature." Complain about the sun, preach about night. Give the night a pet name like "Mother Night" or "My Abyss" or something else ridiculous. Extra credit if you have fake fangs and don't know any mythology about Vampires besides what Ms. Rice writes about.

Conformo-Goth or Hot-Topic Goth: These are the most abundant types now. The first batch came around (well, MY radar anyway) after Evanescence released their first album. Then Hot Topic began to cater to the oh so tragic rich kids with mommy and daddy's money. You'll usually see three to five sitting in a tragically hip cafe wearing the same $70+ trench coat and designer pants along with some popular "dark" band T-shirt preaching about how "non-conformist" they are.

Satanist-Goth: The creepiest of the Goths, and luckily I have met only a few. They are the sickos who embrace "darkness" by worshiping the Christian version of Satan and sacrificing animals (or, if the ones I met got away with it, babies eventually) to their "dark lord" and only listened to heavy metal. Oh yeah, can't forget the bloodsports.

Victorian Goth/Upscale goth: Wears only pricey "olde tyme" clothing. Even (or especially) when it's not required. Complains about the looks he/she garners from the "uneducated masses." Only met one, but she was a right prick.

True Goth: Two friends and numerous acquaintances. Wear whatever you like, associate with the goth scene when asked. Sigh and go over the "goth scene" whenever someone asks you about it when you are in your goth attire. Have above level intelligence and/or wisdom and/or understanding. Break stereotypes. Know near everything about the Goth Revolution. Know more "goth" bands than Cruxshadows and Otep. Don't throw hissy fits when people complain about your clothes.

Visigoth: First goths, but long since gone. Errr, sorry, had to add some humor.

That's about it. There are many actually subgroups of goths, but those are the types I met. Many types that are numerous do it as a phase, and while in that phase spread terrible ideas and rumors about the goth "lifestyle." I consider it a culture more than anything, with many followers who get the idea completely wrong. Yes, I'd say you'd fit the profile of a true goth very nicely. I have yet to meet a true Goth that didn't have some superb mental faculties.

Honestly, don't worry about people polluting the goth name. Too few people actually understand what it means, and those that do won't be taken any by any of those who fake at being a real one.

Answer 2

I consider myself to be one. I was never very interested in 'The Crow' or 'Nightmare before Christmas' very much, don't think Hot Topic is goth, punk, emo, or any other subculture as opposed to a capitalist business; I listen to a wide variety of music, read a wide variety of literature, novels, essays, magazines, et cetera. I realized early on that my poetry was bad, and considerately stopped writing it, thus sparing the world of that much more angsty bleating. I don't wear all black constantly (I am today, tho), cut myself, mope and whine constantly, hate life, think I'm a dark Vampyre or whatnot, or adore Anne Rice. (I don't even think her writing is very good, truth be told. Too angsty and overdramatic.) I am a Christian and was born in the eighties; some people believe that being a 'true' goth is limited to a certain time period. I tend to disbelieve that, as anyone from any time can suscribe to a mindset and live a certain lifestyle, unless it is so drastically removed from the modern world that to do so would require massive alterations, which is not the case here. In any case, to answer your question in a word: yes.

Answer 3

Thanks for getting me thinking about European History. I am sure this insn't the topic you are looking for...but it is about real Goths. Born way before the 1980's. by the way, I have always enjoyed Sandman and have enjoyed many 80's Gothic stuff.

The Goths (Gothic: Unicode: 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌰𐌽𐍃, Gutans) were an East Germanic tribe who according to their own traditions left Scandinavia, settled close to the Vistula mouth (in present day Poland), and from the 2nd century settled Scythia, Dacia and Pannonia. In the 3rd and 4th centuries, they harried the Byzantine Empire and later adopted Arianism. In the 5th and 6th centuries, dividing into the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, they established powerful follower-states of the Roman Empire in Iberia and Italy.

Answer 4

Being a former employee of Hot Topic for three years, I can agree with you about the commercialism of Goth. It is a mindset rather than a fashion statement. It's been commercialized for many years, at least 15 years. I especially couldn't stand the pretentious red wine drinking androgynous dreary souls hanging out at the clubs, listening to Morrisy and writing vampire poetry. So much attention is wanted by them.

Answer 5

NO. They were plucked up by the roots along time ago by the grecians.

The appropriate name is Ostrogoths, do the research they were all dstroyed in the biblical days. Along with the Huralots and the Vandels. I am not sure if the spelling is correct but if you do the reseacrh you will find that they are no more.

Answer 6

You mean back when we were just called called "weird"? lol I hate when people call kids goth just because they wear black or listen to a certain group. That's not it at all. They just don't get it.

Answer 7

I'm sure there are but these days, does ANY stereotype still exist? These days everyone is trying to be something they're not, so it's honestly very hard to find a true __[insert person label here]_.

Answer 8

just because of your "perspective on life" and intellect, does NOT make you a goth.

Answer 9

Germans are desended from them and the Huns.

Answer 10

hate goth make up people they look like living corpses