How do you judge a person to be goth or not?

[elder (deleted)]

Goth is a way of being and you might not actually see it on a day to day basis.

I know a lot of people who do "respectable" jobs, and if work found out, they might as well be rapists. They keep their work life and goth lives very seperate. Suits and simple smoothed hair during the day, leather/fishnet spikes/falls at night.

I'm lucky, I'm an IT manager and the company know I'm of the gothic persuasion. I can wear what I like, but as my job can mean humping servers arround, as much as being deskbound, I tend to stick with black ben sherman, black canvas jeans, black safety boots or slip on suede shoes and a black T. I leave jewellery for night times for safety, getting a necklace caught in a set of rack rails might be a tad uncomfortable.

[spare117]

Alright so let me get this right you all are trying to understand who is and whose not Goth that's a good one lol. Please look up the word Goth and if you think your a person that is uncivilized or barbaric then by all means call your self Goth. Oh and those who might say hay their are other parts of the definition Then you are just a normal person trying to find a place you belong. I've never called my self Goth or much of anything. If someone asks the question then why am I in a Goth forum that's simple. In these type's of forums I can some times find others with similar opines.

[cofactor13 (deleted)]

`You're only goth if you can s--- mini caskets. END OF DISCUSSION.


Despite my doctor's concerns, I still do this to be "uber goth".

( '-' )

[dracodragon]

`The first goths,were warriors..male and the females fought in
battel,and wore the bone and skull dipped in silver from
the ones they killed.
to be goth..i think is to accept death,and fight each day as if the
world is after you.Keep what you kill,or distroy.
Love the dark..and the beauty within it,to never fear somthing
as normal mortals do,understand the wolrd as its chaos,
and survive as someone who take anyone as a friend who
undertands the wierd and strange.
It IS ok to dress...to impress.Like i said the warrior of long ago..
wore some pretty impressive things..to show the devils darkness
threw what they are.People dont like labels..cause they cant afford it.
end of story.
Alot of goths now-days..like to mainly keep to themselves and
be what they are on the inside.If the are too lazey..to put on
somthing that will seperate them from cattel..then thats what
they want.
People that say they are 'goth' but put on pink clothes
or sweats(jogging outfits)..or puppy shirts..and smack
bubble gum..and dosent eat the fleash of the gods..and marks
themselves as dark creatures of eternal bliss..ARE not goth.
EMO's are actuall from the gothic line.
They are ones who are out-of-tune with emotions..
and want death to become appart of daily scars and cuts.
Simply they love and cry too much.
Its not wrong to have emotions...but too much is too much..
put some cheese with that wine...cause we are here
to fight and survive in the arms of death.

I dont judge appon looking at one another..at clothes
or make-up.But some do have the markings of what they are.
like thoes wannabe barbie freaks..or the wannabe rap stars.
one who do not dress...
like to hide and blend in...to vanish among the crowds.
or simply just dont care.

[moonrose2112]

`I think 'Goth' is used as an umbrella term, which is why it's so hard to define one.

As many have already said in this discussion, true 'Goths' were from Germania many years ago.

The culture that has sprung up in modern times is decended from a style and a lifestyle, that in itself, was taken from the gothic culture, fashions, and architechture of the Victorians, who named it 'Gothic', as it was seen as a barbaric, dark styling.

I consider myself Goth purely as I fit into a 'box' that happens to bear that name more than anything else.

Goth is a state of being and lifestyle, and culture and clothing, and music. The short answer is, whether many people like it or not, Goth is a term that can be applied to a wide and varied amount of people. You may get people who like dressing a certain way, and listening to certian music, but otherwise live their lives in the norm. You may get people who live a gothic lifestyle, but don't dress in the gothic style.

I think that's also why we have sub-terms for 'Goth'. I myself, am more of a romantic goth than anything, I love Victorian fashions (although because I do live in a village of non-goth people, I tend to tone it down and wear jeans and corset), gothic music as well as metal, rock, and classical, I adore gothic literature, and I do have a kind of darker (not necessarily unhappier) view to everything; kind of like when I was younger I loved Red Riding Hood, but was always cheering on the wolf.

I don't think there is much point in trying to define a term for a culture, as it has many influences; it's not like a religion, or a political party.

Having said all this, I don't think you can walk about in a tracksuit, listen to rap, and then consider yourself goth in any way just because you maybe fit with a few things from that culture.

To be a part of any culture is to embrace it entirely, to make it a part of your lifestyle. To be a goth nowadays to set yourself aside from the crowd, enjoy darker interests, music, films, and literature; to be in a permanent state of mind where you are always looking to be yourself above all else.

I think to be defined as Goth nowadays (in the modern sense of the word), really, is to have a state of mind, a lifestyle, a culture, and a dress that is Goth.

Wow, I ramble on. :)

[xmidnightxvampx (deleted)]

`^^^
I completely agree, but if anyone would like some good sources on these questions, 'What Is goth?' by Voltaire, and 'The goth Bible' by Nancy Kilpatrick are both excellent.

[bloodymaryann (deleted)]

`Goth is a music based subculture that sprung out of the early 80s . 4 bands with this genre of music such as the Bauhaus started this subculture. Many of the members of these bands reject this idea to the point of mocking. Today there are more bands and many different spins.
though slipknot eminem and marilyn manson are associated with goth because of mainstream definitions they are about as goth as bubblegum pop is. Many who proclaim to be goth and that MM is the king of goths are what Real goths call mall goths. You can like them and still be goth and you can not like Joy Division(i don't either) and be goth.
There are different spin offs from goth too. Many "mall goths" and "babybats" get what is called Gothier then thou syndrome as do us all but when someone with a goth in a box starter kit tacky makeup and their nose in the air criticizes an ice goth in a victorian white dress they got at a thrift store and fixed up jewelry from etsy and DIY gloves and a top hat because they are
wearing white is ridiculous.
I being a confused little baby bat myself was suprised when pink was a major part of pixie goth. So dont judge by the superficial but by effort style and comfort the wearer possesses. And people who say you arent goth when you are are either mainstream wannabes misguided baby bats someone who is trying to boost their own goth cred or has a case of GTT
sorry for the rant and along with the gothic bible is gothic charm school by The lady of the manners herself , jillian venters

[hysteria7]

cofactor13 wrote: `You're only goth if you can sh*t mini caskets. END OF DISCUSSION.


Despite my doctor's concerns, I still do this to be "uber goth".

( '-' )




LMFAO!!!

[gothic2012 (deleted)]

`I can see a lot of good points mentioned in the previous statements, but it seems now there are so many diversities of goth. For example, Cyber goths & Steampunks... to me these are "spin offs" of true goths. Grant it, the original goths were warriors, but for modern society, goths came from the 80's music with Joy Division and similar groups. I guess you could call them "old school goths" I tend to fall along those lines. While I like the clothing style of "spin offs" I don't consider them truly gothic because the music is so different. For me, being gothic is more than a clothing style it is the music and the lifestyle. Please don't get me wrong, i have nothing against the other versions, but I guess it is a personal aspect as to what one believes as being a true goth.

[thej0ker]

the goth we know as of now died years ago. i remeber ith golden age. as the pagen gods are die'n now so are we. trends just like a hydra spout 3 heads after one is cut off. just look for someone who completes you.