ShadowofDeath wrote:
I just came to Indiana. I have also recently just read about what a def. of a goth is, and i think i might fit this description. i have no definition of goth. i am new to the whole scene of goth. i have dressed in black and loved the color since i have been young and have always believed that the world was fake since when i could understand it around the age of 7. I have listened to music on the charts and sometimes have been bored by them. I always love being in the dark, its sense of calmness and peacefulness just surrounds you and engulfs your body. Its when i really feel whole and apart of the world. My parents at first thought i was sick stayin up late at night, but they soon figured out that i am more happy when darkness falls. they always say to me "if high school was at night, you would be an A student"
I favor rob zombie some and sister of mercy are pretty cool, but i have never called myself a goth. is this a bad thing, not realizing what I might be? Or is it perhaps normal for people to go around like i have and only just now understood what subculture they have become part of?
Keep in mind that if one definition of all that encompasses what many people view as "goth" exists, it's incredibly complex. If you're goth, you're goth whether you label yourself as such or not. If you're not, labeling yourself as goth won't make you goth.
Being informed and making an effort to learn is never a bad thing. And I, for one, am completely supportive of anyone taking the label of "goth" seriously enough to investigate before they slap it on themselves and wear it like a blinking neon sign (which usually ends up giving the entire subculture a bad name).
Some people are purists and say that "goth" is primarily about the music. If your genre of choice is goth music and you relate well to other members of the subculture, you're goth. Period.
Others say it's about a state of mind, a particular fashion statement, etc. Maybe they're right; maybe they're wrong. Often, it seems people intent on ignoring the music factor are simply intent on burying what they don't fit into.
Personally, I think it's a mixture. The music is the basis, but it combines with all the other things to truly make you part of the fabric of the subculture. After all, I know plenty of people here in Southern Indiana (and elsewhere) who will happily listen to Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus, and a myriad of other goth artists but who are most definitely
not goth. I also know people who fit most every other part of goth culture but can't stand the music. I don't consider them goth either. (But now I'm digressing off topic, and you can find more than enough information on all this in these forums.)
Anyway, my point was this. It's completely okay to be a little confused about whether or not to label yourself "goth". Just like the rest of the world, the members of the goth subculture are varied. Some are rather ubergoth; others appear completely "normal" until you get to know them. Some wear the goth label very aggressively; others accept it only when it is applied to them.
There is no
one way to make your journey. Personally, living in southern Indiana/Illinois and having little to no exposure to the goth subculture until my late high school years meant that I never labeled myself. I was simply interested in what I was interested in. Then, about 10 years ago, with the first of wave of internet users in my community, I fell into a social circle of gothy-type people purely by accident. As spread apart as we all are, these people are still my dearest friends. Still, I never said I was goth. I never felt the need to figure out what we were, though I heard the term used to refer to us many times. It wasn't until recent years that I began to seek exposure to the music and viewpoints regarding what makes goth "goth".
Just make sure you base you decisions on accurate information (I stress this because there are a couple of points in your post that make me wonder where you're getting your information) and do what feels right to you. (And as someone else on the forums once said, "Don't be stupid, kay?")
