Goth: A Satirical Subculture

In the opening to his book entitled, "What is Goth?" Aurelio “Voltaire” Hernandez explains: "To the mundane, Goths are weird, black-clad freaks who are obsessed with death; they are sad all of the time, have no sense of humor, and are potentially homicidal" (p. 2). Despite the outcry for equality from this subculture, many Americans fall prey to this stereotype because of the many negative connotations from the media. The Columbine High School massacre, the Dawson College shooting and the murder of Pamela Vitale by Scott Dyleski are but a few of the ways the media has misled the public into thinking the Gothic subculture, as a whole, was responsible for these atrocities. In each case, it was proven soon afterward that the people responsible were not a part of the Gothic community, but rather mislabeled by ignorant media reporters.

The Gothic subculture is not to be mistaken for: the Germanic tribes that defeated the Romans, the once-popular form of architecture in Western Europe, or the literary style, although this is from where the term etymologically stems. The modern Gothic subculture began as a more "romantic" or "literary" offshoot of the Punk movement of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Punk itself was a rejection of most of society’s values, and the Gothic movement is no different. As Punk died in the early 1980s, Goth survived and grew into its own subculture, originally keeping the core "rejection of society" attitude. As time passed, this attitude transformed into more of a “no more blind acceptance of societal values” instead of rejection for its own sake.

The first use of the term "Gothic" is often up for debate, and many would cite the media's description of the music of the Doors or "Diamond Dogs" by David Bowi...

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...erous; in fact, most Goths detest violence. They do not want society’s approval or its acceptance, the Gothic community just wants to be able to live their lives, no matter how much black they choose to wear or not wear. To quote “Voltaire” once again, "Take a close look at the Goth scene, however, and you will find a rich tapestry of ideas and practices and a menagerie of colorful characters. Oh, dear. I said 'colorful'" (Hernandez 2).

Works Cited

Hernandez, Aurelio Voltaire. What is Goth? Maine: Red Wheel/Weiser, 2004.

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Robinson, B.A. "The Goth culture: Its history, stereotypes, religious aspects, etc."

religioustolerance.org. 8 Jul. 2008. Web. 16 Feb. 2011.

Scathe, Pete. “Origins of the word "Goth."” n.p. n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2011.

Vince, Gaia. “Goth subculture may protect vulnerable children.” newscientist.com. 14 Apr.

2006. Web. 16 Feb. 2011.