Goth subculture
Goth is a music-based subculture that began in the United Kingdom during the early 1980s. It was developed by fans of gothic rock, an offshoot of the post-punk music genre. Post-punk artists who presaged the gothic rock genre and helped develop and shape the subculture include Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus, the Cure, and Joy Division.
This article is about the subculture. For the Germanic tribes, see Goths. For other uses, see Goth.
The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify and spread throughout the world. Its imagery and cultural proclivities indicate influences from 19th-century Gothic fiction and from horror films. The scene is centered on music festivals, nightclubs, and organized meetings, especially in Western Europe. The subculture has associated tastes in music, aesthetics, and fashion.
The music preferred by goths includes a number of styles such as gothic rock, death rock, cold wave, dark wave, and ethereal wave.[1] The Gothic fashion style draws influences from punk, new wave, New Romantic fashion[2] and the dressing styles of earlier periods such as the Victorian, Edwardian, and Belle Époque eras. The style most often includes dark (usually solid black) attire, dark makeup, and black hair.
Characteristics of the scene[edit]
Icons[edit]
Goth icons include several bandleaders: Siouxsie Sioux, of Siouxsie and the Banshees; Robert Smith, of the Cure; Peter Murphy, of Bauhaus; Dave Vanian, of The Damned; Rozz Williams, of Christian Death; Olli Wisdom, leader of the band Specimen[46] and keyboardist Jonathan Melton aka Jonny Slut, who evolved the Batcave style.[47] Nick Cave was dubbed as "the grand lord of gothic lushness".[48]
Sociology[edit]
Gender and sexuality[edit]
Since the late 1970s, the UK goth scene refused "traditional standards of sexual propriety" and accepted and celebrated "unusual, bizarre or deviant sexual practices".[96] In the 2000s, many members "claim overlapping memberships in the queer, polyamorous, bondage-discipline/sadomasochism, and pagan communities".[97]
Though sexual empowerment is not unique to women in the goth scene, it remains an important part of many goth women's experience: The scene's "celebration of active sexuality" enables goth women to "resist mainstream notions of passive femininity". They have an "active sexuality" approach which creates "gender egalitarianism" within the scene, as it "allows them to engage in sexual play with multiple partners while sidestepping most of the stigma and dangers that women who engage in such behavior" outside the scene frequently incur, while continuing to "see themselves as strong".[98]
Men dress up in an androgynous way: "Men 'gender blend,' wearing makeup and skirts". In contrast, the "women are dressed in sexy feminine outfits" that are "highly sexualized" and which often combine "corsets with short skirts and fishnet stockings". Androgyny is common among the scene: "androgyny in Goth subcultural style often disguises or even functions to reinforce conventional gender roles". It was only "valorised" for male goths, who adopt a "feminine" appearance, including "make-up, skirts and feminine accessories" to "enhance masculinity" and facilitate traditional heterosexual courting roles.[99]