tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post3476932030768880346..comments2024-02-26T08:43:47.488-08:00Comments on Domesticated: Goth, Subcultures and Middle-Class RebellionThe HouseCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07783576090040274742noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-35385870805874101642021-08-29T23:24:20.512-07:002021-08-29T23:24:20.512-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Bumpy Toadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13741182642284501936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-20530991037375848192021-08-29T23:16:33.409-07:002021-08-29T23:16:33.409-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Bumpy Toadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13741182642284501936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-34993437390710895262020-08-12T18:21:53.555-07:002020-08-12T18:21:53.555-07:00I'm glad you pointed out that goth is an apoli...I'm glad you pointed out that goth is an apolitical subculture. Unfortunately I am American, and my country's media is pounding political polarization into everyone's heads. As a result, a lot of goths are jumping on the leftist bandwagon, and showing quite a bit of hatred and discrimination against any goth perceived to be "right wing," even to the point of excluding them from the subculture (which isn't actually possible, as goth is a label we give to ourselves, but I digress). I hate politics, and goth for me is a refuge from such nonsense. Political shills, like the trash found on Reddit, are really souring the goth subculture for me. The more people who speak up and remind goths that the subculture is not political, the more likely the extremists themselves will be ostracized. I hope.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-65919073820058607652019-05-04T21:52:57.857-07:002019-05-04T21:52:57.857-07:00I'm a proper "chav" from council hou...I'm a proper "chav" from council house background and to be honest I have often felt excluded and sidelined within goth culture by people who really don't mean it but there are a lot of unconscious prejudices towards people like my family from people who see themselves as liberal and tolerant. This idea that I was so lucky to have "escaped" like there's no value in the place I came from, no love, it's just assumed I'd want to disown my own family out of shame. I think we've seen a big increase in this over the last few years, it's acceptable to stereotype as thick, subhuman, fat, disgusting racists as long as you put a mention of brexit in there somewhere. As if there aren't any middle class, educated racists. But that's how this country is and probably how it will always be to some extent.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02083399281830892409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-59918539633924491282019-03-02T12:30:00.091-08:002019-03-02T12:30:00.091-08:00Most of the Goths I know do not come from suburban...Most of the Goths I know do not come from suburban background - perhaps this is different in America. I went (on a scholarship for poor but academically successful girls) to a boarding school full of upper-mddle-class and upper-class girls, and I was the only Goth at my school. The 'mallgoths' I met in the cities, the Goths I know now, none of them came from wealthy background, most of them were from working class background. I know a disporportionate number of Goths who didn't have a 'happy, normal childhood', probably because Goth is a good space for creative expression of difficult and traumatic things. I said in my article that I'm a child abuse survivor, and come from an impoverished background. The idea that Goth is just about buying the clothes to look something from MTV or these days, Instagram, is something very destructive to the subculture, and perpetuates a prevalence of young people engaging with the subculture on a purely aesthetic level, and makes poorer Goths feel excluded. The HouseCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07783576090040274742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-87808994471056099722017-11-09T15:38:01.572-08:002017-11-09T15:38:01.572-08:00I disagree with your comment that "goth"...I disagree with your comment that "goth" is not a phenomenon of people rebelling against their middle class upbringing. Where I grew up, EVERY "goth" grew up in a mainstream suburban with YUPPIE parents. I mean EVERY single goth kid except for the few who were on trust funds. <br /><br />These "goths" were people with normal and generally happy childhoods. They grew up in the 'burbs, their parents fed them good food, made sure they had nice clothes, a car, got into a good college, etc. At some point in their lives, they saw the Cure on MTV or something and started dressing like they were part of the band. <br /><br />The freaks, the people who truly did not fit in and who were made to know it, were the kids from impoverished backgrounds, either from lack of money or from abuse. Those were the kids who did not have the option or the ability to fit into mainstream society because of their birth circumstances.<br /><br />All of your "goths" are nothing but dress-up goths pretending every day is Halloween. If you want to see people who are truly gothic (not the extinct central European tribe known as Goths) look at the people Faulkner, Flannery O'Conner, or Poe wrote about.Lee H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04563997901978029290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-53481299332108652602012-04-04T06:25:25.600-07:002012-04-04T06:25:25.600-07:00You sound like you are very Punk/Deathrock/Trad Go...You sound like you are very Punk/Deathrock/Trad Goth :) I tend to dress that way for clubbing, and putting studs on things and stabbing/ripping/cutting/clawing my tights to oblivion is lots of fun :) I take my frustrations out on old pairs of tights and turn them into shredded arm warmers.The HouseCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07783576090040274742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-55293636849968508892012-04-04T06:23:13.573-07:002012-04-04T06:23:13.573-07:00And yes, I am one of those goths with a small hand...And yes, I am one of those goths with a small handful of expensive investment pieces, and a large amount of cheap stuff that was either charity shop, cheap, on sale, or made/modified by myself.The HouseCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07783576090040274742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-39790217376276042702012-04-04T06:21:24.918-07:002012-04-04T06:21:24.918-07:00It usually is the corsets and boots that cost - I&...It usually is the corsets and boots that cost - I've got one that would have been about £100 if I hadn't bought it in a half-price sale, and things like Fluevogs and New Rocks are really not cheap, but things like that are items I have purchased carefully, and with a lot of even more careful saving first - they are not bought on a whim, they are bought as fashion investments that I will wear until they eventually fall apart decades from now if they do ever fall apart, and which I will mend, repair and otherwise extended in lifespan as necessary. One of the things about Goth as a style is that it does not change rapidly in the manner of mainstream fashion, so one does not have to be concerned with items becoming "out of date".The HouseCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07783576090040274742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-89631242230185995522012-04-04T06:15:28.889-07:002012-04-04T06:15:28.889-07:00I'm not entirely sure what political issues ga...I'm not entirely sure what political issues garner a majority consensus, although that could be quite dependent on location. I used to hang around with Goths in the Oxfordshire area, and maybe because of the presence of the universities, they were quite diverse, but generally quite well informed. I would say that there tends to be a lean to the left, but maybe that's because more conservative attitudes generally aren't open to the darker creative aspects of Goth, although there are always exceptions, and that with Goth having Punk roots, it does attract those with a similar mindset. I agree with you in saying that Goth does not codify any political leanings into its subculture, which I think is positive as it allows people of various political stances to enjoy the subculture, and to bring something to it. <br /><br />Yes, it is important to recognise that even subcultures that are known for their political leanings do have their own music, art, literature and fashion - which is what differentiates them from being a political movement and makes them a subculture - and even Hippies, while pretty much always liberal, in the broad sense of the term, adhere to a variety of ecologically based politics, communist-inspired politics, socialist-inspired politics, anarchism-inspired politics, etc. and I would say there are probably as many types of Hippie political beliefs as there are Hippies! :P <br /><br />I haven't met many Tribal Goths. I am an ex-Hippie/ex-bohemian daughter of a (now ageing) hippie, and I must say it has definitely had an impact on how I think. I guess the Tribal Goths are the missing link - they are where the two subcultures overlap. People tend to assume that Hippies and Goths are somehow opposites, because Hippies are known for the brightly coloured "flowers and rainbows" aesthetic and Goths for the all black "skulls and shadows" aesthetic, but what people forget is that it is possible to like both and they aren't mutually exclusive, just difficult to combine simultaneously. <br /><br />Where I live the only shop selling Goth things is the shop that primarily caters to the Hippie and Bohemian alternatives! <br /><br />Art is a perfect place for the subcultural to mix - even if they don't share a preferred aesthetic, their mutual creative natures give them common ground.The HouseCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07783576090040274742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-43306640380291222182012-03-22T18:00:16.511-07:002012-03-22T18:00:16.511-07:00I agree with this and I love how insightful it is....I agree with this and I love how insightful it is. And I DIY my clothes pretty a lot which I tend to add studs from my old studded belt, painting, rips or safety pins (as a aesthetic/art purpose) and band badges (bought or make my own) or anything that floats my boat and if I have any ideas running around in my brain that motivates me to add more inspirations, artistic elements, aesthetics, fashion sense and reflection to my tastes or mood. Otherwise I have no ideas to start another project on DIY.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-72991108166459389722012-03-22T17:31:23.852-07:002012-03-22T17:31:23.852-07:00I agree with this and I love how insightful it is....I agree with this and I love how insightful it is. And I DIY my clothes pretty a lot which I tend to add studs from my old studded belt, painting, rips or safety pins (as a aesthetic/art purpose) and band badges (bought or make my own) or anything that floats my boat and if I have any ideas running around in my brain that motivates me to add more inspirations, artistic elements, aesthetics, fashion sense and reflection to my tastes or mood. Otherwise I have no ideas to start another project on DIY.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-32127692723773634302012-03-13T12:53:16.259-07:002012-03-13T12:53:16.259-07:00As to the expensive clothes -- most Goths I know h...As to the expensive clothes -- most Goths I know have one or two "nice" (expensive) clothing items then everything else is either thrift store or homemade, and just looks more dressy when paired with the, say, $250 corset.Talia Felixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16798780272848599312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406319356659344188.post-30971954256112500312012-02-09T08:46:16.685-08:002012-02-09T08:46:16.685-08:00Thanks for this insightful post. All in all, I ten...Thanks for this insightful post. All in all, I tend to agree that Goth is more about art and creativity than politics; but at the same time, it does seem that most Goths agree on some basic issues. The difference is that these general agreements are not codified into the subculture. <br /><br />That said, I do think there are some similarities between Goth and other subcultures. For example, both Goths and hippies stand out in contrast to the mainstream culture; and although the hippies tend to be somewhat more political, they too have always enjoyed their own music, art and literature. <br /><br />I tend to view tribal Goths as a missing link between the two. Their style of dress is often colorful and in my opinion, resembles hippie and neo-hippie fashion while maintaining certain Goth attributes such as piercings and tattoos. I sometimes wonder with which subculture they most identify. If I ever get to know any of them on a personal basis maybe I'll ask. <br /><br />Where I live there's a certain amount of interaction between the Goths, hippies and even those left over from our once thriving punk scene. This is especially evident in the realm of the local art scene.Nightwindhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07148270720593016700noreply@blogger.com