r/AskAGoth

Hiya, I need help understanding who I am and where I lie under alternative subcultures. I’ve been researching and getting into alternative clothing and Alr/goth music more recently but I want to understand what makes someone goth. I have tried looking at the political and historical aspects of goth and alt but I don’t want to have the wrong information. I don’t know what I fully identify within the alternative subcultures but I don’t want to identify as goth or alt and be a poser or anything. Any advice is great thank you 🖤

Did you guys actually give a shit about gothic and romanticism art movements. Cuz I give a shit and I kinda want every goth to also care at least a little bit and idk if I’m in the wrong here or not.

I am albino. I wanted to know, what do goth people think of albino people generally.

Edit: I am mostly referring to the typical albino features including the skin and hair.

I know there was a term called Mallrats used to describe people who listened to mainstream Alternative music I saw an Angelabennidict video about Mallrats but she was mostly talking about people who listened to Nu-Metal and hung around mostly malls. But it got me curious what was it like to be an actual Goth listening to Goth music in the late 90s early 2000s esp when the alternative scene was swinging more towards Nu-Metal and goth wasn’t in the spotlight how did they find goth music even though streaming platforms weren’t widely available in those days.

And btw guys Im Gen Z please be nice to me :) and educate me if I got something wrong

I'm from a place where there are no goths and I don't personally know any goths. Due to the recent increase in goth fakers like the only fans girls I'm curious what the real gothic subculture is actually about, not what the fetishized crap shows. I really find gothic architecture interesting but is there a correlation? I'd appreciate it if I could get a somewhat concise answer regarding what the gothic subculture is, as well as why people join it.
Thank you!

I follow and agree with the politics and i really enjoy goth music, but i tried goth makeup today and it really just switched something in my brain. This is my dream lifestyle and i’d love to look this pretty and feel this way everyday. I put Scary Bitches on shuffle and twirled around my room and i felt so nice and carefree

I love the big 80s goth teased hairstyles, but I have very long and thick hair, so often it doesn’t hold up too well. What’s the best hairspray for getting a giant bats nest with some real volume and longevity to it?

I recently found Tristwch Y Fenywod they are an Ethereal Wave band and sing all in Welsh it sounds kinda like Dead Can Dance’s first album in 1984 but only in Female vocals.

Just to give context: this song is "High Society" by Madonna, which was recorded back in 1981 before she became massively popular. And although she is now regarded as 'the Queen of Pop' and is mainly known for mainstream pop/dance music, Madonna used to be part of New York City's first wave punk scene, and she was also a member of the post-punk band, 'The Breakfast Club.'

So would this song be considered goth or, at the very least, adjacent to/influenced by goth? Or is it more new wave or post-punk or just simply punk (the song has very strong political commentary on wealth inequality and alienation)?

hi i was hoping for some advice or recommendations on how to fully embrace the way of goth life. not really sure how to word this without sounding stupid. i’ll take any and all recommendations/ tips covering basically every aspect of goth life. i basically want to be a real life morticia addams but more i guess idk. pls help

I am asking this question because there seems to be a debate on every social media app that if you are goth that you can’t be Christian because Christian beliefs goes against being goth. Yet there are people who are goth and alternative who are not bigoted and who have been part of the subculture for years. Including The Awakening and The Cruxshadows who are beloved within the goth community and who are Christian and no one questions if they are goth or not. So to conclude, I just want a clear yes or no answer that if you are goth or are alternative and you believe in Christianity, does that make you a poser goth or is this topic that depends more on a persons own personal perspective?

I'm wondering if anyone has any advice with that! I would really love to try to find goth musicians that have similar vibes to my fav muscisians but no idea how I'd even start looking (for context my fav artists are ECID, Aesop rock, atmosphere, Eyedea, Sadistik, kristoff krane, The uncluded, Sage francis, Luluyam and recently Cinnamon babe)

I already listen to a good chunk of goth music (my fav artist I think is scary b*tches (don't like typing that word sorry) but I'd love to see if there's any artists that have similar vibes to my non goth favs! Mainly just like weird lyrics maybe :,3c?

Hi!

So basically, I just wanted to get a general consensus from folks.

I love the Goth subculture. I love the music, researching its history, and additionally I love gothIC fashion, aesthetics, and literature, and I'm an artist. Due to the rule about restricting discussion about the topic, I won't get into politics, but I'll say I'm generally pretty left leaning on most things. However, for specific personal reasons, and because I have not personally interacted with the subculture very much as of yet, I do not label myself as Goth. I'd much rather call myself alt and gothic/gothically inclined. But, I'm wondering if that would be generally considered appropriate, or maybe if it's best to just make it known up front I refer to myself as gothic. I am anti conformist, and am not looking for opinions on what I'm "Allowed" to do, but I want to know if it would be considered disrespectful or not, as I'm aware I come off as Goth to a lot of people, and especially with the current fetishization of Goth women (which I have felt the pressure of ...) I don't want to accidentally misrepresent the subculture. I'm aware there's not really such a thing as cultural appropriation of a subculture, but I'm still curious to hear people's views.

Thank you for reading :)

Me personally it’s my primary music taste I also listen to other genres like Jazz-Rap, Grunge, Shoegaze, 80s/90s alt rock, Non-Goth Post-Punk, Punk Rock, EDM, bits of Kpop thanks to my lil sis but Goth is what I mostly listen to on a day to day basis I’m curious about you guys?

ASF are all genres of dark alternative music, yet also none of them.

Gothic rock? Sure, sometimes.

"Deathrock"? Trick question - see above!

Gothic punk? Yes. With synths. But more synths than the band suicide. (Did you know Alan Vega was in his early 40s when that duo started?)

Industrial? You can easily argue Skinny Puppy would be a lot more like Throbbing Gristle without there first being ASF.

Dark Ambient? They did do that video game soundtrack... 🤔

Gothic Metal? Okay, maybe my hypothesis is a tad hyperbolic... 🫣 Next!

Do you remember the old desktop music player, Winamp? Yeah, their pull down selection menu for Genre on the ID3 tagging for your mp3's included "Primus." Yes, as in whoever did that part of the Winamp design decided that the band of that name is their own genre (and nobody objected).

Alien Sex Fiend is to Goth music as Primus is to... yeah.

But what's YOUR opinion, dear boils, ghouls, and all others who go "bump" in the night?

i know there’s a lot of debate about this, but as someone incredibly interested in the subculture i’m a bit confused. i know this is a question you get a lot, but i am asking in good faith!
ive heard some say it’s all about the music, but ive also heard some people say there’s no such thing as goth music.

i know goth is more of a describing word, but i barely know what goes under that umbrella. please educate me!!

also, if there’s any cool gothic bands you like, please tell me! so far i’ve listened to bauhaus, siouxie and the banshees, and the naked and the dead. the first two are basic, i know, but they’re classics!