Do you Have to Listen to Goth Music to be Goth?
You are a young angsty teen who wears all black and listens to Marilyn Manson. Due to your black wardrobe and music taste, you consider yourself a goth. You hear other goths talking about their taste in music, listing off bands you never liked. Bands such as The Cure, Sisters of Mercy, and London After Midnight. None of the other goths mention Marilyn Manson, and since it is a musical subculture, you start to question. Are you a goth if you don’t listen to goth music?
When goth started in the seventies and eighties, no one could even guess where the subculture was headed. The gothic subculture started due to a community of people who all shared the same interest in post-punk music. Clubs like The Batcave in London were meeting places for fans of the music and it was where the signature goth style was born along with its aesthetics (The Batcave). Today, goth is often identified by the fashion, the black, the spikes, the leather. A quick search on instagram would show that the goth tag only shows some edgy styled individuals. This can mislead baby-bats into thinking this is what being goth is all about. Eventually, heading down this path could lead to the death of our subculture since new members are essential to our survival.
TheHelloBatty on Youtube has two videos I would like to address, “Do You Have to like Goth Music to be Goth?” and “You are not a real goth! — Discrimination in the Subculture.” In her second video addressing not being a real goth, she talks about goth from a style point of view, which can be helpful to baby-bats who feel they aren’t goth enough. TheHelloBatty’s main point of both videos is that although the music is important, you can still use the label. I think, logically, this is true, there is no defined list to check off in order to be valid as a member of the gothic subculture. Especially if you resemble a certain style, people are quick and eager to apply that label to you. I agree with her points that it’s good to keep balance between the music, style, and lifestyle in order to be a proper goth since all are important to what it means to be goth.
Acceptance is always a beautiful thing, and gray areas between people who use labels definitely exist. But, when will the definition expand so far to the point where it means nothing? Goth has been hovering around the mainstream the past few years. Although this is not the first time this has happened, there is still a new influx of people who wear a corset-detailed black top and are quick to call themselves goth. (Myllymaa). It has lead into a new age of materialism that keeps us less in touch with our homemade roots. You cannot blame baby-bats for being uneducated when any google search for goth will reveal clothing brands like Killstar and Dollskill and haul videos from pretty, popular YouTubers (Benedict). The music is obviously what started it all, just a lot of like minded people who enjoyed the same artists that played a signature style of music, so there is no question as to the importance the music plays on the subculture (The Batcave). This materialism and loss of roots might just be what kills our already old-aged subculture. Even today we see the remaining goth clubs with dwindling crowds, causing bars to have to move goth nights to only one night a week. Once you remove the community and the passionate fans, all we have is individuals with the now hipster style of a dead subculture (Benedict).
To quote Angela Benedict in her video, “You Can’t Change Goth | Re: Snowy Lowther;”
“Metalheads listen to metal, Punks listen to punk, and Goths listen to…”
It brings up the important point and segways into my personal opinion that the music is incredibly crucial to keeping the flame of the gothic subculture burning. Without the music, then we just have a style, and what is a style without interests that bring a group together. So in short, can you consider yourself a goth if you don’t listen to goth music? I would say no, you don’t have to dress goth by any means, but you can’t call yourself a goth until you listen to the music.
Works Cited:
Benedict, Angela. “You Can’t Change Goth | Re: Snowy Lowther.” YouTube, YouTube, 7 Aug. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=94sXHC_4z_U&t=854s.
Myllymaa, Eveliina. “The Gothic Subculture Versus Merchant’s Abstraction.” Atmostfear Entertainment, 18 Sept. 2017, www.atmostfear-entertainment.com/lifestyle/fashion/gothic-subculture-versus-merchants-abstraction/
“The Batcave.” Post-Punk.com, www.post-punk.com/the-batcave-documentaries-and-more-on-the-original-goth-club/.
TheHelloBatty. “Do You Have to like Goth Music to Be Goth? ❤ Hello Batty ❤.” YouTube, YouTube, 18 Sept. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLZo7qK91Jc.
TheHelloBatty. “You Are Not a Real Goth! — Discrimination in the Subculture.” YouTube, YouTube, 15 July 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2OGdI7UMA8.
