What is Goth? Part 2ish

OK so here is the next part of my saga of trying to define what Goth is. It is actually a lot harder than you may think, especially by someone like me who can hardly make the distinction between what is normal and what isn't as seen in me thinking taking Psychology of Death and Dying because it sounded interesting was normal. I did not know lots of people would think that was weird lol. It is also hard for me to try to group certain people together because everybody is different and I almost never pay attention to stereotypes (even the parts of the stereotypes that are true).

Well this part will probably be the last of the "what is Goth" series but won't be the end, I'll come back with the different styles of Goth that will be more focused on fashion than anything else since I hardly touched on that subject in these parts (mostly because the clothing style more so defines what type of Goth you are not if you are Gothic or not). So what am I going to put on this blog? Well, I'm just going to have fun and put up some random things as well as a small rant on what I think are poor reasons to be Goth.

Personality? Why is this here I talked about it in part 1. Oh wait, I forgot something earlier about personality. It seems like many Goths are shy, I don't really have much else to say except that it's an interesting fact that goes against the stupid stereotype saying that Goths are just looking for attention. This is true for me too, I'm shy and the reason I'm still slowly getting into the Gothic fashion is because I really don't want attention, but I want to be me. The good thing is that the college I'm at isn't like high school so less people care :)

Sex life: Why do you want to know this? Anyway it's assumed that most Goths like BDSM but this is not true. I can kind of see why people think this though, BDSM is thought of as dark and maybe scary but in reality it really isn't (I might do a blog later about this sexual practice since it's not even as close to as bad as people say it is but if you're not into it then you probably don't know much about it. You probably don't even know that many people do participate in the Bondage part of it. Furry handcuffs anyone?). Some Goths also like to wear bondage clothing (no not the no shirt and only leather straps part, the stuff that has straps hanging off of it like straps, or chains. It may also have tons of zippers on it. Honestly I do kind of like these, but I really don't like the chains (one of the reasons I'm more into cybergoth fashion the pants don't have many [or any] chains, they are nice and big, and they also do have straps hanging off ;) ). It could also be because the Gothic subculture is more accepting of people so the Gothic people who are into BDSM talk more freely about it. Anyway the truth of this matter is that, like I said in the beginning, many Goths do not participate in BDSM but some do. Personally I think it's fun (or at least the idea is, I haven't tried it yet), but that's just me. I bet if you talk to another Gothic person you'll probably get a "Nah, that's not me" kind of answer.

Sexual Preference: Why do you want to know this too? Are you really that kinky? Anyway another stereotype of being goth is that you are either gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Actually Goths can be straight too (like me), but Goths are much more accepting gays, lesbians, and bisexuals than society is for some reason (they're just people, and bisexuals are probably the luckiest ones with their sex lives) so that might be where the stereotype came from. Just because Gothic guys may dress more girlie or wear make up doesn't mean they're gay. One of my best friends paints his nails sometimes and he has a girlfriend whom he loves a lot (I actually hope they get married, I haven't seen a couple love each other so much lol). This is just a way of expressing yourself and I think it's bad to hide who you are (I actually don't do this kind of stuff but I don't hide that I have girlie qualities like my love for industrial dancing, Emilie Autumn or Ayeria. I also want to go clubbing [I haven't been yet] and I'm not really into breasts or butts (faces are my thing lol). I don't go around telling everyone this though, that would be weird, but if you ask I'll tell you, it's just like my Atheism, or BDSM fetish, I don't go around telling everybody but if you ask I'll answer truthfully. Honestly it would be weird to introduce myself like that. "Hello I'm CGM and I like dancing, Emilie Autumn, and BDSM, what's your name?"). This stereotype also stereotypes gays as being un-manly, when in reality they can be just as manly as Duke Nukem! One of my friends is gay and when I compare myself to him I look like the gay one lol.

Anime and Cartoons and TV Shows: This is just some stuff that I like and what seems that other Gothic people like (at least some of them do).
- The Grimm Adventures of Billy and Mandy (Best cartoon ever? It's about two kids, Billy and Mandy, and a Grim Reaper who get into lots of mishaps. Did I mention Voltaire did some music for this show? One of his songs, entitled "Brains!" was actually the first singing sequences that I actually liked in a show lol Sadly I never found out who did the song until a couple days ago). * Comedy*
- Courage the Cowardly Dog (not quite sure if this is Gothic but it is pretty good, it does have an eerie feeling in it though. It is also one of the few cartoons I really loved as a kid and is still great to watch today. Anyway it's about a cowardly dog named Courage who ends up in many different horrifying adventures trying to save his owners and such) *Comedy*
- Death Note (probably one of the only Anime's that I really like, it's really good and it does have a dark feel about it, it also is kind of a "thinking man's" show since the main character is pretty interesting and smart. This is an Anime that's about a guy who ends up getting a Death Note which let's him write down the names of people and the times they will die, he actually thinks he is making the world a better place by his killings since most of his kills are of criminals but is he really doing good or evil?). *Drama*
-  Supernatural (It's a show about brothers who hunt supernatural beings, it might not be that Gothic but from what I've seen it is well liked in the Gothic community)
- The Twilight Zone (Odd, supernatural stories happen in every show, it seems like one of the very first creepy shows of it's time, which was in the 60's ).

Video games (don't know how to really classify these games as Gothic or not so I'll just list my favorites).

- Silent Hill ( A town surrounded in mist that has creepy monsters and stuff).
- Fatal Frame (The premise? The old myth about how getting your picture taken also takes your soul away. It's set in modernish times but in an ancient Japanese town. The enemies are ghosts and you have to take their picture to defeat them).
- Vampire: the Masquerade Bloodlines (dark role-playing game where the main character plays a vampire. I haven't played it but it does seem like fun, it's kinda like Deus Ex but with vampires for the looks of it)
- Deus Ex & Fear Effect (I grouped both of them together because they're actually classified as cyberpunk games, however these games are also pretty dark.)

Poor Reasons to be Goth (as in looking goth, or the only reason you are Goth):
   1. ATTENTION! This has the be one of the stupidest things I've seen people do. They want to be Goth to get attention (and don't know anything about the Gothic subculture). These are mostly the people that shop at chain stores (like hot topic) and think that being Goth is all about being depressed and hating the world and the people in it. They also claim that they know everything about being goth and they (the guys at least) usually have face-paint and painted nails. These people also think that metal is Goth (I don't know why people think this to be honest, well the bands like Slipknot, Disturbed, or In Flames), and that bands like Marylin Manson and My Chemical Romance are Gothic bands.  They also love calling themselves Goth to everyone too. Obviously these people do not know anything about the Gothic subculture and they are doing this to get get attention because they're attention seekers, who follow trends and shocking things. UGH! These are also the people that give Goth a bad name because people think of these losers as the Goths instead of the nice respectful people most Goths really are. I also have to say it's not that hard to spot these "mallgoths" as they are called because they are the ones the love to talk and are extremely social (especially about them being Goth) whereas the real Gothic people (not all but many) are the ones that are shy, and don't really label themselves as Goth. They also pretend to know all about Goths but don't. Hell I don't even pretend to know everything there is about being goth (I do keep on researching it in my spare time though since I find it interesting and I'm trying to find something in the Gothic subculture that I don't find to be "normal" besides the clothing). I don't even like MCR, I do find a few Marylin Manson songs to be good though. But these aren't real goth bands, those are the old ones such as Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus, etc. Also for some reason I find it hard to call myself Goth (outside of the internet), maybe because it has negative connotations to it or maybe because this is normal for me, and I don't know why I have to label myself when I talk to people.Oh, and like I stated earlier in this blog, this was the last thing I even thought about. I think goth comes from within, it's not something that comes from a clothing you wear or anything like that but it comes from biology along with how you were raised. However this isn't to say that there's no sign of real Goths doing this, I mean we, as human beings do like some attention. There's just a difference between wanting everyone to look at you and getting in their face about it and liking a little attention here and there but not wanting it to be a big deal.

  2. TO FIT IN: I don't mind these people as much as the attention seekers because they're doing it because they want to be like their friends. It's still a horrible reason to be Goth since you don't even know what it is about. Plus I really think people should just be themselves and not be forced to do anything if they don't want to. If anyone is doing that and reading my blog here's a secret. I (and probably many other Gothic people) don't care what you look like, you're my friend because of your personality. That's all that matters, don't change yourself.

 3. YOU ARE DIAGNOSED WITH DEPRESSED: Do I even have to say why I think this is a bad idea? Dressing this way might make you more depressed (if you run into bad people) and it's not a cure, go see a doctor and get help it's not something to be ashamed about.

On the last "What is Goth?" blog I stated that there aren't really any Gothic rock bands that are new that I think are worth mentioning, well I was a little wrong, I forgot about some bands (whoops) so I'll list them off here, and I'll also put up bands that I really like and that relate to the Gothic subculture in one way or another. So that means I'm not going to put down any bands like Phish or Rancid... Oh crap I just did. Well no more bands like that. So here they are:

-The 69 Eyes (A more modern Gothic Rock band that I can't believe I forgot to mention in the last blog)
- Seraphim Shock (I just discovered this band but they're not that bad and they are a fairly new kind of Gothic Rock band).
- She Wants Revenge ( The first Gothic Rock cd I got was from this band, I didn't know what Gothic Rock was at the time but I dug their tune. Sadly it's pretty much gone in their newer album but their first two were pretty good).

-Athamay (This is more of a dark waveish or techno band. It's also more of a fetish goth band since their songs are about BDSM and sex. Not many people seem to know of this band, maybe because they only had 1 cd that came out in 1996 and all their songs kind of sound the same. It also could be due to the fact that it's almost impossible to find their CD in the US)
- Ashbury Heights ( This is a synthpop band from Sweden. I actually found out about this band through the blog: The Ultimate Goth Guide . I think they're pretty good but sadly they will most likely not have any more music )
-Creature Feature (I don't know how to really describe this band but their myspace says they're Gothic, Rock, and electro. If you hear their music you'll know why it's hard to describe them)
- Ego Likeness ( An industrial, darkwave band. Great band that doesn't seem to be that well known but maybe it's just me, the video I linked to isn't a good comparison though since I know one of their videos has 40,000 views I think)
- My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult (The band that inspired my music. This is an electro industrial band)
- Rosetta Stone (Here's a band that not many people seem to know about, they're 90's Gothic Rock band from Australia that only had 1 cd but that cd is really good).
- The Sisters of Mercy (Probably my favorite Gothic Rock band and one of my favorite bands of all time).
- Studio - X (an electro-industrial band from Australia that's great, I love how they put Borat's voice in one of their songs)
- Wolfsheim ( This is a great synthpop band from Germany (the Germans sure know how to make great music) . I love this band)
- Lords of Acid (This is last because I have lots of stuff to say about them lol. Anyway this is a techno, post-industrial band. I went to their great concert back in march and I loved it. I'm not quite sure if this really qualifies as a Gothic band, but at the concert I went to almost everyone was dressed in Gothic attire. It was kind of weird to see only 5 or so people that were my age or younger but what can you expect if you're going to see a band that most people my age have never even heard of since they've been out since '89. Still It was great to see the band and I have to say Praga Khan is a great person, he's really nice and kind, and after meeting him is is probably one of my favorite people in the entertainment industry. Anyway this band is kind of like Athamay in which they have many songs about sex, but only a few about BDSM [Most notably She and Mr. Jones or Drink My Honey, both on the Voodoo U cd]. WARNING When blasting this music in your car you might get strange looks from people, but it will be worth it ;) )
- I'd like to add more but I'm lazy and it's already 3:30 AM. So if you want to check out more definitely go to Dark Asylum Radio. It may not play much Gothic Rock music but it does play lots of great electro, dark wave kinds of stuff (they even have Jinxy from Santa Hates You say that you're listening to Dark Asylum Radio).

Reminder for blog # 10: If you're a Goth don't be afraid to laugh at yourself. If you take life too seriously you'll almost always be pissed off.

^ That's actually easy for me because I'm kind of a comedian who uses the common "look at what happened to me" technique for my jokes (OMG a Gothic person who's also a comedian! Actually I only did one act, I'm too lazy to drive all the way downtown for an open mike night but if my college has another open mike event in the fall I'll probably do it again. But didn't I say I was also shy? Well I am! But for some reason being on stage is actually not that bad, it's more of the meeting people thing I'm really bad at, I mean in high school I never even talked to the person sitting next to me unless they were one of my friends).

Reminder number 2! BE YOURSELF AND BE PROUD OF WHO YOU ARE.