Going simply by the most commonly heard reputation of the Gothic
subculture, it''s no wonder why so many parents and teachers are so
negative about it. Goths and non-Goths alike acknowledge the
stereotypes--but "stereotype" is precisely the problem. "Stereotype" is
defined in the Webster''s New World Dictionary as "a fixed or
conventional notion or conception, as of a person, group, idea, etc.,
held by a number of people, and allowing for no individuality, critical
judgment, etc." Stereotypes are almost always forced on the group of
people they''re applied to by people who are not within the group but
are instead critical of the group, most often due to simple lack of
understanding. Stereotypes are essentially cardboard cutouts that
represent tired ideas rather than real living, breathing human beings.
But far too many people hold stereotypes in such high regard as to
believe them to be true examples of members of the groups they''re meant
to represent This leads to intolerance, resentment, loss of
understanding, and eventually to the kind of deep chasm we see between
general
society and the Gothic community today. Let''s burn those
cardboard caricatures and find the real truths behind the stereotypical
fiction.
With all those black clothes and all that freaky make-up, all Goths must be Satanic.
As far as clothing choices go, Goths are no more
"Satanic" than tortured-artist Beatniks (where the Gothic trend of
wearing black first came from). The ghoulish and morbid appearance of
many Goths is derived from the method of rebellion devised by the
original Goths of the twentieth century, who used the look to protest
what they saw as a sanitized, materialistic "always keep your chin up
no matter how bad it hurts" society. Some say it was a sort of mourning
attire for a miserable and dying society; some say it was more a
rejection of traditional ideas of beauty. Either way, it was more of a
social protest than a declaration of (or mockery of) religion, and it
remains so today. The Gothic subculture has no specific religious
affiliation at all. There are Goths of all faiths, from Jewish to
Christian, Muslim to Buddhist, Wiccan to Atheist, and yes, even
Satanic. Many of these faiths have special sub-movements within the
Gothic community, most notably the Christian Goth movement, which has
its own style of music, value system, and community.
Goths are all fixated on death. They all want to kill themselves--or someone else.
The commonly held idea of Goth is that of the
maladjusted, antisocial outcast who attempts suicide on a regular basis
and is incredibly proud of the scars left from previous attempts. This
idea is utterly false. While some Goths are outcasts and often feel
depressed or alone, the rest of the world isn''t immune to these
problems either. Goths are no more maladjusted, antisocial, or
depressed than any other average human being. It may be noticed more in
Goths because Goths tend to be more open with their negative feelings,
or perhaps because more attention is paid to depressed Goths than other
depressed teens because the Goths seem "odd" when compared to the
accepted norm. "Admittedly, people who dress and conduct themselves a
bit out of the norm should expect to receive attention--not all of it
positive," Roland Dobbins, who runs an internet chat channel for Goths,
said in an article in the Sacramento Bee, "But by the same
token, blaming this on us is almost as bad as the mindset of the gunmen
who were selecting victims based on race or
whether they happened to be athletes."
Goths deal with the same pressures that other
teens deal with--academic failures and stresses, social anxieties,
family problems, etc. They also deal with a great deal of rejection,
intolerance, judgment, and prejudice, potentially creating a
self-fulfilling prophecy. "The people who have set themselves so firmly
against Goth kids and alkids who don''t conform have yet to
grasp that the suffocating perfection they present is the best argument
for the styles they''re decrying," says Charles Taylor in his article
"Wild Children" from Salon.com.
As far as the Gothic "obsession" with death, the
more appropriate word might be "acceptance," or "acknowledgement," or
"respect." One of the reasons why the Gothic viewpoint is so foreign
and frightening to most people is because it challenges the way we
traditionally think about "unpleasant" things. Goths refuse to see
certain things as "beautiful" simply because they''re acceptable while
seeing other things as "offensive" because they''re unpleasant or
uncomfortable to deal with. "American pop culture focuses too much on
the new and shiny, the bright and happy, say. It does not deal
well--if at all--with pain, loss and death," say Seattle Times
staff reporters Janet I-Chin Tu and Alex Tizon in their article
"Goths." They also describe the Gothic subculture as "a way to
understand and come to terms with the darker aspects of life." The
Gothic viewpoint on death is one of acceptance of the fate that awaits
us all, rather than "whistling past the graveyard," denying death, and
hoping it''ll just go away. Goths accept death as a natural part of
life, part of the natural balance of things. This doesn''t mean,
however, that Goths invite death by attempting suicide or
homicide--those things would upset the natural balance as much as
denying death does. Instead, Goths accept and respect death for what it
is--and move on.
All Goths are Worshippers of Marilyn Manson.
First and foremost, Marilyn Manson should not be
taken as a representative of the Gothic subculture. Why? Because most
of what he does is the antithesis of the Gothic movement. The Gothic
mentality is founded on the maxim "be thyself" (prerequisited by the
more common maxim "know thyself"). Everything that Manson does is
motivated by its shock value and his anticipation of society''s reaction
to it; Manson compromises self in the name of image. He makes a wealthy
living out of being a caricature of everything he believes parents and
general society loathe and love to hate. His music, his appearance, his
demeanor--everything is a slave to society''s opinion. "The
controversial shock-rock star with the satanic leanings and
violence-tinged music has never been a part of their
community, artistically or philosophically," says J. Freedom du Lac of The Sacramento Bee.
Goths simply want to be allowed to exist as what they are (which is, in
general, a darker, more introspective version of "normal").
While it may be true that many Goths do indeed
enjoy Marilyn Manson''s music, none "worship" him and almost all Goths
agree that he is not Goth--even those who are fans. "Some Goths do like
Marilyn Manson...but the vast majority of Goths do not consider his
music to be Goth--they consider it heavy metal," journalist Diane
Snyder explains in an article from the online news magazine APB Online.
Besides, what about the countless other musicians
Goths enjoy? Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy, Siouxie and the Banshees,
Rasputina? No one attempts to hold those artists up as "demonstrative"
of the Gothic movement. Then there are the thousands of "normal"
musicians that are well-loved by Goths--I myself am a dedicated fan of
Richard Marx, who is well known for his love ballads "Right Here
Waiting" and "Endless Summer Nights" and who has more recently moved
into doing music very reminiscent of pop heartthrobs N*Sync and country
sweethearts SheDaisy. Nothing dire and evil there.
Finally, as will be explained in great detail in
the next section, the Gothic subculture predates Marilyn Manson''s
stardom by at least a decade. It''s terribly difficult for a movement
based around the worship of an idol to come about before the idol does.
If anything, Marilyn Manson probably borrowed quite
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