Goth is Not a Mindset

When I first joined the goth internet scene in 2014, my sophomore year of high school, I was thrilled to find so many people who thought like me and understood me. I made many friends in Facebook groups as well as on other apps such as Amino and Instagram. As I talked to older goths about the scene, I started to understand that there is a not-so-clear difference between the goth music scene and the gothic lifestyle. Of course, these two intertwine each other in many ways: that I will not deny. However, I started to notice more and more that people are proclaiming goth to be a “mindset.” Goth is many things, but a mindset, it is not.

            Now, hear me out before the stones and tomatoes get thrown at me. I’m not saying that goth can’t be a part of your mindset, it just doesn’t complete it as a whole. One of the things that I’ve come to love about the goth subculture is individuality. Many artists, especially the pioneers back in the 80s, all had different forms of art with a similar premise: not the same, but similar. To say goth is a mindset makes us sound like a collective when that is the grandest thing we seek to destroy (objectively). We are not hive-minded: we all have different lives, beliefs, and opinions and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. If goth were a mindset, we would have the exact same style of music across all different artists. You can’t tell me that Siouxsie Sioux (Siouxsie and the Banshees) and Larissa Iceglass (Lebanon Hanover) have the same music style. They are similar but not the same.

            Unfortunately, as it always goes with misinformation, a lot of goths are led to believe that all you have to do to be goth is think about the macabre. I know someone reading/hearing this is going to be like “boo gatekeeper”. Aye man, I’m not telling you what to do. You can completely ignore me here and go about your day. It’s not my business. But just know, if you call yourself “goth” and then meet an actual goth, normally one of the first things that they are going to want to talk about is music. And you might awkwardly say “I don’t listen to/like the music”  At that point, you’re just darkly inclined and not goth. And that’s okay! If they’re not an elitist (the actual goth I mean), they will continue the conversation like normal. You probably thought I was going to bash the non-goth huh? Well, the funny thing is that darkly inclined people (at least the ones I’ve met) are super sweet and have a love for the subculture but may not know much about it besides what circles around on social media. They may not actually stick to a specific subculture but may like to bounce around and try different styles, and that should be encouraged! When we keep an open mind, it inspires creativity, diversity, and more expressionism that we can include in the subculture. Ask any elder goth, and they will tell you that the 80s goth scene was bumping with all kinds of people. But want to know the difference between them and this “non-goth” in this scenario? They (most likely) didn’t go out of their way to label themselves as goth! They just enjoyed the scene, the music, and the people.

            So, what does all of that have to do with the goth mindset? See, alternative subcultures are built on individual creativity and thinking. When you look at the history of goth, it was influenced by a plethora of genres; ska, punk, jazz, blues, rock n’ roll, and the list goes on. There was no “goth mindset”, just people who had similar dark interests. Not the same, but similar. The thought of “goth is a mindset” takes that individuality that we cherish so much away: who we built ourselves up to be, the personal challenges we had to face, and the mental space that we made to make ourselves feel seen and heard. I know this topic isn’t the most pressing issue in the world, but I do love this subculture. I found like-minded people with whom I share both similarities and differences. It wasn’t having a mindset that brought my close friends and me together: it was the music. Everything about the goth subculture is something that I deeply love, and everyone around me knows it. I’ve broken stereotypes, presented myself as a strong individual, and pushed through social bounds to get where I am today.

When people say, “goth is a mindset”, they are limiting themselves to a confined mental space, and when I believed that as a teenager, I felt like I had to repress all other parts of me. It can be damaging to those who are trying to understand and love every part. I felt shame for not growing up immediately liking goth music. I didn’t want to post anything not goth-related because I didn’t want to be criticized for my own opinions (I did anyway, and it was usually some dumb joke or vent).  I repressed my Jamaican-Canadian accent to fit in, filtered my pictures on Instagram to make myself appear lighter, and detested any other genre than goth. But it took me a long time to unlearn that “mindset” and appreciate myself for who I am. I grew up listening to gospel, hip-hop, and R&B. Hell, to this day I still listen to early 2000s dance rap. Caught Up by Usher is my jam right now. I stopped filtering my photos, started learning more about my personal heritage, and openly talked about my interests outside the goth subculture, and I’ve never felt more like myself than I do now.

Arguments can be made that goth started at “x” period in time, or “y” published this book, but really it started in 1979 when Bauhaus dropped Bela Lugosi’s Dead (honorable mention to Screaming Jay Hawkins for putting this scene on the map!) That’s when goth started, and that’s what’s been bringing us together: music. We may share common interests in the dark, spooky, and macabre, but we are individuals who want to live life as we see fit. So do yourself a favor and stop confining yourself to a box. It’s okay if you prefer the sun to the moon or have a mountain of pastel-colored plushies: your mindset and mine are not the same. We are still independent, free-thinking beings, we just so happen to share the same music taste.