GOTHIC


In todayís society, there are several groups that adapt a certain philosophy by which they live their lives. These groups vary in range from Satanists, Wiccans, Goths, and several more too numerous to list. The rise of modern day Goths is an interesting phenomenon. People have different ideas about what a Goth is, their effect on society, why they exist and various other questions. Although one thing is certain, no one person can define exactly what it is to be a Goth. People involved in the Goth movement canít seem to agree on set beliefs; every person has their own idea about being a Goth. Outsiders generally make gross misjudgements about the beliefs and ideals of Goths. After extensive research about Goths, I have learned there are not a set images beliefs or ideals. My goal in this paper is to provide my readers with a wide range of the Goth sub-culture.

History of gothic

The dictionary defines the word Gothic as "of or pertaining to a literary style of fiction prevalent in the late 18th and early 19th centuries which emphasized the grotesque, mysterious, and desolate." The writers generally attributed to this movement are Radcliffe, Shelley, Poe and select others. 
The modern-day Goth movement has its roots in the late seventies and early eighties. Most of the research I have done notes the term ìgothicî was first applied to music. Some of the bands that first became associated with the term ìgothicî are Bauhaus, Banshees, Sisters of Mercy and Fields of Nephilim. The music press in England were the first to apply the term "gothic" to these bands. Since then the term has come to define a whole new culture that followed that type of music. Fans of this music liked to dress up in black, perhaps as a backlash to the colorful punkish music prevalent in the 1970s. The brand of music typecast as ìgothî started a new sub-culture. Once people started following the new Goth movement, followers improvised by bringing their own beliefs, background and culture. That explains why there is a lot of variation in Goth sub-cultures. Below is a song that came out in 1979 on the Small Wonder label by the band Bauhaus. It was originally intended to poke fun but soon it became an inspiration to the emerging Goth sub-culture: 


Most outsiders have a set image when they think about Goths. Images of black-clad and pale-faced band groupies comes to most peopleís minds. Many people also think Goths have a morbid view of life because they are seen as worshipping death, vampires and other grim elements. Goth sub-culture has become a parody to outsiders because it seems to take itself so seriously

In the Goth movement, there are people of several age groups. They are classified by how long they have followed the movement. As in any group, the longer you have been in it, the more accepted you are. Those that have been in the movement long enough have different terms describing the followers. The following are some terms circulating in the movement that I have found on the internet. 

Terminology

	Weekender/Babybat: These are kids who are going through a phase to fit in with the group, mostly middle and highschoolers. They are seen by the more senior goths as wannabees who have bad make-up and listen to only popular goth bands. Older goths resent this group for giving the Goths a bad image because the young group doesnít understand the full meaning of the movement.
	Ultra Goths: This group has been in the movement for a long time. They have adapted aspects of Gothdom into their lifestyle. Even though they still dress up as a Goth, usually each individual has adapted their image to their own lifestyle. This group tends to have older people, college aged and up.
	Mopey Goth: Goths that are extremely angst-ridden. They suffer from being made fun of by those in the movement and the outsiders.
	Perky Goths: Some say this term is an oxymoron but such goths do exist. The goths that belong in this group like the music, the scene of gothdom but donít like the ìdoom and gloomî attitude.  ìmore gothic than thouî : A sarcastic phrase for those with a snobby attitude towards others in the movement or the uneducated outsider about the movement. This term is a play on the ìholier than thouî phrase. One internet website described a goth with this attitude as someone would probably tell you about the goth bands they like and then say ìyou probably havenít heard of them.
	ìoh so gothicî: A sarcastic phrase to decide something is goth-worthy. Usually this term is used by someone who takes the whole image of being goth very seriously.
	Glam goth: Sarcastic term for bands who take their Goth image very seriously. They spend an extensive amount of time on make-up, clothes and other aspects of their image.

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