what ever happened to goths?

[Auron225]

I get the style's of them mixed up with emos so I'm not if whatever is alive and kicking that I see around city hall is one or the other... But yeah I don't see them much around anymore. I'm not bummed out about it though - I never appreciated the gloom they insisted on dragging around everywhere.

 

[00slash00]

to me, goth always just seemed like something high school kids did to rebel against their parents

 

[Count Viceroy]

Yup, was at Metal-Town last year. highest concentration I've ever seen. Btw, what's up with the idea that metal is male-dominated? At least 40% of the people I saw at that place were women. Not complaining! ^^

Well, I think that depends on the genre and type of the event. On a specific power metal concert like say Sabaton for instance, there's (In my experience) 20 % women, at the most. But bands like In flames for instance seem to draw a more balanced crowd. And Metaltown being a festival with loads of bands, they're sort of bound to draw a more varied crowd.

 

[Jazoni89]

Goths are still around. However..

1) Noone gets dressed up to hang around on the street past the age of 18. The only reason to do that is because you're not old enough to get into clubs, and all the goths are. Go to a goth club, you will see goths.

2) There aren't really a new generation of younger goths, partly because emo kind of stole the teenage-angst thunder and partly because my generation (mid to late 20s) never felt much identification with the 80s, so we all became cybergoths or rivetheads or metallers.

All of the goths I know who are my age only got into goth through metal or industrial or some other "alternative" style. Your typical trad goth or new romantic is well into their 30s if not 40s now.

3) The fashion elements tend to get toned down as people get older, particularly for guys, as it impacts on the ability to get jobs and/or dates. You can do the "corp goth" look with officewear, but most people don't really bother because it's not too hard to afford a basic going out outfit.

I'm a traditional Gothic Rock fan, and i'm 23. Most Gothic young people my age don't even know what the hell i'm on about when I mutter bands like Joy Division, or Bauhaus under my breath.

That is indeed a sad, sad thing. They are all about Rammnstein, or Black Veil Brides, or some blackened Death Grindcore Metal crap, that sounds like Satan taking a dump (see Cradle of Filth).

What can i say, i'm an elitist when it comes to music i like. I really don't like what Goth has become, the same with Punk really to be brutally honest, but that's for another topic for another time.

 

[Johnny Impact]

They all committed suicide due to the unbearable black hopelessness that is life?

OT: I think outlandish fashions are usually done by young people looking to express themselves. As you get older, you don't see young people as often, you don't move in the same circles. This is especially true once you leave the melting pot (or at least forced proximity) of high school/college. Goths are still around, you're just not seeing them.

 

[dexxyoto]

Someone called them, "twilight kids"....and threw sparkles on them....

 

[xplosive59]

Good ridance, it died along side Marilyn Manson's popularity and Nu-Metal. the early 2000's was a bleak time for rock and metal. Hopefully scene kids, emo kids and ravers will go the same way.

 

[Marik2]

What exactly is the difference between goths and emos? They both seemed very similar to me and dressed the same in my viewpoint

 

[Thyunda]

Goths are still around. However..

1) Noone gets dressed up to hang around on the street past the age of 18. The only reason to do that is because you're not old enough to get into clubs, and all the goths are. Go to a goth club, you will see goths.

2) There aren't really a new generation of younger goths, partly because emo kind of stole the teenage-angst thunder and partly because my generation (mid to late 20s) never felt much identification with the 80s, so we all became cybergoths or rivetheads or metallers.

All of the goths I know who are my age only got into goth through metal or industrial or some other "alternative" style. Your typical trad goth or new romantic is well into their 30s if not 40s now.

3) The fashion elements tend to get toned down as people get older, particularly for guys, as it impacts on the ability to get jobs and/or dates. You can do the "corp goth" look with officewear, but most people don't really bother because it's not too hard to afford a basic going out outfit.

I'm a traditional Gothic Rock fan, and i'm 23. Most Gothic young people my age don't even know what the hell i'm on about when I mutter bands like Joy Division, or Bauhaus under my breath.

That is indeed a sad, sad thing. They are all about Rammnstein, or Black Veil Brides, or some blackened Death Grindcore Metal crap, that sounds like Satan taking a dump (see Cradle of Filth).

What can i say, i'm an elitist when it comes to music i like. I really don't like what Goth has become, the same with Punk really to be brutally honest, but that's for another topic for another time.

Dude...I don't think I ever met someone who would EVER put Rammstein and Black Veil Brides in the same bucket...


I see goths. Kinda. I go to a rock club, the sort that mixes between Bon Jovi, Disturbed, Rammstein, Slipknot, AC/DC, Aerosmith and System of a Down. I definitely see untoward fashion in there.
Including one bell-end with a mohawk. And stupid tartan trousers.

He was a dick.

 

[Albino Boo]

What exactly is the difference between goths and emos? They both seemed very similar to me and dressed the same in my viewpoint

In my day Goth where hard as nails and mad as box of frogs. Basically the kind of people you wouldn't feel comfortable with sharp objects in their hands. At some point after Ann Rice's interview with a vampire came out the whole scene appeared to change into no one understands me because I'm so special and no one has noticed. These days I don't think there is a difference

 

[zumbledum]

to me, goth always just seemed like something high school kids did to rebel against their parents

WEll im not a goth , im not an anything really never felt a kinship with any particular group which i guess makes me alternative ? my extended circle is made up mostly by people who would call them selves goths though, theres still loads about, dont tend to see them in main stream pubs and clubs though.

And they tend to not like being linked to emo's or blames for that movement, i asked a female friend whose a big goth what goth was and why is it diff from emo (mostly to annoy her shes fun when shes angry)
she said "Goth is about finding the beauty in sadness"

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

What exactly is the difference between goths and emos? They both seemed very similar to me and dressed the same in my viewpoint

In my day Goth where hard as nails and mad as box of frogs. Basically the kind of people you wouldn't feel comfortable with sharp objects in their hands. At some point after Ann Rice's interview with a vampire came out the whole scene appeared to change into no one understands me because I'm so special and no one has noticed. These days I don't think there is a difference

In my experience, the real goths are either like that first group you described, or they're essentially nerds with a penchant for some combination of philosophy, mythology, history, Victorian horror, Victorian fashion, and/or Victorian alcohol. You can tell a real goth by whether or not they have anything interesting to say -- they tend to be very good conversationalists, because they tend to be widely read. The second group you described is what used to get called "mall goth," which lasted until emo became a nationwide subculture in the early 2000's, after which they all jumped on that bandwagon instead.

And yeah, there aren't very many of them left these days. I can only think of two that I've met in the last five or six years, both at the same community college, oddly enough. I am not nor have I ever been a goth myself, but I do love hanging out with them. Good conversationalists, good taste in music (and other media, for that matter), twisted sense of humor, and fun to hang out with. What's not to love?

 

[Dangit2019]

They became emos?

Actually, they became emos, and then emos became scene kids. Imo, they got progressively worse.

I mean,

Spoiler: we started out with this

Spoiler: and we ended up with this

 

[Ryan Minns]

Actually Emo branched off from Goth but they walk side by side and it didn't just change from one to the other.

I don't know ANY goth who isn't bullied to all fuck (Even the grown adults) because of their lifestyle, all of them I know are fucking AWESOME people but nope, you wear clothes that are different so you're scum or a horrible attention seeker!!! Funny thing is many of these same people who bully them are pro gay or at least just often claim to believe all should be seen as equals and yet can't see how disgusting they treat people who are not wrong, not stupid, not desperately seeking attention. They're just different which is EXACTLY the same as why homosexuals are bullied by some.

Capcha: kindness of strangers <<< If more strangers showed kindess I believe Goths would show themselves a LOT more.

 

[Terminal Blue]

..that sounds like Satan taking a dump (see Cradle of Filth).

I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

My music taste is pretty close to cybergoth, so where I live I basically am everything that's wrong with the goth scene, although I don't wear cyber fashion because, let's be honest, it looks dumb and takes no effort.

It is kind of sad though that by midnight most goth clubs seem to be flooded with drunk ageing ravers trying to dance while tripping balls though. It changes the music (in my opinion you don't get to call yourself an "industrial" floor if you're only going to play hardstyle) and it changes the whole dynamic, and yeah, that gets my elitism sense tingling.

Fortunately, most clubs do still have a floor where they play old school goth stuff, and they always seem surprisingly crowded. So you're definitely not alone.

 

[Jazoni89]

Goths are still around. However..

1) Noone gets dressed up to hang around on the street past the age of 18. The only reason to do that is because you're not old enough to get into clubs, and all the goths are. Go to a goth club, you will see goths.

2) There aren't really a new generation of younger goths, partly because emo kind of stole the teenage-angst thunder and partly because my generation (mid to late 20s) never felt much identification with the 80s, so we all became cybergoths or rivetheads or metallers.

All of the goths I know who are my age only got into goth through metal or industrial or some other "alternative" style. Your typical trad goth or new romantic is well into their 30s if not 40s now.

3) The fashion elements tend to get toned down as people get older, particularly for guys, as it impacts on the ability to get jobs and/or dates. You can do the "corp goth" look with officewear, but most people don't really bother because it's not too hard to afford a basic going out outfit.

I'm a traditional Gothic Rock fan, and i'm 23. Most Gothic young people my age don't even know what the hell i'm on about when I mutter bands like Joy Division, or Bauhaus under my breath.

That is indeed a sad, sad thing. They are all about Rammnstein, or Black Veil Brides, or some blackened Death Grindcore Metal crap, that sounds like Satan taking a dump (see Cradle of Filth).

What can i say, i'm an elitist when it comes to music i like. I really don't like what Goth has become, the same with Punk really to be brutally honest, but that's for another topic for another time.

Dude...I don't think I ever met someone who would EVER put Rammstein and Black Veil Brides in the same bucket...


I see goths. Kinda. I go to a rock club, the sort that mixes between Bon Jovi, Disturbed, Rammstein, Slipknot, AC/DC, Aerosmith and System of a Down. I definitely see untoward fashion in there.
Including one bell-end with a mohawk. And stupid tartan trousers.

He was a dick.

It's not that i think Rammstein belongs in the same bucket, i'm a Rammstein fan, but goths either go for hard hitting industrial metal, or something like Cradle of Filth, or Black Veil Brides, which has gained a lot of popularity in the goth subculture as of late.

They became emos?

Actually, they became emos, and then emos became scene kids. Imo, they got progressively worse.

I mean,

Spoiler: we started out with this

Spoiler: and we ended up with this

I like you so very much sir...

 

[Lilani]

It's a dying fad nothing more.
If you want to see em try some conventions where they won't be segregated and treated as freaks. Oh the public, such a nice place...

There hasn't been any fads that were the least bit interesting. Derp.

Yeah, I've noticed that every generation has their "non-conformists." For the 90s it was goths, for the 00s it was emo/scene kids, and now it seems to be hipsters with some remnants of the emo/scene fad. So the goths "died out" because they grew up, and the emo/scene fad took its place. And now those kids are starting to grow up, so hipsters and a hipster/emo mix seem to be what the next fad will be.

 

[II2]

I'd say that the it's a 'dying fad' or 'emo took its place' is true as far as mainstream attention and highschool trends go, but in any population sizable enough to host a niche culture, people collect at the margins...

Yeah, most of the 80's and 90's goth kids grew up as an inevitable passage of time might forcast, but not all of them grew out of things they enjoy. I'd say offhand I know about 40-60 people, locally, who would self identify as goth, or being sympathetic to the style/scene. Most are mid 20s to mid 40's. Most dudes white collar professionals in tech jobs. Most ladies tend to work in tattoo parlors, retail, online business, etc. They make enough money to support about 3 to 6 active subculture bars in the city any given year and between personal interest and DJs, support the business of a (sub)genre(s) of music and it's artists / labels.

I'd say the subculture leans more on DJ nights and nightlife clubs than touring band shows (moreso than punk or metal), but in metropolitan areas of North America and Europe, festivals draw large crowds and prominent acts tend to bring more sub-culture-ites out of the woodwork than the regular barflys.

I live in a city with about 3 million people. The goth scene is proportionately very tiny, but for the ebbs and flows of activity, it's never truly disappeared; just passed from obscurity into the lens of mainstream focus and then back into obscurity, over 30 years or so.

 

[Nantucket_v1legacy]

I thought the title said Ghosts and got excited, but now I see it isn't about Ghosts and since I already clicked on this thread I kinda have to say something because I'm already here.

Yeah well I read this title as 'Ghosts' and got all excited that we might be talking about Patrick Swayze making love to clay with his hands.

I've never seen a hot goth in my life.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

The Goths I know dropped the more overt aspects of their wardrobe. Otherwise it's kinda hard to get a job interview. I've seen Goth lawyers, though. You just need a fairly open-minded and understanding cabinet, and the interested gloomy barrister has to understand he can't Manson it up in front of a court of law.

Not everyone is as understanding as close colleagues or families, obviously.