Country Dictionary

Gothic, as refers to the musical style and culture, has its roots in the punk scene of the late 70's/early 80's in both the UK and in America. The latter saw the rise of West Coast "death rock" acts such as 45 Grave and Christian Death, fronted by the late Rozz Williams and largely considered to be one of the founding fathers of the Gothic movement, along with UK bands such as the Sisters of Mercy and Bauhaus. The mid-80's saw the Second Wave of Goth, led by acts such as Rosetta Stone in an electronic direction, Fields of the Nephilim and Nosferatu in a more organic, but almost theatrically morbid direction, and bands like the Mission (later the Mission UK) in an organic, but less spooky direction, often penning lyrics about lost love or transcendence of spirit. From the early 90's onward the Gothic music has taken on so many different forms that the sound of the music is as diverse as the people who listen to it. Theatricality was always a big part of the Gothic movement, giving rise to the dark colors and ornate trim which evolved into Gothic fashion as we know it today. Many people dress in elaborate outfits and use lace, velvet and other classical materials, and employ corsets and old-fashioned items like that. Boots are often very popular with both sexes. The clubs are a big part of the Gothic scene, providing an opportunity for like-minded souls to network among people they might never meet in "real" life, as well as providing a venue for local and big-name bands to perform in an intimate setting for their fans. The setting usually is pretty intimate, being usually very dim with occasional accent lights thrown on for effect, often with fireplaces, candelabra, or smoke machines. often there will be a cage for a leather-clad fetish girl to entertain onlookers. The Gothic scene shares its borders with those of the Industrial scene, in terms of adherents, fashions and venues, and there is often some degree of overlap. This is commonly referred to by the generic tag, the "dark underground."

Gothic music and scene lifestyle can be campy and immerse itself in the trappings of vampires, B-movies and candlelight, can be sensual and beautiful in a classical sense, or can simply be an opportunity to rock out and dance.

Since this is urban dictionary, I'll give the more modern definition: Of or relating to a subculture which developed in the late 70's as an offshoot of punk, characterized by unconventional hairstyles and clothing. Originates from a musical style which is still alive to a certain extent, gothic rock artists include Bauhaus, She Wants Revenge (more recent), and Sisters of Mercy. The term gothic comes from a 19th century literary style, which is the basis of horror fiction. As a general term, gothic means dark. Stereotypes surround the gothic subculture, like any other subculture, including an association with Satanism (coming from a false connection between atheism and Satanism), a belief that goths (or gothics, to distinguish them from the Germanic tribe) dress unconventionally to attract attention from mainstream culture, and an association with depression and evil. Dark themes are what characterize gothic music and literature (also film and television), and these fictional themes are often misapplied to people. However, some of the negative stereotypes surrounding gothic culture are a result of (excuse my bias here) assholes who pretend to be vampires, cut Marilyn Manson into their backs with knives before going to a concert, and other attention-seeking shock artists who give the impression that gothic culture is about celebrating all things gruesome and barbaric. (Not that I have anything against a little violence in entertainment) This is very cliche on urbandictionary, but here are some things that are not gothic" Marilyn Manson Self-harm or suicide (although depression is a common trait in youth regardless of subcultural orientation, and the lead singer of the early gothic music group Joy Division committed suicide) Pretending to be a vampire.....outside of Halloween, that's just ridiculous

Gothic music: see above Gothic movies: almost anything related to Dracula, Frankenstein, vampires Gothic clothing: this varies from subspecies (excuse my terminology) to subspecies of goth, including cybergoth, romantic goth (old school), heavy metal goth, "mallgoth" (an insult applied to goths who embrace gothic fashion and culture for reasons perceived to be superficial, however, some of this is just elitism), etc

There is something horribly wrong with the way people view "goths". "Goths" are not always doom and gloom. They are not always listening to screaming, miserable music. And, oh, did you know, some "Goths" even wear different colors other than black? Ever heard of Bauhaus or Siouxsie and the Banshees? They're considered "goth" bands. The culture is so much different from what people make it out to be. Being "goth" is a way of expressing yourself to your liking. Just as some might wear letterman jackets and other clothes. They're normal people with different views. You can't lump them into some little group because a bunch of teenyboppers decided they were going to slit their wrists and write horrible poetry. That's just the same as saying all "preps" worship their boyfriends and say 'like' all of the time. It's stupid and it's full of prejudice. Granted, prejudice is what seems to make the world go around lately.. Doesn't mean you have to give in to that trend of throwing out vile and disgusting words at something you don't understand.

"The Gothic scene and the mundane world have always been at odds. This rift is largely due to a miniscule breakdown in communication resulting simply from the misapplication of certain words." -Voltaire's 'What is Goth?'

Pertaining not to devil-worship, but to a way of thinking before the "Age of Reason" that stressed emotion (as opposed to rationality), preoccupation with mortality (and immortality), and sensuality.

The writings of Edgar Allan Poe, the films of Ken Russell.

mistaken for a bunch of troubled metal head teenagers who are obsessed with death and suicide. this is totally wrong and is just some stupid steriotype given to them by dumbasses such as townies. goths are normally just normal people who like to dress in their own kind of style, rather than the mundane crap we see everyday. goths are quite confident and are never afraid to laugh at themselves. goths normally have a open mind to alot of things instead of being closed mind twats who wont try anything else but what every1 else is doing

1) more unique than most... but not totally individual as thats impossible

Goth is essentially every other music scene (indie, rave, etc.), just a bit spookier and dramatic. The actual goths (ie, not the high school kids) are usually college students or average people with dayjobs. Many work in the tech field as it affords them flexibility with their appearance. They typically have macabre or devious senses of humor (yes, they do laugh - a lot.) and are subject to the same fallacies, issues, and qualities that other humans are. Most are not cutters. Just like other scenes, the goth scene is extremely misrepresented by the youth who either misappropriate the genre or simply don't quite "get it." They often put a public and very misleading face on the scene and many goths (such as myself) rush to defend the scene, as flawed as it might be, for it is something that happens to bring much joy to many people. The illusion of uniqueness is just that. But then again, deep down, we're all different in some way, but there's still no harm in doing what you can to set yourself apart if you find value in that. Still, much of the older goth scenesters do not completely dismiss the younger generations. They might deride them, but hope they will expand their horizons. Conversely, you will find older goths who enjoy the more commercial acts, for no other reason than simple personal taste. One final thing: Most goths don't just listen to music associated with that genre. Most will branch out. Some listen to Punk or Techno, some even listen to Jazz or Motown. The final idea of being a goth is to simply be yourself, even if you're not wearing black. We still reserve the right to make fun of emo kids because we know we look silly. They haven't figured it out yet.

I don't have an gothic example. I'm not that creative.

Gloomy, dark, dreary. 12th century era gothic architecture included pointed buildings and large stained glass windows. The novel Dracula is an example of gothic literature. The Castlevania series are gothic videogames. Gothic literature, architecture, and occasionally games are cool. Poser "goths" who try to follow trends by buying crap from hot topic are not. Not to be confused with "emo", which is a step even further down than this..which sometimes is hard to believe.

me: You call yourself "goth"? Okay then, who wrote the original gothic novel Dracula? poser goth: uhh I dunno. come on man you're holdin me up. i gotta meet my friends at 7 at the mall. we're all going to hot topic me: *slaps poser goth*