Teen Gothic

I'm not sure whether I should post this on here or goth fashion or wherever or at all but I want to get this out

I love being goth and autistic. This sounds weird as I'm typing it out but being goth as someone with autism is just so freeing and accepting in a way that I wouldn't have expected a few years ago. Also, somehow it's become a way for me to mask better to the public?

Weird special interests? Average goth. Mumbling or weird speech quirks (repeating stuff, spelling, rhyming)? Hardcore goth!! I speak in a monotone voice thats hard to detect sarcasm from? That's super hard-core goth!!

But besides the publics stereotypes, everything about the gothic lifestyle is so freeing to me. I love swaying and stimming to staple trad goth songs, I love fidgeting with my layered necklaces and I love the feeling of bell sleeves on my arms and I love the feeling of my shoes grounding me. I love always finding and discovering the beauty in the strange and macabre. I love talking to other goths who don't look or talk to me like im below them, but instead see me as a person.

I'm not sure where else to post this, but I'm just filled with joy every second I indulge myself in my gothic lifestyle. It's such a freeing experience where I feel like I can be myself in a community that accepts me. I want to thank all of you, not just the goths in this subreddit, but every single goth out there who welcomed me with open arms, who gave me song recommendations to my now favorite bands, who told me that sugar water was a good substitute when making my bats nest because I can't stand the feeling of hair spray, who told me that I didn't have to dress in corsets and velvet even if I hated the feeling of them just to fit in.

Thank you to all of you who made this a safe place for me to thrive and really be myself 🙂