Teen Gothic

Hi! I'm a college student taking a sociology class on culture this semester and I'm writing a research paper on authenticity in subcultures, focusing on goths. I'm researching how goths define authenticity in the community and hoping to gain an greater understanding about perceptions across generations. Essentially, I want to analyze the various perspectives on what goths believe constitutes being authentically goth. So I'm going directly to the community to ask! I would be so grateful if people replied to this post with their opinions, I would love to see discussions about this 🙂 Here are some questions that may help clarify what I'm looking for: What makes someone an authentic or "real" goth to you? What does "fake goth" mean to you? What is "real" vs "fake" goth fashion in your opinion? How old are you/what era or general years did you get into the goth scene? (if you are comfortable sharing). Feel free to comment as much or as little as you want about about authentic goth style/fashion, values, music, anything!