Teen Gothic

Hey all! Today I was pursuing my copy of Goth: Identity, Style, and Subculture by Paul Hodkinson, published in 2002. It's an ethnographic study he did as part of his PhD, based on surveying folks at Whitby Gothic Weekend in 1997. Towards the back, this table caught my attention and made me curious about several things.

Now, this sample size is very wee relatively speaking, so I'm not sure about the veracity of this data. But still, it's curious to me that things like thrift/charity shops/hand-me-downs aren't explicitly called out here, with how much people emphasize this method of building out your wardrobe these days. Is it possible that secondhand clothing could be rolled into the first category? Near where I live, there are goth-oriented flea markets where people set up tables for secondhand clothes, which is why I wonder.

Additionally, the segment accounting for DIY is tiny. More people seem to not bother with the clothing at all, rather than make it by hand. And to that point, I don't know if "handmade" is meant to indicate completely making something from scratch or modifying something pre-existing.

Any opinions of any sort on this are welcome. Especially if you remember this festival from around this time period. And if you know of any sources of more updated information, I'm very interested in that.

I will preface this by saying this was a disagreement on tiktok which sounds so silly and i realize this.

Anyways, this girl posted a makeup look with dark eyeshadow and eyeliner and she put “#gothic” as one of the hashtags. People were grilling her in the comments saying this wasn’t goth, she didn’t look goth, etc. and I personally felt that was wrong. I commented and shared how goth is a music based subculture and that as long as you love the music, know the ideals and history of this subculture, you are goth! The makeup and fashion is just a plus. And I went on to say how there are plenty of folks who are goths and do not look the part (me included most of the time, thanks Covid)

And someone argued with me saying that goths follow a certain aesthetic and the one she’s dressed as is not it. And I said that I understand that but I think there should be more room for individual expression because the typical goth aesthetic is not one size fits all. And then they shot back at me saying things such as “well you can’t wear lip gloss and pink and be considered goth, etc” and I just am wondering where this whole mindset is coming from?

It was really giving off “you don’t look goth enough if you aren’t wearing x/y/z” vibes which I think could give baby bats a bad taste when first entering the subculture. Why can’t we wear pink and lip gloss and still be goths? I ended the argument with a respectful exit but I’m curious what you guys think. I personally think that since the core foundation of goth is music, it shouldn’t matter what you look like. But this is simply my opinion and any other thoughts are welcome! No opinion is wrong, we all have our points of view and I accepted hers with grace even if I disagreed

I also apologize if this is not the right space, please remove if need be!!