Teen Gothic

My cat, Lemmy, has been missing since Valentine’s Day 💔 I miss cuddling with him so much. Please send any prayers/good wishes my way.

By a twist of fate, I've ended up the sole mod of r/indiangoth. I have limited mod permissions and the subs creator's accounts have been disabled so I'm gonna have to appeal to reddit for full control of the sub. While I wait, i figured I'd ask around for advice, so I would really appreciate any help/advice with the following:

1) How can I (and future mods) ensure the space is a safe, inclusive, and fun place for goth people in India?

2) How can subreddits be used to foster the goth sub culture and music?

3) When people post their outfits, a lot are just all-black fast fashion stuff and not connected to anything goth – but there are also people who have very limited resources and "beginners" who are exploring themselves. How should I differentiate between them and what should be done about the former?

4) what in god's name should I do about the constant barrage of goth girl sexualization that the sub has become a lightning rod for?

Again, thank you ever so much in advance for your time and advice.

I started listening to goth music, and so far my favorite songs are "Starfall" and "Winterborn" by "The Cruxshadows" and "Monolith" by "Twin Tribes" & "Fronterawave"

I've loved Emo, Punk and Goth fashion for awhile now, and have listened to a decent amount of Emo and Punk, but I'm relatively new to Goth music.

I think that Monolith is what made me fall absolutely in love with the subculture though. I think this was my turning point haha.

anyway, I would love it

I've absolutely fallen head over heels in love with the song, especially the last 3 minutes which are just staggeringly beautiful. Does anybody have any recommendations?

(Sorry if this kind of post doesnt belong into this subreddit)

So, Im a 19 year old dude and I absolutely LOVE Siouxie and the Banshees, especially Siouxie

Siouxie is a very important person for me, I was in a really really hard Phase and I was insanely sad and frustrated the entire time. Music and walking through some unknown locations in my Area helped me a lot, but Siouxie just made my life unironicaly better. I heard Juju, over and over and her music made me so fucking happy. I woke up and danced to her music the entire day and it really helped me mentally. Im now in a better mental state and I think she is a big part of that.

So….why do I wanna hear motivation?

I really want to Look like her, thats it. I dont think im a really attractive person but I think I can finally learn to love myself if I look like the person that made me happier. I want my hair to Look like her Bats nest in the 80s and I want to wear Makeup like she has around her eyes.

LONG STORY SHORT:

I have a massive social anxiety and I am scared that people make fun of me, laugh at me or even worse, beat me up. I live in Germany, Saxony to be exact and we have a big Rightwing Problem here. And I have friends that had veeery Bad experiences with these people.

But I shouldnt let these ignorant people rule over my life! I know that!

Even my friends Support me and I still am too scared. What should I do? I appreciate some nice comments, because that is all I need. If you got any Questions than I will answer it.

• Bonus Question: My SO says that a bats nest really hurts to comb if I want back my normal haircut, is that true?

(Excuse me If my grammar is shit, Im not perfect when it comes to english)

Edit: I Love everyone of you!!!!

I discovered the band through Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines that, after it assaulted every sense in my body with an overdose of 2000s that i didn't knew i so desperately needed to sate my nostalgia, introduced me to a plethora of incredible goth and non-goth artists and bands that i couldn't understand how i had never heard before given my interests in music were very closely aligned. I don't know if i qualify as goth but gothic imagery, films, literature, music, video & tabletop games and fashion captivate me to no end. Gothic influenced music in particular i was introduced to from a very young age thanks to my dad.

Among them was Darling Violetta and while their A Smaller God is pure eargasm, its Second Skin that left the deepest mark in me. Somber, sincere, intimate and full of adoration one can only dream of. Yet at the same time tragic, toxic, obsessive and desperate. Most people agree that it speaks of a ghoul (vampiric thrall) longing for her vampire master but in reality i think its simply about a relationship that has either fallen apart and at least one lover is still trying to dream about it OR its about a relationship fighting to become "too good to be true" but fails, yet it has some moments that reach very close to that goal, further fueling the unattainable dream. Depending on the mood i am happy to interpret it as either meaning or both. Still, to me it is an entrancing, romantic and dark. It preplexes me, it mesmerizes me. I want to share it with someone special. Its a piece of music that in these days fuels my inspiration to write and create and gives me comfort in my mandatory army service.

I've already done too much red, Black, and White for pervious clothing and am having a hard time settling on something. Any suggestions would really help 🙂

I want to start by saying that I’m white and not speaking on anyone’s behalf. I’m responding to a pattern I’ve noticed on Reddit and other social media and it’s been bothering me for some time.

Over the years, I’ve seen posts from POC goths who’ve been bullied or excluded for not fitting the “pale” ideal, which is ridiculous. What’s worse is how often their concerns are dismissed with claims that goth has always been inclusive. Even when the intentions behind those comments are good, the impact isn’t. It shuts down conversation instead of addressing the issue.

Yes, goth (and punk before it) was often more accepting than other subcultures. Punk was influenced by rude boy culture, and reggae and dub were played alongside it at shows. But that doesn’t mean racism didn’t exist in those scenes. “More inclusive than average” isn’t the same as being inclusive for everyone.

A lot of us who were born well after the civil rights era (myself included) don’t fully understand what exclusion looked like in practice. I grew up in rural Florida and saw overt racism firsthand, but I never experienced places where Black people simply weren’t allowed, and pretending I fully understand that reality would be dishonest.

We can acknowledge that goth aspired to be inclusive in its inception and still listen when POC goths talk about the real challenges they face today. Giving credit where it’s due shouldn’t come at the expense of dismissing lived experiences.

If we actually care about the values we claim, that means listening, empathizing, and speaking up when we see this kind of thing.

Edit for clarification:

I’m not talking about “permission” to be in the subculture or gatekeeping who gets to call themselves goth. What I am talking about is how, in practice, POC goths are still talked over, dismissed, or told that they’re just one-off incidents.

When someone shares what they’re dealing with and the response is an overwhelming chorus of “goth has always been inclusive,” it can come across as dismissive, even if the intention is good.