Teen Gothic

(English is my 2nd language) A friend recently asked if I want to come with her to M'era Luna this year. I've been living in the area for many years but never considered myself "goth enough" to go there. Moreover, my friend is even less goth than I am. Not only style-wise but also musically speaking. I feel like it would be kind of brash to go there as metalhead (me) and a "normie" (my friend)..? As if I'm invading a space that I am not meant to be in. On the other hand I know that I am more concerned about offending strangers than I should be (anxiety, yay), so I don't know what to make of this situation. What do you think?

I would love to see how others reacted when you introduced your friends and families to our scene of music. I’ve been lucky enough to have people in my life who are open minded to new experiences even if it’s outside of the comfort zone. I’ve invited my people, including my parents, to clubs, shows and other alternative/goth ventures. Lots of them really enjoyed the experiences and have come back for more, started listening to some of the bands. Some of the things they have said are along the lines of “I thought y’all listened to screaming music” and “I didn’t know goths like to get down” lol it’s always a good time to share our subculture with those who are only aware of it through it’s often faux representation in forms of media.

title. i was thinking about how i talk to people about my taste in music, and how it differs between normies and other goth/alternative people. personally, when someone not alternative asks me about music, i always just say something along the lines of ‘dark 80’s music.’ i try to dance around the ‘goth’ word just because i don’t want the immediate knee-jerk reaction of people who don’t really know what it is making incorrect assumptions. how about you all, though?