Teen Gothic

E.g. Someone dressed/looking like trad goth but doesn’t identify as goth.

First of all, I’m strictly talking about goths on Tik Tok. I understand goth people get made fun of all the time but why do the same to others? Why are people judged for simply having a different taste of music, fashion, and mindset? Not everyone is capable of liking the same things. I’m just confused. I posted about this somewhere else and got judged and told I had no understanding of goth?

I came across this tiktok of a girl talking about how she used to go to a goth night in Fresno 10 years ago and that she went again this year and there were so many young people.

I'm 21 and I've only been in the scene since COVID restrictions ended, so I can't compare. What I did notice is that most people are in their 40s and then there is a handful of young people, in their teens to early 20s that got into goth in the past few years, but it is still a very small group and I don't think it's enough to make any difference. One of the djs told my friends and I that they hadn't seen anyone under 30 at goth clubs for years until recently.

People who have been in the scene for longer, did you notice an increasing number of young people at events as well? Do you think goth has the potential to be a youth subculture again?

I've seen an influx of posts on here of people who are struggling to find their local scene. To put it simply, goth scenes are hard to find for a variety of reasons– either they don't exist in your local area, or they're run by older people who primarily use Facebook to promote, or just in general, there is little to no promotion for the event happening at all because its a small, tight-knit group of people who have been doing scene-related things together for years.

Goth is a pretty niche subculture. You'll often find that goth scenes just don't exist in the city/town you're located in, or whatever scene there is, it's small. I'm a brand new promoter in DC, and so far, I haven't had a completely dead night where no one showed up, but it happens, because the scene is small, and it's hard to find if you aren't intentionally looking for it. As a promoter and an owner of a club night, we do our best to make ourselves visible and accessible, but the work we do can only go so far.

So, here's my advice to people who are struggling to find their local scene– make your own. It isn't as difficult as it sounds, but it is definitely intimidating if you've never been in charge of anything before.

Step number one is to learn how to DJ. By far, the most difficult step out of all I'm about to talk about because it can get expensive. You'll need a DJ table, a laptop, and a digital library of music. I got a cheap table for maybe only $ 150, but you could probably even thrift one. Some tables don't require laptops, but they get more expensive than standard tables.

Step number two is to find a venue. Most goth nights get hosted at bars because the venues are eager to make money off of patrons, so they're always willing to host an event. Find a local bar, talk to the bartender, tell them you're interested in setting up an event there, ask them how to get an event set up, etc.

Step number three: promote. Make flyers for the event. You can make these in something like Canva, which is a photo-editing app that lets you put text over pictures. Print them out, and post them up around local spots (libraries, cafés, anywhere that lets you advertise with paper flyers). Take the image and upload it to IG, or Twitter, upload it to Facebook, make a Facebook event for it, and use hashtags related to your local area. For example, if you live in DC like me, you would use the tags "#dcgoth" or "#dmvgoth".

All of these steps are way simpler if you have friends to help you out along the way. These steps are also incredibly simplified, but I am definitely 100% willing to give a more in-depth explanation to anyone who wants to start their own scene in their area.

I get “Tim burton” a lot. One guy at the dispo said I looked like I walked out of a Sex Pistols concert. Me and my girlfriend also got called “Dracula” on our way to get soda one time 😆

So, I enjoy industrial, ebm and goth music. I enjoy industrial and ebm way more and I don’t identify myself with goth subculture but I know plenty about it due to my interest in the music as well. Being surrounded by each crowd, I notice that a lot of goth people always label industrial and sometimes ebm bands (but I mostly just see people label industrial) that don’t fall under any goth genres as goth. I know that industrial and goth music were/still are two peas in a pod in clubs and stuff so I feel that has something to do with it buut. I’m just curious and want to know from a goth who considers industrial and/or ebm a part of goth, why?

Just genuinely curious and wanna know if I’m missing something!

Bro can't I just have a day where dumbass boys don't threaten or harass me just because I'm goth lmao It's so annoying like I'm just minding my own business, and then these dudes on the train in another carriage laugh and gesture at me. Anyways that's all lol Any other goths relate?