Teen Gothic

I ran across some playlists with shoegaze and dream pop music, and I still can't differentiate one genre from the other, they're pretty much the same for me. Also, I've been listening to my bloody valentine, lush and Slowdive and I don't know if they're really goth bands. People tend to put Cocteau twins in the same box, but for me they're ethereal wave, am I wrong? Anyway, I don't mind listening bands that are not goth, I listen to metal as well, but I don't want to commit the mistake to classify/recommend bands telling my friends that they're goth, when they're not.

I'm a bit confused on where the line between what is goth and what is shoegaze is. Mostly because I listen to Slowdive and Autumn's Grey Solace and they seem like they're basically the same stylisticly. But Slowdive has been pretty much strictly excluded from the goth label while AGS has been accepted by many I've talked with as goth. Idk, I don't really see strict categories very well. Just curious what others say about this.

i always thought shoegaze bands like my bloody valentine and have a nice life had a very gothic feel to them. do they have goth influence, or is it just cause theyre offsprings of post punk? (im not sure what flair to use)

i have heard most of the mainstream stuff like cocteau twins, the cure, and that new ethel cain album that came out recently and am looking for some more less known projects or bands to get in to that combine these genres.