I notice 3 main points with Goths on TikTok that reflect the state of all alternative scenes.

1.Repetition

I notice that a lot of alternative people these days especially goths keep having to repeat over and over and over and over the points of their subcultures, the history, the music, all the things that make you *insert subculture* and it is becoming insufferable. Everyday on that app I have to hear about how shein is wrong (10000% correct),conservative goths=bad , hating on baby bats=bad, and you don't have to *insert thing* to be goth. IT IS SOOOOOOOOOO ANNNNNNOYYYYYYIIIIIINNNGGGGG. Everybody is making the same damn take cuz they know it goes viral amongst the newer kids to the scene and then across the whole scene. But at some point, we can have a little creativity and talk about other things PUHLEASEEEEEE. I would rather get gothic book recs rather than yap about the same three things amongst people who don't even know who Patricia Morrison is.

2. Lack of Creativity

Nobody is creative and it is bugging me. The goths on TikTok all look the same. It's the same bat sleeve dress paired with the same studded belt and ankh belt. Maybe spice it up with the black corset everyone and their mom has. And let's not forget the standard goth hair which is black box straight hair and bangs (usually micro or v). And then make the same 3 takes and you are done! CONGRATS!!!!!!! You are a boring drag goth (what they call trad goth on TikTok even though it isn't even what goths looked like in the 80s and they would know that if they even bothered to look into the subculture). Now go out there and destroy any semblance of individuality and uniqueness. I'm not saying it's an ugly style or that you are a poser if you do it. I'm saying that I'm so tired of that being the only goth you see these days. I miss rivetheads. I miss deathrockers. I miss actual trad goth (the 80s one). I miss cabaret goth and Victorian. I miss medieval and gothic lolita. What happened to individuality?????? Nobody looks different. I can name 5 goths on that app who look different from the rest. The only thing creative about drag goth is the eyeliner. Do they not get bored of copying goths they see on that app???? I miss creativity so bad bro.

3. Annoying newbies

Whenever alternative people say, "DIY is fundamental! You should DIY ur clothes." there is always an annoying newbie going "Yeah but I can't because blah blah blah" and then a nice alternative person like me says "Well here is a solution to that problem" and then the lazy bastard goes "BUT I CANTTTT *insert another excuse*" and the well meaning alt person goes "I can help! Here is another solution" and at that point they start giving you the "Well what if I was fat or what about getting supplies or what about this or what about that" or "I'm too lazy". And that my friends, is the problem with these newbies. It seems these days nobody wants to put in the creativity when they can get a premade outfit from Shein that they will hate in 1 day. And that lack of personal style and creativity will be the death of all of our subcultures. These new kids just want you to give them a step by step tutorial on how to be in a subculture complete with free clothes shipped to them in order to look the part, already diy'd clothes so they can look authentic, and a tutorial on how to be exactly like whatever alternative person they come across. What happened to being urself? Actually I have a song 4 that

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhrTNEKgEuI

Funny right? But ever so true. The best way to be alternative is to be yourself. When people tell you to thrift, instead of asking 5 billion questions in a comment section, go type that into Google. Instead of copying the exact outfits of somebody else, maybe try having your own original style that you didn't copy word for word bar for bar (looking at you drag goths). Instead of saying "I'm still gonna shop fast fashion. idc", maybe look into the unethical practices of fast fashion and try to reduce the harm you cause.

4. Nobody Knows the History

Why is it that nobody knows anything about a subculture when they join and never bother to look into it????? Like why do you not know what The Batcave is? Or Andrew Eldritch? Or Rose McDowall? or even Patricia Morrison? Like why do you not know any goth icons at allllll????????? Learn the history folks!!!!!!!! Jesus h. Christ this is how subcultures die. Nobody even knows what goths even looked like in the 80s anymore. It's so disheartening cuz the 80s were so interesting. The goths in the 80s didn't even wear all black but nobody knows that anymore. They wore a lot of colors. They teased their hair. They didn't even have black makeup unless they lived in the big city since it wasn't easy to get. They wore business-style attire cuz that was what was in thrifts and they just modified what they had to look more edgy. They wore grandma clothes frequently and made it look edgy and dark. That was what it was all about. But nobody does that anymore because why make it edgy and dark when you can just buy an already edgy outfit made for you. UGGHHHH THE SUBCULTURE IS SOOOOOO DYINGGGGGGGGGG

5. Nobody Stands On Business

Everybody says "Goth is Political" but nobody wants to stand for something. Oh ok. I see now. Like why are yall not at rallies? Or protesting? Or even signing petitions? Like be serious. Do you care about human rights or do you just wanna say that you do? Like there is an animation worker's strike right now and you can't even bother to use your huge platforms to say something????? Or even post about anything that matters?????? Shameful. Also here is the link to the petition.

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/show-your-support-for-tags-contract-negotiations?clear_id=true&source=direct_link

Please help them out or else we lose animation forever!!!!!!!! Back to the og point, they never actually post any political views other than the standard "Shein is bad" (which most barely believe). The best thing for a baby bat to realize is that a lot of drag goths on TikTok are just influencers in black. They are here to sell you stuff like Eyevos contacts or Killstar ankh belts. They barely know anything about the subculture. Just learn about the subculture through Google (NOT REDDIT THOUGH: YOU WILL NEVER FEEL GOTH ENOUGH IF YOU USE THAT) and talking to older goths. And interact with your local scene. I don't have one cuz im in buttfuck, texas. So there is nobody in my suburban area. They are all in Houston which is an hour away. Also I have school so i can't. I have band and I'm not allowed to go anywhere. But I try. Anyways that's all. Yap session over

-Diana