Goth Subculture Politics: A Short Guide

Is the Goth Subculture political? If so, what are our values? Can one gatekeep the Goth to a single political party? Find out!

The word "Gothic Rock" shows up as early as 1967, when critic John Stickney described The Doors's sound as gothic rock. The term "gothic" carried centuries of baggage before the music; in literature, we see: The Castle of Otranto, Dracula, Frankenstein. In art, the architecture and dark romantic paintings.

The actual subculture coalesces out of British Post-Punk. Anchor bands being: Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, and The Cure. Usually carrying melodramatic content, literate morbidity, plus a fashion that raids from Victorian mourning to fetish, and glam. 

Around 1982-83, the scene invents itself. One of the main events was the opening of London's Batcave club on 21 July 1982. 

Despite being a music subculture, it coheres strongly via scenes more than via bands' manifestos. Classic ethnography shows that commitment is built through events.

Does any of this information make goth political? Yes, and no. Goth does not follow a specific political party, not in the banner-waving, policy-platform sense. Goth is culturally and micro-politically charged, with recurring values. 

Because goth comes from the punks, it is anti-authoritarian. Hebdige's classic theory frames post-punk subcultures as symbolic resistance to dominant norms, political in form even when not in slogans. Another trait that is important inside the goth subculture is gender nonconformity and queer presence. 

The goth aesthetic is meant to have a strong liberty; the subculture historically claims the fetish as much as it claims the theatrical. Though, as much as probably a trait that comes with being post-punk, the goths have a preference for DIY clothes and self-organized spaces. 

Can a goth be conservative? No.

Again, goth grew out of punk; the micro-politics of the scene are deeply hostile to conservatism's usual values. Goth thrives in rebellion, rejection of the mainstream, and celebration of the marginalized. 

If you are a conservative, you are not welcome in the community. Be free to enjoy the fashion and music, but do not consider yourself a goth.

Can a goth wear fast fashion? Depends.

Fast fashion is bad for everyone. Yet, nitpicking clothes is not the answer either. Everyone should avoid fast fashion, and that sort of consumerism is offensive to the goth community, but it does not necessarily take away your goth title either, for as long as you buy clothes you will wear daily, and do it with a short frequency, you are still goth. If you only buy fast fashion, buy clothes you will only wear once or twice, and do it constantly, then you are insulting the goth subculture. 

Can I be goth and not listen to the music? No.

Goth is fundamentally music-based. Those who claim to be goth without enjoying the music probably misunderstood the meaning of the subculture. You are "gothic," not a "goth," if you do not listen to the songs.