Black is the New Black (Longer Post here)
Originally published at Lane Ellen. You can comment here or there.
You Just Can’t Kill It
This link came from k-co back in September, and I meant to post it, really I did. Today, I was thinking: what exactly is the definition of GOTH, and what does it mean for a sub-culture?
My favorite thing about this article on goth subculture is that the image of the Victorian dress is what qualifies for my "goth style" if I were to have one.
I guess coming from the country, I avoided being labeled anything except "weird" and avoided following any particular genre of anything (except perhaps geek-culture, which I didn't really know existed either): music interests, clothing, behavior all were what I felt like doing, not what fit into anything particular.
I don't know if my interest in gothic things stems more from the fascination with Victorian oddness or the acceptable rebellion. Anything morbidly dramatic makes me roll my eyes, but in a way, this is its own elite-ism of being a non-goth. Those with massive collections of everything Gorey and Tim Burton invoke such a sigh in me that I cannot fathom. I think, "I was into Gorey without knowing it was popular to do so."
Which of course, is exactly the melodramatic elite-ism that I shun in others. In the Matrix, I was eerily reconnected with the feeling of being separate from reality. I wanted to be Switch. I love a good corset, and dream of my own kirtle skirt. I have knock-off granny boots and authentic black Victorian hats, complete with netting. I read Laurel K. Hamilton and Jacqueline Carey for entertainment and I have LARPed OWBN-approved games. I bellydance and worked at a renaissance faire for years. I own a first-edition of Justine. I had a dramatic "handle" and a sacred flower (any guesses?) I do have another dramatic nickname for my continued costumed events.
I too have contemplated about the depth of a vampire's descent into darkness over the passing ages.
I too walked through a wintery day down Wisconsin Avenue with NIN Pretty Hate Machine blasting in my walkman, thinking about how much it was the soundtrack to my life.
I am eager to know that absinthe is allowed back into the states, despite my hatred of things licorice-flavored. I have a penchant for velvets, silks, chiffon and occasionally PVC/vinyl in reds, blacks and whites. Stripes, especially pinstripes, make me giggle with delight.
Yes, I want a top hat.
But I would never have said I was a goth. Maybe a weekend-warrior that occasionally goes to clubs decked out in black. But reading the article, I realize that perhaps even my eschewing of a brand fits into the subculture. (Kelly - does this mean that I have "strange presence" when performing?)