Goth as a Fad

[Draconysius]

Unless you've been hiding under a rock for the past year, you've probably noticed that goth has become a fad as of late. Now everyone and his dog's trying to be goth, and it's really depressing. I mean sure, Snot Rocket's always been the hub of poseurism, but now every single department store around is carrying baby bat-tire. Goth is going through the same thing that happened to punk. The mainstream is trying to infiltrate it from the inside, but that's never going to happen. The mainstream may start dressing "darker", but they're certainly not going to be brought to a greater level of introspect or decadence by following some fad.

What are your thoughts on this? How bad is it in your area? What should be done about it?

[Panther]

What should be done about it? Hell, I'm waiting for the clothes to go on sale.

As you said, it's a fad. Fads pass. It's not exactly a threat. So why worry about it?

[Don't Look Behind You]

This subject is getting a bit old I'd say.

But of course, I agree. Being "decadent" and "subcultural" has taken over the minds of the snotty little teeangers allover the world. Almost every generation has had this kind of thing. There are always people that have no personality and so try to give themselves a form and image by following well established stereotypes. I pity such people. And never the less, I have been storming the clothing stores lately. If goth weren't such a fad, there would be no clubs to go to for people like myself.

it takes away a part of the gothic identity to have our style made mainstrem becuase now we aren't against the mainstrem like the style once asumed. Actually, isn't it strange to have a anti-mainstream style become a mainstream one? I mean, we now have the mainstream screaming "fuck the mainstream!". I am confused......No. it's just sad. I say we shouldn't whine about this shit the whole time. Yeah, goth has been stereotyped, made into a fad and completely deformed in the process.
In such a state, it is difficult to say what is really goth and what's not. I suppose this subculture is heading towards a major change and all we can do is mourn and preserve what we can during our life time. We just have to crawl into a hole and forget about the world and all that it's comming to!

No seriously. I am also annoyed about all the "vamps" and the "super-evil-666-peoples" that are running around the place but all I know is that I am not like them and therefore I am not whinning about them the whole time.

[Valerius]

Over here it hasn't really been that bad. Goths are so scarce that there are only a handful in my entire university. But my God, the punks... the emos; they're everywhere! I can't walk a single hallway without encountering some wannabe wearing a Good Charlotte shirt or a pair of checquered Chucks.

It's really easy to spot the ones who wear the clothes just to fit in, though. Their clothes always look brand new and I could swear I saw them displayed on a display window somewhere sometime.

Anyhoo, yeah fads will come and go. Sheep will always go with the herd, but the wolves will always stalk and hunt them down.

[Crying_Crimson_Tears]

It'll be fine once the fake jewlery store Claire's takes down the sign that says "Goth Glam" on it.

I am sure this will pass in a month or so.

[BlackButterfly]

Double-edged sword...

Good things:
Some of the old-school trad-goth stuff (music, clothes, etc) is being made available again (if you know where to look). That means fishnets, spiking accessories, kickass boots, and other basic accoutrements of "gothitude" are much easier to find--stock up for the impending drought when the fashion winds change and the world stops paying attention to it. A few years from now people will go back to telling you that the way you dress is "SO (insert number) years ago".

Although you still may want to "freak out" some of the stuff you buy if you DO choose to get it off the rack, there's not as much required.

Sometimes those in the newer generations serve as an inspiration rather than an annoyance.

Sometimes this sort of challenge inspires your creativity to reach a new echelon.

Looking in a store window/display and thinking to yourself: "Heh... I can make that same thing myself for less than they're charging..."


Bad things:
When you tell someone that you like their (insert accessory/article of clothing here), they'll tell you where they bought it instead of how they made it.

Babybat clones ::shudder::

Everyone else looks like you now. Or they're trying to.

Looking in a store window/display and thinking to yourself: "Damnit! I made that same thing X years ago and now everybody can buy it here!"

[OCD Insomnia]

Yes it is a fad...as a punk the punk fad completely messed the whole scene up here. BUT, everyone could still easily tell the difference between real and preppy punks. The worse think was that things you could normally buy cheap, quadrupled in price. studs were now $10.00 for a bag of 5 spikes and hair dye used to be $4.00 now it's $9.00....i dont get people these days...it's now cool to be as weird as possible? I blame T.V. and movies.....and Greenday....and MCR....and...who else can I blame for my own misfortune?

[Cyntrox]

Originally Posted by OCD Insomnia

who else can I blame for my own misfortune?

The goverment?

It's a conspiracy!

[OCD Insomnia]

Yes CONSPIRACY!!!!! BUSH!! LETS NOT FORGET TO BLAME SATAN AND THE MEDIA!

[Underwater Ophelia]

I don't understand why people care when subcultures are made mainstream. As far as I can tell, it's a good thing. Things we like are made more readily available. I mean, sure it's annoying when people who have no idea of what they're talking about are everywhere, but since it's a fad, it ends soon enough. I don't think it's a big deal.

[MollyMac]

Goth is not a fad, it's a phase.

[ArtificialOne]

If it lasted a couple of years it would be fad, if it lasted ten it would be a phase. But it's lasted longer than all that so.......

[MollyMac]

The subculture itself? It's establishedish. seems to be a subculture based on a 3-5 year turnover.

[ArtificialOne]

It might have it's peaks and valleys , but it's never gone completely away since it's conception. Eversince I can remember which is about 10 yrs or so since I've been interested in it, It hasn't died out.

I just wish this latest craze with Paris Hilton Sunglasses that make people look like insects and the quafe or whatever hairdue where they comb their hair up and back makes it look like they have down syndrome. Just ugly...... arhg... everyone needs to be man pretty like me.....lol

[MollyMac]

Never said it left or died out, just that its particpants burn through it in an overlapping, revolving foor timeframe.

And yeah. Those Harold the Horsefly glasses are quite obnoxious. But, hell, not my paycheck and I can always close my eyes and whosper "This just isn't happening to me."

[ArtificialOne]

I had to laugh today, I saw a girl in the mall that was truly bad. Look up "Fat pizza". It's an aus comedy show with this, well... fat woman in it. And she dresses up really bad. Well, the mall girl looked like that. I mean, I'm no adonis or anyhting but at least I dress acording to my height, wieght and shape.

[Vyvian Blackthorne]

Goth a phase? Huh? Not in my eyes, goth is a lifestyle not a fad nor a phase. It's anything the way certain people look at it-if one treats goth as a phase then it's easy to loose the sensabilities of it. But, in all due respect, I'd like to point out goth should, for the sake of the subculture, not to be looked at as a phase.

[Panther]

For some it is. This is a simple fact. For others it's not. Just like political liberals are seen as being younger than conservatives, just like idealism is thought to be the realm of children, gothness can be important one day, then not so much so the next.

I've always subscribed to the goth aesthetic, but I rarely wear nothing but black, and the only eyeliner I own is grey (brings out my eyes). Just because I don't fit in the stereotype every moment of everyday doesn't mean I can't recite 'The Raven' or summarize The Crow on command.

Likewise, just because someone does wear all black and thick eyeliner doesn't mean they think like us. It just means they wear black clothes. Even if they call themselves goths, they're obviously not. Which makes them harmless, and makes their soon to be thrift stored clothing items something to look forward to.

But that's just me.

[MollyMac]

Goth as a subculture has endured, goth per the individuals in it tends to be a phase. I've been around a loooooooooong time, I only report what I see. You will see people interested in Gothic literature and histiry, but "Goth" TENDS* to wane after a while.

Again, like McDOnalds, it has a high turnover rate but an enduring appeal which it has been around.

*Tends is not a finite term, like "most"- it indicates a majority, not 100%.

[Vyvian Blackthorne]

Maybe to the mainstream, but from what I have seen and from personal expirences-goths who are truly sworn to their word can make a commitment. Kids that treat goth as a phase are simply poseurs, respectfully, I wouldn't use the word "tends" either. I may be old, but the only time I've seen goths tending their style, it's because of events like depression, stress, etc. or even pressure from a family. Otherwise there is no reason it should be treated as a phase.

[Clockwork]

The scene's getting pretty bad where I'm at. About one out of every ten youths is wearing a pair of those vile Tripp pants with the baggy legs, or all black, or terrible makeup. That, combined with the monstrous emo-scene kid population, proves to be an extreme eyesore after a while.

I must be irritable, I guess, because while others are regarding this takeover with indifference, it annoys me to no end. I know it will be over in time, but I wish it'd end sooner. I like the dark aesthetic, but I don't like being thrown in with that lot...

'Least one thing's still obscure. I think I'm going to go Steam.

[killer_asian_Dax]

I'm not really worried about it being a fad. It'll pass. In the mean time, certain gothic staples are more redily available and easy to find. And when the next thing comes along for the masses to flock to- the goth stuff will get knocked back to the sale table. And who doesn't love a good sale?

[Vyvian Blackthorne]

I have no problem with it being shown publicly, but it shouldn't be exploitiated and critized and much less disrepected by random preppy assholes who don't know it is, and label goth as something they're naturally not.
I think it should be improved and respected as more then a fad (speaking how the mainstream sees it.) Also, if you look on the website "Sunlight and Shadow: Understanding the gothic subculture" under soultion, you'll see how goth is not a phase, but, in its own term, a be.

[KontanKarite]

Sure...

Most have probably already said this, but with the whole wave of "goth exploitation", there are probably a fair amount of people with a sincere love of the dark aesthetic and romanticism. Honestly, I never saw it as fashion until now, the whole look. Because I considered myself to be a closeted goth most of my years growing up. My parents bought my clothes, I had to deal with issues, what have you. I went through the whole spectrum of the goth teen. Being a goth child meant I leaned more towards spookier and darker concepts of play. Make believe ghosts and UFOs. For some, goths are bestowed the label by society because of their actions or their love of darker things. While others, embrace the label and find something that is most congruent with how they feel and think.

The one thing I've learned in my years is that not every person you would consider a goth would know who Bauhaus is or could even quote Poe. Those things are really just secret handshakes. It's what's inside that pretty much counts. It rages, it seethes, it hides in deep shadows of the mind, a tendency to be who you are. This, is also what punk truly is, only a little more loud and proud I would imagine.

So in essence, yes, the mainstream is mirroring us and probably doing a damn good job. That's why we're getting so pissed. But it's an exaggeration in our minds. Sure, we may have dark and moody ways of seeing things, but the current wave of emos and scene kids are more than likely a caricature of those things. It will pass as it always does and in it, we will have a few new additions to the sub culture as a whole. I wont discredit the mainstream just yet. I doubt that we are the only ones. Give them time. The ones left standing are probably our younger brothers and sisters in black.

I think I'm going to go Steam.

I'm working on it. Sorry

[Hades]

I'm not sure if i am encountering more of the wannabe-goths or emos, but there's plenty of them here! I wouldn't join the club of Condemnations straight away though; sure your culture is becoming more mainstream but goths aren't cool solely because of their 'underground' style... and besides, as most of the people mentioned already, "it's called a fad for a reason", until then - leave them be, laugh at them, or whatever you may please