gothic

Goth is essentially every other music scene (indie, rave, etc.), just a bit spookier and dramatic. The actual goths (ie, not the high school kids) are usually college students or average people with dayjobs. Many work in the tech field as it affords them flexibility with their appearance. They typically have macabre or devious senses of humor (yes, they do laugh - a lot.) and are subject to the same fallacies, issues, and qualities that other humans are. Most are not cutters. Just like other scenes, the goth scene is extremely misrepresented by the youth who either misappropriate the genre or simply don't quite "get it." They often put a public and very misleading face on the scene and many goths (such as myself) rush to defend the scene, as flawed as it might be, for it is something that happens to bring much joy to many people. The illusion of uniqueness is just that. But then again, deep down, we're all different in some way, but there's still no harm in doing what you can to set yourself apart if you find value in that. Still, much of the older goth scenesters do not completely dismiss the younger generations. They might deride them, but hope they will expand their horizons. Conversely, you will find older goths who enjoy the more commercial acts, for no other reason than simple personal taste. One final thing: Most goths don't just listen to music associated with that genre. Most will branch out. Some listen to Punk or Techno, some even listen to Jazz or Motown. The final idea of being a goth is to simply be yourself, even if you're not wearing black. We still reserve the right to make fun of emo kids because we know we look silly. They haven't figured it out yet.