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DON'T MOCK GOTHS
Independent, The (London), Mar 21, 2006 by Ciar Byrne
Mancunians call them crows. Parents tend to adopt stronger language. But behind the black hair dye and white make-up Goths, it is claimed, are simply art lovers, who aspire to middle-class values and will end up in respectable professions.
Dr Dunja Brill, a 32-year-old German with her own Gothic tendencies, studied the subculture in Brighton, Edinburgh, Berlin and Cologne for her doctorate in media and cultural studies at Sussex University.
She believes Goths were misinterpreted following the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, when Marilyn Manson lyrics were blamed for contributing to the killing of 12 students and a teacher by teenagers Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris who wore long black overcoats.
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But Dr Brill insists Manson is not regarded as part of the movement and that far from being a sinister group of social misfits, Goths place a high value on university education and highbrow culture.
Parents agonising over their offspring's sudden passion for black clothes and eyeliner should be reassured they are more likely to end up a doctor, architect, social worker or in the creative industries than dropping out.
Her interviewees included medical doctors, a man who had pursued a lucrative career in the law before becoming a musician, a bank clerk and an architecture student. The bank clerk was free to dress in black because her job did not involve coming into contact with customers, although like many professional Goths she reserved more extreme hair and make-up for club nights out.
"The Goth lifestyle allows you to lead a perfectly sane, stable lifestyle with a proper job, your own flat and even a family, then at the weekends or in your leisure time follow your Gothic activities," said Dr Brill.
Many Goths choose jobs in the creative industries, academia or social work, where they are allowed more freedom to pursue their identity, but most are willing to make compromises.
"There is this idea in the subculture of being a proper full- time Goth, but that's incompatible with holding down certain kinds of jobs. Most Goths who stay Goths and get proper jobs tend to make compromises but keep as much of the classic black and white clothing as possible. A white shirt and black suit corresponds to the Goth personality. It's easier than being a Punk. Most Goths are very neat. They're quite vain. Especially for the women, long black dyed hair is perfectly okay. It's more difficult for a man."
While many subcultures buck against the system in every way they can, Goths embrace classical education.
"Going to do a university degree is encouraged. It doesn't encourage people to drop out of school. Whereas in the Punk scene you turn down the normal educational values, in Goth you gain status if you're perceived as being educated. You get people who are in it for the shock value, but they are usually the ones who grow out of it," said Dr Brill.
"The scene has quite middle-class values - education, highbrow culture, theatre, museums, romantic literature, poetry, philosophy, Gothic architecture. Many Goths like classical music. It's a status symbol to have a good collection of classical pieces - mostly requiems and darker pieces," she added.
The short stories of Edgar Allan Poe, the poetry of Emily Dickinson and the lyrics of The Cure are all Gothic favourites.
Goths are by no means all teenagers. They range in age from 15 to 50 and for many it is not a phase they pass through, but a way of life they incorporate into their adult identities.
"Goth is not a typical youth subculture. I'm 32 now and I would still class myself as a sort of Goth," said Dr Brill.
She feels it is easier to balance being a Goth with a normal lifestyle than other subcultures.
"Goth is a very individual thing. There are festivals and gigs and clubs where Goths gather and celebrate their collective identity. But you can be respected as a Goth without ever setting foot in a Goth club. There are some people living in small villages who just exist as Goths through personal ads in magazines or on the internet and and spread their poetry out through those channels."
The Goth scene was born in Britain in the early 1980s in the aftermath of Punk. Siouxsie Sioux with her dyed black hair and extreme make-up became a Gothic pin-up along with her band The Banshees, although they were not actively involved in the movement.
Bauhaus, the first fully Goth band to emerge, from the unlikely environs of Northampton, released their first single "Bela Lugosi's Dead" in 1979. In 1982, the group crossed over into the mainstream when their track "Ziggy Stardust" reached number 15 in the charts.
1982 was also the year when a club called the Batcave opened in London and became a mecca for the burgeoning Goth scene.
The early 1980s saw a wave of Goth bands, led by The Sisters of Mercy, and including UK Decay, Sex Gang Children, The Birthday Party and The Cure.
Robert Smith, the lead singer of The Cure, became a model for many young Goth men who pored over his melancholy lyrics, although his band were not directly part of the movement. Enjoying chart success, The Cure also became a bridge between Goth and mainstream culture. In 1983, the New Musical Express gave the scene the more upbeat moniker "Positive Punk".
