deine Grösse macht mich klein
du darfst mein Bestrafer sein, ja


Fetish Goths

What you notice first: the leather, the rubber, chains, PVC (which is a type of plastic), bolts, buckles, and spikes. While seemingly prepared for a post-apocalyptic "Road Warrior" existence, their costumes are quite revealing, suggesting an interest in strange sex. Sometimes they bring whips or riding crops to club so they can smack each other. Their accessories either hint at or facilitate bondage play.

Informal observations at club suggest that fetish goths prefer industrial music over the goth stuff. Industrial music, while dark, differs from gothic music in its high-energy and harshness, and in the malevolence of the lyrics. (Both types of music are routinely played in goth clubs, in varying proportions.)

Large cities have non-goth BDSM clubs that contain "play spaces," and activity on internet mailing lists reveals that some unknown percentage of fetish goths are interested in this sort of thing.

What is the connection between the gothic aesthetic and corporal punishment? Perhaps where mopey/romantic types dramatize emotional pain, the fetish crowd just take it one step further into the physical. ??




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