Footnotes

1What is Goth?
There is no internal consensus on the answer to this question. I can say what I think the core is, with the caveat that the "core" describes only a fraction of what actually goes on.

2Goth as mental hygiene
Some people have apparently failed to read this paragraph as a joke. There is even an article quoting it. Being goth is about living precisely when suicide is the only reasonable option. For the record, suicide is not a frequent topic amongst goths. It's just a stereotype.

3 Goth Stereotypes
These are not criteria for being goth. They're just stereotypes, and some are tongue-in-cheek.

5 Goth? Not me. (How goth!)
Ethereal goths are not going to admit to being goth if you think that means they're into vampires or being tied up. Similarly, fetish goths don't want to be taken for the effete wimps who sit around writing whiney poetry. The diversity in the scene makes it impossible for the label to have any meaning.

Most importantly, goths consider themselves elite anti-conformists, and don't want to be perceived as conforming to any norm, even a gothic one. (Ha ha ha.)


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