Title: The Modern Goth Subculture: Who Are These Youths
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Content: Goth.net, a resource set up for the "benefit of the Goth community," defines Goths as, "A group of people who feel comfortable within each other's company. There is no specific thing that defines what you need to do or be to fit into the Goth scene (except of course the implied black clothing). People in the Goth scene all have different musical tastes, follow different religions, have different occupations, hobbies, and fashion sense." "Spurned by Normal Society"
The major binding factor among Goths seems to be their sense of detachment from "normal" society, and a feeling that they do not fit in within these normal circles. "Most Goths become Goths because they have been spurned by 'normal' society, because the way they want to live their lives does not fit in with how most people are told to live theirs," reads Goth.net. Members of the Gothic community define themselves as free thinkers. While outsiders looking in often see the Goth way of life as dark and rather morbid, "Goth unashamedly celebrates the dark recesses of the human psyche," according to A Goth Primer Web site, which includes "dark sensuality, sweeping sadness, morbid fascination, forbidden love, the beauty of enduring pain …"
"Many people lead unhappy, unachieved lives … Goth makes depression and angst a lifestyle choice, and that's art," A Goth Primer continues. Stereotypes: Are Violence, Paganism and Death a Part of the Goth Subculture? The characteristic "Goth" is reclusive and melancholy, yet smart, and many come from educated backgrounds.