The Goth Tag

Hello Everyone!

Its me May again and I am so sorry that I have not posted a single post in like an entire year. School has been so harsh on me this past year since I was taking nothing but core classes to get my Associates degree because I just want to get school done and over with and to move on to get my Bachelors degree as well. I was going to get my Associates on this summer of 2014, but sadly that was not possible because they were not offering the last class that I needed. So I have to wait until this fall semester to take it which is a total bummer. :/ Sorry guys I don't have anything exciting to say on what has happened in my life all of this time. Other than  that recently I had hanged out with my best friend from high school on her 21st birthday bash and I hadn't seen her in 3 years since we graduated in 2011. So it was very cool and fun to see her again after 3 years! :)

You guys are probably wondering why I never wrote on my blog for the last 6 months. For the last 6 months my computer did not work and was out of commission so I could not write posts on this blog at all. I had to get it fixed but of course I couldn't get it fixed because of the lack of money. Until this past week I got it fixed. Although on Tumblr and Facebook I have updated daily because I could access those on mobile whereas BlogSpot I couldn't publish anything on mobile. Since this is my first post in like a year I wanted this comeback post to be a good one. It took me several days to think of something good and then I remembered the Goth tag that the lovely Toria McGrot came up with this tag and I had messaged her way back in December 2013 back when she made the video if it was okay if I could do the tag in post because I do not have a camera. And she was so sweet and replied back to my message and said it was fine to do it in a post!

Here is her Goth tag video please see it because she is an amazing girl!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3CirT0C4VA

And here is her Youtube channel and subscribe to her as well!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzx8qPXFXUy_unifrCXlt3Q

So without further ado let us begin this tag!

1. How long have you been goth?

To be honest I am going to say three years because when I was 17 it was when I knew what Goth was so I am not going to count my "babybat" years because I do not think I could completely call my phase a babybat phase. I will explain this in the last question. Since I am 20 years old now so three years it is.

2. How were you introduced to goth?

I have three answers for this question. The first one is through my cousin it was in high school when I just getting into the alternative through him since he was very into a lot of alternative music ranging from: alternative rock, heavy metal, glam rock, trash metal, death metal, and screamo. And since he listened to all of that type of music in which he also went through the babybat phase of course I followed suit because I was new to this scene and thrilled about hearing all of this new music that I had never heard ever in my life.
The second answer is through anime when I discovered the terms Gothic Lolita and Visual Kei I was in awe because of how cool the fashion was and it was then where my super obsessed anime crazed self discovered the world of anime and Japanese fashion. Even though the Goth wave is different in Japan from the Western side of the world. Nonetheless it is still Goth but a different type of Goth because it was another subculture that was also music based like the Post Punk and Deathrock scenes.
And the last answer is going to be super cheesy but it was through the book Vampire Kisses with the character Raven Madison. To be quite honest I had never even heard of the word Goth until I read this book when I was 14 years old in my freshman year in high school. And when I read the book and about Raven I thought she was just so cool and I wanted to be just like her just as fierce and not care about what everyone else says. And not to mention all of her outfits were so cute who wouldn't want to dress like that!

3. What Gothic sub genre would you put yourself in?

I have two answers for this one. Musically inclined I am more of a Post Punk, Cyber, Rivithead, and Faerie (ethereal) Goth. As for fashion and aesthetically wise I am more of a Perky, Gothic Lolita, Pastel, and Visual Kei (even though Visual Kei isn't Goth).

Me in a Pastel Goth fashion
December 3, 2013

Me as an  Aristocratic Gothic Lolita
April 23, 2013

Me in Gothic Lolita with a half red wig
December 31, 2013

Half Gothic Lolita and Pastel Goth
May 13, 2014

4. What do you believe to be the bases of the Gothic subculture?

Personally I think the main component for the Goth subculture is the music and I believe it is the exact same way for many other subcultures such as Punk, Indie, Emo, Scene, Hip-Hop, Metal, Grunge, and many other subcultures. Although other factors do include the fashion aesthetic like in the other subcultures I just mentioned  because it is what makes that particular group stand out in its own way. As for the Gothic subculture it has extra factors which are the literature and overall architectural design of buildings. The books of course have that otherworldly and morbid flair that add to the Gothic subculture that makes it dark. Whereas the Architecture concept is more of a visual in my opinion and also that the word Goth came from the architecture because of its haunting structures. It sounds silly but that is what I think haha.  

5. What do you dislike about being Goth?

Just like all of the other subcultures Goth also has that elitism in its group. It just ruins everything for all of the new comers that are interested in knowing more about a certain subculture. This goes for all of the other subcultures besides Goth. Its like the elitist people will not give the new comers a chance just because they are new in the scene and do not have the proper knowledge about that subculture. It just makes me mad when the elitists complain that there are not many people appreciating the scene, maybe if they didn't shoo away the new kids that are interested in knowing more about the subculture there would be more people appreciating it. Everyone starts from somewhere that is what makes being in a subculture so much fun, you get to learn and absorb the knowledge that you learn one step at a time.
I also agree with Toria that being Goth can be very time consuming. Getting all of that makeup done and not to mention the platforms! If only magic really existed and we could get ready in a few seconds. A girl can only dream.
The last reason is that when you are an alternative person people are already assuming you are a weirdo based on your looks. Which I think is completely stupid, just because someone has different interests does not make them a weirdo. This is one that the entire world has to know, like seriously!

6. What Do your parents think of it?

Well when I first got into the alternative my parents (my mom mainly, my dad didn't have a problem with it) were not very fond of my music and fashion choices. When I first started I was in my freshman year I was all about stripes and skulls and black eye shadow and since I am Hispanic my parents just didn't understand any of it. It was mainly my mom saying it was weird and always asking me why did I like that type of fashion and music. Since she had never seen that type of fashion and aesthetic until I started to dress in it. It wasn't until 2 to 3 years later she got over it. It wasn't until when I graduated high school when I found out why my dad never had a problem with my music and fashion choices because he was also alternative in his youth though he was more of a Punk and also a bit of a New Waver and also he was one of those that listened to basically anything, kind of like me because I listen to a vast variety of genres, I probably got that from him. But of course most of the bands he listened to were in Spanish and a bit were in English. I was like oh my god! my dad was so cool in his youth when I found out and also when I had seen a few pictures of him in adolescence where he wore a leather vest and had the 80's hairdo. As for my mom she obviously was not feelin' the alternative wave because she was always around the mainstream fashion and music in her days. And when I saw a picture of her in her youth I saw why she had a hard time accepting that her daughter was into non-mainstream music and fashion. I guess she expected me to be like her you know normal and popular like she was.   

7. Eyebrow or no eyebrows?

Honestly I do not get the fuzz about having or not having eyebrows in the Gothic subculture. Since when do eyebrows play an important factor of making an individual a "Goth or not". Like how is a facial part of the human body so important because there are those elitist Goths out there saying if you have eyebrows then you are declared not a Goth. As for me I have my natural eyebrows because I like them and I have no need to shave them off. But for the others that do shave them off well if they want to and love it then that is great! I know many do it for artistic purposes and I think it looks amazing when they do art with their eyebrows because it shows even with eyebrows one can be creative not just with the eyes.

8. What is your favourite band?

I have many favourite artists from many different genres so I can't say one haha! The main ones that you will always find me listening to are (in no particular order): Siouxsie and the Banshees, Depeche Mode, New Order, Strawberry Switchblade, Pet Shop Boys, Aural Vampire, Cocteau Twins, Duran Duran, Front 242, The Psychedelic Furs, Clan of Xymox, and Ultravox.
Some of my other favourite artists include: Alanis Morissette, Bjork, Emilie Autumn, Kanon Wakeshima, 2NE1, EXO-K, 2PM, 4Minute, Ayria, Justin Timberlake, Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, Blondie, KMFDM, and many more.

Depeche Mode

Siouxsie and the Banshees











New Order



Strawberry Switchblade







Pet Shop Boys







Aural Vampire





Cocteau Twins






Duran Duran








Front 242






The Psychedelic Furs






Clan of Xymox





Ultravox








And here are the rest of the other artists that I mentioned.

Alanis Morissette

Bjork



Emilie Autumn

Kanon Wakeshima



2NE1

EXO-K












2PM

4Minute













Ayria

Justin Timberlake



Backstreet Boys

*NSYNC

KMFDM

Blondie



Gore and Goth/ Alternative?...

Hello Everyone!

Its me May again. I am so sorry that this week's post is like four days late. I apologize. I've been shopping quite a lot lately. So that's what has been taking my time this entire week. I've been getting some of the cutest things and pretty much just making my wardrobe bigger. So moving on with today's topic. Yep, I know this is going to be quite a controversial topic but it has to be talked about as well.
I really don't know why I am writing about this, but I always did think it was something to talk about. I guess it was just to clear out a few thoughts. I have always seen that whether anyone is in any  alternative scene at every single alternative kid whether being Goth, Punk, Scene, Emo, Metalhead, or an Indie kid they are always so obsessed with gore. I really don't know why. I guess I just find it a tad bit odd. Personally, I myself do not really like gore at all. I like it on the movies you know to make it well...more epic haha. :D But to have a like some obsession with it, I just find it strange. Call me an observant prick but, sit down and think about what I just said. And literally sit and think and you will see what I am saying is true. Not that I am saying that liking gore is a bad thing. But, you know its one of the things that I have observed, and yes I am very observant.
On other notes let me try to make a comparison of what I am trying to say you know when lets say an article of clothing is on right now's current fashion choice and its a hot pick. And everyone is literally going bonkers just trying to get that said piece of clothing. Its like the same thing with the alternative kids going loony with something gore related.
Or maybe I just do not get it because well I'm just not into that. Clearly I am the odd one left out in here. Well I really don't find anything interesting in zombies, broken human pieces, or anything along those lines. Although, I admit I do like Faeries, Mermaids, and Vampires. But, you know I like those type of mythical things that you hear in stories all the time and some romance added to it. (And no I am not talking about Twilight.) Maybe its just that I really do not see the point is shows like The Walking Dead or something similar like that. I know we all have different tastes and everything but, clearly you do not see me going rabid over something that I simply like. My main point is why do all of the Alternative kids get like that when the topic is about gore, and why do they have like some sort of obsession with it? And all of my alternative friends used to always get like that when someone would mention the gore subject. But I don't talk with any of those people anymore, we had our differences and they couldn't cope with my differences.
*P.S: Not that I find it a bad thing, of course it is not! But why does every Alternative kid have some morbid fascination with gore? And I am hoping that you all understood what I was trying to talk about in this weeks topic and don't blow up and get mad at me!
Another thing that I would like to point out is related to the Gothic subculture its that well being a member in it doesn't mean its all about death and gore. Sure those are a few aspects, well the gore one. Since the Gothic subculture is set upon the spooky and the macabre.  As how I like to see it its about having fun and liking the things that the subculture has to offer. At least that is how I see it in my eyes. For many others in it of course it is different! We all are different people and like to embrace our individuality, and take pride in it as well.
And for last bits of this weeks delayed post I felt like that I had to post a few pictures of myself so you can all excuse the fact that I posted quite late because of my lack of time. :)

Me! :)

 

A closeup of me :)

 

Picture of my boots and cool stockings ^-^

What do you think of this topic that I wrote this week? What are your thoughts and comments? Feel free to comment down below and say your opinion about this topic.

See you soon,
May

Goth Music: Where to Begin?...

Hello Everyone!

It's me May again. And I am extremely sorry I had not posted a single post for almost like two entire months! Gee, I'm terrible! As always I never had any time at all. This college semester was extremely rough with me. I didn't even get to have a social life at all. It was just school and homework everyday. The only thing I was waiting for was for my school semester to be over. And its finally over! Finally I can relax and not have any deadlines at all. And when I don't have anything in the way I can finally start updating my social websites like BlogSpot and Tumblr. I seriously didn't even have time for Tumblr either. And I always had time for Tumblr!
Time to finish my rambling excuse and talk about this weeks topic Goth Music. This really is a big problem if one is beginning to get into the Gothic subculture. I know I went through this problem as well. I didn't know where to begin at all. As I had already discussed in my Baby Bat and Emo Goth phases post what I had thought what Goth was mainly about. Boy I was wrong! Goth was nothing what I had thought when I was like 15 years old. One of the main problems for new comers is that they don't have any influences on the roots of the Gothic subculture. Or also they have no idea on where to exactly begin. I didn't have anyone tell me "Hey this is Post Punk music, it was a big 80's era movement that created the Gothic subculture." That's where I'm going to help in this topic.

But moving on with today's topic where to begin to research for Goth music?
The Internet. This fast, modern, and technological tool can help you research in no time what you are looking for. I think its always best to do a little research on the subculture first before you move on to listen to some "Goth" tunes. Its also always great to get knowledge that way you can be in the loop and not be the odd one left out. Believe it or not Wikipedia has a great page on what the Gothic subculture is. I'll leave a link down below so you can check it out. You can always feel free to research as much as you want, there is no limit on gaining as much knowledge there is about the Gothic subculture!

Goth Subculture Link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goth_subculture

Gothic Rock Artists List
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Gothic_rock_bands

Or if you might want to look at all of the different types of Goths you might want to check this page out. It might also help you what type you prefer the best, and which one are you most like, and which one suits your tastes more.
http://www.blackwaterfall.com/viewall.php

Where to find and go listen to "Goth" music?
iTunes and Google are the best spots to listen to music. After doing a little bit of research you might find yourself that you want to listen to the different bands that you researched and how they sound like. You can always listen to the one minute previews iTunes offers of whichever song you chose to listen to. Or if you want to listen to the full song you can just Google the song. Pandora radio also offers a great mix of music as well! Another great place to go listen to "Goth" music is also your near local Goth club. What better way to listen to new music and plus you also get to see the local Goth scene as well! That's also a really great option  because that way you get to experience both things at the same time. If you don't know if there is a Goth club near you can Google it on Google Maps or just Google it online on their search engine.

Siouxsie and the Banshees

 

Clan of Xymox

 

Dead Can Dance

 

Cocteau Twins

 

Echo and the Bunnymen

 

The Sisters of Mercy

 

I hope I helped you all!
Where did you begin to listen to the first "Goth" tunes when you first started? Feel free to leave a comment and share your experience as well! :) 

See you soon,
May

Pre-Goth Phases: Babybat and Emo Goth Phases

Hello Everyone!

It's me May again. I am so sorry I left this blog abandoned for so long. I just didn't have any time at all to get on this site. I didn't even have time to get on Tumblr, if that means anything. I had way too much homework assigned. College is rough, it sure is not like high school, where I didn't have any homework at all. Unlike high school, college leaves me with excess homework every day. But, enough of my excuses. I should be getting with today's topic. That's right, today's topic is going to be about the dreaded Babybat and Emo Goth phases *shudders*. I know none of us want to remember these times in our lifes but, it is something I would have to get through sometime in this blog. Personally, I have went through a mix of both of these phases. Not all the way, but somehow kind of like a crossover. I had a bit of both phases I guess...

I think it would be proper if I would talk about my experience in these phases first so that you all have a clue of what it was like for me when I went throught these phases. This was of course back in high school of course, back when I didn't really have a clue of what the Gothic subculture was really about. Back then for me Goth was about heavy metal and dressing all in black, all the time. Back in high school I would listen to bands like Korn, Evanescence, Slipknot, Cradle of Filth, Children of Bodom, 30 Seconds to Mars, Slayer, Metallica, Blink 182, Avril Lavigne, H.I.M, Avenged Sevenfold, Eyes Set to Kill, and Paramore. As for the fashion part, well I didn't really dress "Goth" because well, I couldn't afford the clothing. Let's face it Gothic clothing is expensive, whatever style it is. Victorian, Cyber, Lolita, Pin-Up, Ethreal, Cabaret, Fetish, Corporate, Steampunk, etc. All of it is expensive to at least have one perfectly coordinated outfit. As how I see it, I think I dressed Emo instead. Skinny jeans, Scene hair, Converse shoes, striped tees, and studded belts were pretty much the staples of my wardrobe back in 2008- and early 2011. Pathetic isn't it?

But here is the odd part during my phase in high school, while I did all of that stuff to embrace my alternative side. I never said I was a Goth, instead I just said I was a rocker chick. I think the reason was because well, like I said earlier of the perception I had of Goth back then. I didn't dress like a Goth, more like an Emo kid. But back then, I also had the perception of Goth the styles of: Victorian, Gothic Lolita, and Romantic Goth, and Vampire Goth.



Me in late 2010...


Now that I shared with you all my personal experience of being in those phases for a few years. If you noticed my phases started quite late I was 14 or 15. Usually the Babybat phases take place in teenagers with the ages of 11 or 12. I somehow feel like a late bloomer of some sorts lol. Now time to get on with what these phases I am talking are all about.

What is a Babybat?
Spooky kids, Kindergoths, Mansonites, Mallgoths...these pre-teen or early-teen types are known by many names, most of which are derogatory. They are often regarded with scorn and contempt by older members of the Goth community. Their crimes? Generally, not being old enough to remember the 80s, not being rich enough to afford a “proper Goth” wardrobe, and not being wise enough to know the “right” music to listen to or the “right” amount of make-up to wear.                
It is true that, while Baby Bats often consider themselves “Goth,” they show quite a number of differences from members of the original scene; they tend to show a preference for metal (Marylin Manson and HIM being typical “Baby Bat” music), wear clothes that reflect metal/skater fashion and tend to go for a “shocking” rather than “aesthetic” appearance.
Information from www.blackwaterfall.com

What is an Emo Goth?

Although the term “Emo” has been around for over a decade or so to describe a particular genre of Punk, it has recently become a buzzword of the 21st century to describe the features of the contemporary youth fashion movement. Visually a hodgepodge of many different styles including Punk, Retro, a touch of urban Japanese and Goth, it was inevitable that Emo would start demonstrating crossovers with Goth at some point.

Those Emos who cross over more than most into the Goth spectrum can be identified by their dyed black hair, black nail varnish, black eyeliner and a love of skulls and piercings. They will blend all these elements with other “typical” emo elements, such as Converses, horn-rimmed glasses, stripe and star patterns, and accents of bright colour (very often pink).

Emos, like Goths, enjoy their music, and Emo Goths (or Gothy Emos) may listen to My Chemical Romance, The Rasmus or Funeral for a Friend (great Gothy name after all).

Emos have a reputation for being rather moody, as do Goths, so one would expect an Emo Goth to be ultra-moody. This may be true of some, but many are too fond of children’s cartoons, old computer games, cute accessories and Tim Burton films to really be considered uber-dark.

Information from www.blackwaterfall.com

 

 

 

 

 

So, what do you think of this? Did you go through any phases of the ones that I mentioned in this post? Leave your responses below if you did, I would love to know how your experience was. Hopefully much better than mines!

 

See you soon,

May

My First Look On the Gothic Fashion Aesthetic

Hello Everyone!
It's me May again and I wanted to make another post, this time its going to be about how I first took a peek in the Goth subculture. The first time I ever even made a look that wonderdul subculture we all know and love. Of course, I didn't have the knowledge of what Goth was back then, since this was 5 years ago when I was fourteen. I am nineteen now, and now I am looking back at that fateful day when I picked up a Vampire Kisses book in my classroom's library (Sure laugh at me now, but I know you read it too! Ha!). The book looked really neat in my opinion, since I am the type that reads books by how the covers look, or if they have interesting titles as well. The book I had picked up was the first one with the original cover, the one that shows Raven's hand with black nail polish of course, with the invitation leading to the mansion. And it says Vampire Kisses in the invitation paper.

They also have a manga series as well.

 Since in my school we had to read for 30 minutes during our first period class, so might as well get a good book to read right? So I started to read this book, once I read that first page I could not stop! It was so wonderful and fascinating, I had never ever read a book about a Goth girl. Hell I didn't even know what a Goth was back in that time when I was a freshman in high school, so everything was so new to me as well. I became intrigued by this book, and also the way that Ellen Schreiber describes Raven's outfits, I was like "Wow that is so cool!"

 

 

And also Raven became my idol during my high school years because I loved how she wore anything she wanted and did not give a damn about whatever people thought about her.

 It was a very admirable trait of her that I loved. While reading this book it was also my entrance into the Gothic Subculture, but the aesthetical fashion part, I didn't look up Post Punk bands until I was an 11th Grader in my junior year (Well I didn't look up Post Punk bands, more like I found them, but I will talk about that in another post). When I was fourteen I was also barely getting into the alternative subculture as well. It was when I was beggining to listen to bands like: 30 Seconds to Mars, Breaking Benjamin, Nirvana, Metallica, My Chemical Romance, Atreyu, Avenged Sevenfold, The Offspring, etc. Back in my freshman year in high school, everything alternative sounded so fascinating and unique to me. It was like something new to me, kind of like when your a little kid and you get excited when you go to your first roadtrip. Its like a whole new experience that unfolds right in front of your eyes. And still to this day I am still learning more and more about the Gothic subculture. I am still so amazed at how one little book as this has changed my life. This was the thing that did it for me on the Gothic Fashion aesthetic. What about you? Where did you make your first peek at the Gothic subculture?

See you soon,
May