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I've decided to put this up here for a lot of reasons, and probably against my better judgement. There are a thousand others out there, and every one of them is as valid as mine, 'cause they're all opinions. Go figure. But here's my take.
I'm going to kick off with what goth isn't, to try and get rid of a few misconceptions I've come across. Still, this is all my opinion.
A lot of people tend to associate goth with devil-worship, paganism, or other religious issues. While it is true that the goth subculture has a higher frequency of non-mainstream religions, this is merely because alternative cultures tend to intermingle, and there is no reason for a goth to be any religion other than that they choose.
People tend to associate Goths with various counter-culture political movements, both left-wing and right-wing. I've heard goth being described as a faction of Nazism, and as a left-wing eco-terrorist movement. In both cases, neither could be further from the truth. Being part of the goth subculture doesn't force you to agree with any political manifesto.
One of the more offensive and ill-educated insults hurled at Goths is that they're "queers", or that two goth girls walking next to each other are "lesbians". The facts are that many goth blokes enjoy a feminine appearance when going out, and that someone's appearance is not indicative of their sexual orientation - the quiet bloke in your office is as likely to be gay as your average black-clad freak.
On a more fundimental level than mere appearance, the goth scene is very tolerant on the whole of alternative sexuality, and hence homosexuals and bisexuals often feel comfortable "coming out" safe in the knowledge that their peers won't judge them aversely. However, there is no obligation to conform to any particular sexuality within the goth scene, and you find goths of all sexual orientations.
The final point to note is that, due to the relative proximity of alternative culture when compared to the mainstream, there is some crossover between the goth and fetish scenes. This doesn't mean that all goths are kinky, nor that all fetishists are goth, just that some are, and some aren't. And if it's consensual activity between adults, what damn business of yours is it anyway? For more information on the UK fetish scene, click here.
From Bram Stoker to Anne Rice and Poppy Z. Brite, vampires have been a mainstay of gothic literature for centuries. Alternately cast as the bloodthirsty monster and the tragic anti-hero, vampires are alluring, enticing creatures, who represent to their mortal fans the power of the beast within man, the endless struggle between good and evil. Vampires are chic; never-aging, almost always eloquent, well-dressed and intelligent.
Understandably, a lot of people with interest in all things gothic are intrigued by vampires. They come in all shapes and sizes, from people who thought that the film of "Interview with the Vampire" was pretty cool, to literary vampire obsessives, to those who believe that vampires exist, to those who believe they are vampires.
It so happens, coincidentally, that some of these vampire fans, in all their flavours, are also active in the goth scene. Combine this high level of vampire fandom with the fact that a lot of goths dress in Victorian or Edwardian clothing, and you can see how the uninitiated might think that there is a definite correlation between goth and vampirism.
However, a lot of goths don't like vamp culture; similarly, a lot of vamp-fans aren't goths. Although you will find a few goths claiming that they are vampires, honest, these people tend to keep clear of the goth scene, probably not to sully themselves with foolish mortals. For more vamp-stuff, check out the newsgroup alt.vampires
Having been in vogue at its creation in the early eighties, goth fell from grace in the eyes of the music press in the mid to late eighties, and went largely ignored until recently. Now the word "gothic" is fashionable again, and the mainstream press are trying to re-invent goth with no knowledge of where it's been for the last decade.
Modern goth bands, such as The Horatii, have a lineage in music and attitude that can be traced back to the early goth bands. However, due to their size, bands like this are not recognised by the likes of the New Musical Express. Instead, bands like Placebo, Cradle of Filth and Garbage are marketed as goth bands by journalists who have no concept of the continuing existence and new talent within the goth scene.
A lot of the people in the goth scene feel very threatened by fans of these bands and by this attempt to redefine the word "goth", predominately because they feel they have nothing in common with these pretenders to their name. The only magazine in wide circulation to have any clue about the modern goth scene was the recently-deceased Rock Sounds.
Pretty much a continuation of the above, really - due to the mainstream press' "redefinition" of goth, a lot of people think that goth is a pseudonym for Heavy Metal, or as a generic term for any music with a vaguely dark theme. Although the question "What is goth?" has caused many many raging arguments over the years, there are a few commonly-held opinions.
One of these is that while being darker in theme than most non-goth music, it tends not to be overtly negative or depressing, instead striking a balance between positive and negative aspects. Compare this to the more-miserable-than-thou attitude of a lot of metal bands.
Now I've got the larger misconceptions out of the way, I'm going to try and explain my position on what goth is, and common factors among members of the goths subculture.
One comment that my non-goth friends often make of my goth compadrés extols their open-mindedness and tolerance of others. Many opinions concerning why have been advanced, but to deny it is folly. One theory says that once you distance yourself from mainstream culture, you have something in common with any other "alternative" person - a goth is as separated from homophobic, wierdo-intolerant society as a homosexual. Others say that given the existing mix of beliefs and practices in the goth scene, any newcomers will learn tolerance quickly enough or risk the wrath of their new-found peers...
In the goth scene, you'll find the kinky and the vanilla, the gay, straight and bi, the monogamous and the polyamorous, the Atheist, the Christians, the Pagans, the Jews, the Satanists and Bhuddists all rubbing shoulders, and for the most part respecting the right of the others to practice what they want.
Some people do occasionally have a problem with others, but that's humanity for you, and normally the worst that happens is people glaring at each other across smoky clubs and making bitchy comments. The only other negative aspect to the tolerance is that sometimes people feel the need to pretend to be something they're not, to fit in. Normally, this is only because they have a lack of self-confidence, and have yet to realise that it's not necessary. Faux-bisexuals and faux-fetishists are especially guilty of this, in my experience.
Despite the stereotype of Goths being permanently depressed, near-suicidal mopers sitting in the corner of clubs pondering the futility of existence, most goths are fun-loving individuals who like nothing better than to down a few pints of Snakebite and shake their booty to some groovy choons in the company of friends.
In the music section above, I noted that quite a lot of goth music strikes a realistic balance between happiness and depression, and this is often true of goths themselves - occasionally, someone won't be having a great night out, and they normally won't care about letting others see that - this can be taken as a sign of maturity, or of petulance, whichever makes you happier.
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