Hey I’m newer to gothic style music I’m a male and really seem to enjoy it does anyone have a good recommendation for an artist or song?

I'd love to see a picture or hear about your favorite accessory to wear!

What do you second-wave goth rock fans wear, where do you get your clothes, and which second-wave goth musicians inspire your style.

Hi, a question from a non-goth. As the whole Internet is now flooded with 'goth' slop, I tried to understand what the real subculture is, but music is one thing I can't figure out. Every source I can find says that people in goth subculture listen to gothic rock, which is some kind of hard rock, but a woman I spoke with on Instagram, who claimed to be a long time goth (and her profile looked so) was convincing me that goths listen to some kind of electronic music and that gothic rock is something totally different, only the name is similar. So, where's the truth?

Hi I’m not a goth myself but i kinda consider myself as a experimenting femboy and I love the look of girls dressed in like goth dresses and like cute goth tops and skirts none of that graphic tee kind of stuff and was wondering if any goth girls had any advice on how I can dress like goth but without the edgy stuff and the dark colours like say goth style girls clothing but In bright colours as the only thing that puts me off goth clothes is how dark they are which doesn’t really appeal to me in I wear it myself any help is greatly appreciated thanks in advance for any help

Im somewhat of a puritan in morals. Why should I have to support sex work or keep my mouth shut about it in order to be goth ? Why does it have to be kink and b d s m friendly?

I am trying to find my style but then I found out that goth (specifically modern trad goth) isn't really my style

The question is in the title.

Disclaimer: I am really new about investigating and studyng subcultures and countercultures and their developmental histories. This question is genuine and made in good faith from a place of genuine ignorance.

Saw some people on tiktok say Goth isn't just the music, clothes, and politics. That you also have to like literature, macabre, and architecture. I've also heard other people say all you need to be goth is listen to the music.

Hello! I've been curious about what this subculture is for a few years and have some questions. As someone who had seen a goth subculture born and been in it what you guys think about these questions:

1. Is literature, macabre and architecture really a part of it and is important? Like yeah I know many people say "that's about mindset and aesthetics too" but to mee it just feels off. A few minutes ago saw a post on another social media telling "don't water us down by telling goth is just about music, politics and fashion" and after that decided to write this post.

In my personal opinion it has nothing to do with subculture and "gothic" in it's name ≠ have deep connections to goths

1. Can i say that I'm goth if i listen to it's genres and know the history? I often feel like I'm not "real" goth, many people say I'm not cuz i do not agree with "aesthetics and mindset" thing

Aaand of course I'm really interested if you can share some interesting facts with me

I'm open to conversations and advice from anyone who's goth, the title is just to underline that I'm very interested in opinion of veterans of this scene.

Didn't mean to offend someone, sorry if that happened 🙏

P.S. sorry for bad English, that's not my first language

This is not meant to be an insult or criticism, just something I’ve noticed and wondered about. Based on what I’ve heard, I’ve come to understand (unless I’m mistaken) that Goth is an offshoot of punk and equally supposedly anti-establishment, rose out of class disparity and frustration, and existed to be an alternative to the mainstream. It also seems heavily centered on individuality and uniqueness.

To this day, punks care very much about walking that walk by personalizing their own clothes, supporting local business over corporations, and brutally dragging any attempt to mass produce punk fashion because it would be the antithesis of what punk stands for. Metal subculture is similar. The battle vest, like punk battle vests, is traditionally meant to be a uniquely crafted representation of the wearers’s tastes and personality. Band shirts are bought at concerts and proudly worn as a representation of the experience or support for the specific band and their music. People in the music scene eagerly support each other by buying their merch. Wearing a pre-made, purchased battle vest will get outed.

Yet when it comes to goth fashion, it seems way more normal to buy fast fashion goth apparel from Amazon or goth fashion brands, even if the brands aren’t ethical. People spend hundreds of dollars for brand name goth clothes and there don’t seem to be many questioning whether it is truly antiestablishment to do so. It doesn’t seem to get the same reaction as in metal and punk culture, even though they supposedly share values on this sort of thing. What are some factors that contribute to this difference?

I’m generally kind of new to the gothic culture. What brought me in was definitely the music. I’m a huge fan of music and all things related to music. However I have met some puritans when it comes to goth people and they told me you’re not truly gothic unless you listen strictly to the rock that they listen to. I like to think that I’m gothic because I love goth rock; however I also LOVE jethro Tull and lynard skynard. Does that make me any less gothic

Hey! I wanted to ask, could I be goth? My main music genre is metal/hardcore punk/"emo shit." I'm big into the metal, I could def be a metalhead. However, I do generally call myself alt. I'm into leftist politics, etc, but I don't know if I know enough goth music or if I listen to enough goth music. Don't get me wrong, on occasion I'll put on some goth music, however that's not a daily occurrence. I really love the style and the culture, I just don't know if i could fit well enough due to my lack of knowledge and listening to genuine goth music. I've heard someone say that metalheads could identify as goth however I'm honestly not sure if that would be true or not?? Would I need to look into and listen to more goth music?? Or could I just have my own music taste and just take a big part in politics and other areas of the culture or is music a genuine must have? As I said before, I do listen to goth music every once and a while, but it's definitely not a super duper common genre for me. Please don't flame me, if I can get some more info, I could figure out a different subculture if I really wanted to/needed to, I'm just looking for some info and advice so that I don't "larp," "pose," or mock another subculture I shouldn't specifically be apart of considering alt posers or whatever do genuinely get on my nerves too and I don't really identify with a specific culture.

Am I supposed to blend my nose?

I’ve been a huge fan of gothic music for a while and I’ve love the architecture and the literature behind it. I’ve just recently started getting into the fashion but only to observe since I have been afraid of what people may think about me…considering that I’m Christian and it’s intimidating to most people of my faith. I realize that my fear of that may discredit me from being considered gothic from most. How do I navigate this? How do I go in to be a part of the culture without scaring the people I care about away from me?

❌ this could be seen as a bit of a vent post and I briefly mentioned depression so if you don’t like that then yeah

I know this is kinda weird but I was wondering if anyone else has maybe gone though this before and maybe could share their story on how they were able to find themselves again? Idk I’ll explain a bit

I felt a very strong connection to the goth subculture in my later years of high school and early college. I loved finding new music, researching the history, putting outfits together, poetry, film, all the stuff.

I feel like around the start of 2026, my passion and self identity slipped. I stopped putting in effort into my appearance entirely, wearing no makeup and just a shirt and a skirt most days or a simple dress. I stopped doing research and finding new music and art. I still listen to goth music but less than I used to I’ve mainly been listening to the same metal bands I don’t even particularly like all too much at the moment. I feel not very creative. It could be connected to mental health challenges I’ve had with severe depression this year but idk. I’ve gotten a lot better in recent months with my mental health, I know things will never be gone or perfect but I got professional help and began medication that I feel helped me a lot. I got a lot of things back then I lost in my depression but I don’t feel like I’ve gotten my “gothness” back.

I know this may sound like I was just a goth tourist and I grew out of it but thats really not the case- the gothic lifestyle and essence is something I’ve always felt connected to my entire life even as a child I just didn’t know what it was fully. Despite not feeling like it’s part of my identity right now I know it is I still have a deep admiration for it.

If anyone has maybe gone though anything similar and has advice I’d appreciate it 🖤

Sorry if I used the wrong flair
Background information
I'm 17F and just started senior year I live in a tiny town with no other goths. I don’t really dress Goth at school simply because I don’t care enough about my appearance at school to put in the effort I mostly just do a casual mildly alternative look (i.e., jeans and a band t-shirt with some jewelry)
There’s this new guy at my school who is Goth also a senior - I've found out through others that he isn't dating anyone. I'm super interested in him but I have no idea how to talk to him. I know where his locker is. I pass him in the hall multiple times we have lunch at the same time. But we don't have any classes together.
I'm really shy and neurodivergent so I struggle getting out of my comfort zone. He has beautifully dyed hair it's like this perfect Ferrari red my only idea right now is to tell him that I think his hair dye job looks cool but I'm afraid the conversation won't go anywhere at all. My only other idea is to wait till he wears his shirt that says “I'm vulnerable if any goth girls want to take advantage of me” and come up to him and be like “hi I'm a goth girl,” but that feels too forward lmao.

I'd love to see what you guys do with your eye makeup, specifically your eyeliner. It's been a long time since I've messed around with my makeup, I'd super appreciate some inspiration.

We finally decorated for Halloween today around the office, and I got Extremely into it. It looks gorgeous, but I just realized that my cubicle is gonna be so sad and empty looking come November once all the beautiful beloved spooky decor is gone. How have you guys added a little bit of personal touch to your workspace?

edit: Whichever one of you is downvoting all the comments here probably passes out toothbrushes for Halloween smh

Me,even with a little eye pencil by the end of the day it's all smudged and all over the place,so how do y'all always keep it clean and perfect?