Having read quite a few of the "definitions" on this site, I have to say there are some of you who are slightly mistaken. Actually, a select few of you are way off. May have been trendies/townies/preps that wrote them, I don't know. But I am going to add my definition to this zoo of mistakes. There were a few that did get the jist of it, but still I wanted to add my opinion to the masses. Before I begin, I just want to say that this is not a concrete definition of Goth since Goth can not truly be defined. This is how I see it. Goths in other parts of the world can disagree with me if they like, but this is the philosophy I was brought into when I turned Goth, back when I was 16. Goth has earned some pretty bad publicity over the past couple of decades. People have started stereotyping Goths because of things that they have heard in the news or on TV about supposedly "Gothic" children who ritually slaughtered children, claiming that they were Satanists. People started believing that we were vampiric, since a lot of us walked about wearing a lot of black and pale faces with copious amounts of eyeliner. Not ALL of us. But some of us. The first thing I want to clear up is that Satanism and Goth are in no way connected whatsoever, unless the Goth in question wishes to incorporate the two. Several Goths I happen to know are devout Christians, so this proves that accusation to be false. Some Goths may choose to practise magic in the form of the Pagan faith of Wicca, but usually only because the belief system of this faith makes more sense to them and makes them feel more comfortable with the world around them. Goths generally do not drink human blood unless they either get sexual kicks out of it or are deluding themselves that they really are vampiric and gain their strength from the drinking of the blood they take from others, thus feeding on the life force of their victims like a leech. Generally we are not so stupid as to risk the fact that we could get all sorts of diseases from drinking the blood of another. AIDS can be contracted very easily using this method. There are several people who are like that around Belfast and there may well be a few who are like that around where you live. But they are not really worth bothering about. If they want to give themselves delusions of grandure, that's their problem, not ours. There are several types of Goth in the world. Tastes in clothes and music vary person to person. In my opinion, a Goth is not identified completely by the clothes they wear, however I thought it best to add the common- ish fashion attributes of the three most common varieties of Goth where I live: 1. Trad- Goths: One of the most popular sub- catagories of Goth. The inhabitants of this catagory are generally the ones most sneered at by trendies/townies/preps if encountered in the street (I myself have been referred to as a "Gaff," a "Gaffic," and last but not least- the showstopper- a "Got"). This sort of Goth's taste generally revolve around the 1980s when Goth was still truly alive; whenever it was originally an offshoot of the well known Punk genre. This Goth can be found listening to bands such as The Cure, Alien Sex Fiend, Bauhaus, The Sisters of Mercy, The Mission and Joy Division and is easily identifiable by their choices of black and somewhat rich and "floaty" garments. This sort of Goth is also known to listen to some Darkwave and Synthpop also. 2. Fetish Goths: The Goth scene has always attracted people with broad sexualities. This category includes the occasional Transvestite, S&M fetishists and many others who frequent the Goth clubs. Leather and bondage gear are especially popular with Synthpop and EBM fans. Their music taste tends to be quite similar to that of the Trad, ie 1980s Goth/ pop, Synthpop, EBM. 3. Cyber Goths. The new EBM (Electronic Body Music) scene has led to the rise of a new generation of Goth. Cyber Goths are more elusive and, unfortunately, that little bit more pretentious than the Trad or Fetish variety, since there are less Cyber clubs in which to congregate. They can be spotted by the occasional addition of brightly coloured, dreaded extensions into their own hair, also known as "falls." They can also be observed wearing platform shoes like Swears or Transmuters when they go out clubbing. Cybergoths incorporate more colour into their culture and tend to wear neon colours along with black. Music Taste: EBM, Techno and some Industrial. 3. Industrial Goths (also known as Rivetheads or Cyberpunks): These Goths go by different names in different places but are most commonly known as Industrial Goths. They stem from the late eighties industrial scene and have changed little in the last decade. Many of them have headed in the Cyber direction since EBM took over the industrial scene, and they are not as common in Britain any more. Music Taste: Industrial, Industrial Metal, some Goth Rock. When Punk "died" in 1979, Goth was spawned in the bands that came after more famous bands like The Sex Pistols, The Clash and P.I.L. Siouxsie Sioux of Siouxsie and the Banshees patented the Goth "look." She was very annoyed to find people copying her sense of style. She became a Goth icon alongside Andrew Eldritch and Robert Smith. Goth is not a sense of fashion or music taste. It is a state of mind. Which is the one thing that Goths have in common. Their tastes may vary slightly, but they share roughly the same outlook and the same scorn, for want of a better word, for the human race. Goth cannot be defined as easily as I have made out, but I just wanted to give you a couple of guidelines. I hope I have helped somewhat. Below is an example of an experience I endured between a group of chavs in sports gear with a very broad Belfast accent (we generally refer to them as spides, for future reference). I have tried to compensate for accent. Please note that "like" in spide language is pronounced "liek" or "leek".

A "Goth" is, loosely speaking, one who decides to separate from the mainstream culture for varying reasons (such as dissatisfaction with modern society, a will to be different, or just a liking to the styles whether it be music or visual or social).

Goths are not defined as someone who slashes their own wrists or sets fires to schools, that is what is called a masochist, vandal or sadist. A Goth, in modern society, is merely a lifestyle.

Although their image and demeanor consistently appears cold and reclusive, this is but a shell and Goths are more commonly found to be nicer than the 'average' stranger, due to their tendency to have intellectual/educated backgrounds, and artistic divulgences including the visual arts and musical talents.

A 'pure' Goth epitomizes beauty not in the way that you would say "wowzers she is A BEAUTY", but in the way that the ideal Goth strives for clear skin and pure complexion; the dark hair and garb serves to enhance the fair complexion of pure skin.

People carrying "Gothic" qualities does not relate whatsoever to their personality and/or attitudes towards other people, rather, their attitudes towards the many forms of art, community, and individuality.

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As you can probably tell by now, I myself am a Goth. And a C...

Goths. If any of the people who wrote the above negative defenitions have actually ever even talked to a 'goth', then i would be greatly surprised. There are many types of 'goths'. There are:
Perky-goths
Metal-heads
Rivet-heads
Cyber-goths
Trad-goths
Metallers
Grungers
God-Knows-what
Pure-Norwegian-black-death-metallers
non-goths (wannabees)
Fetishers

You will know at least one or more of the above. Perky-Goths are the most widely known Goths in the 'Gothic culture' these people are always happy and are also generally the ones who get stereotyped. Metal-Heads and rivet-heads are basically the same apart from the fact that metal-heads are much more agressive than rivet heads. It is hard to determine between a Cyber-Goth and a Candy-raver. The only difference is that Cyber-Goths listen to slightly heavier music. Trad-Goths are a dying breed. They are mostly made-up the remenants of the Romantic-Goths form the 80's. These are the people who you associate with the stereo-typical goth (e.g. The people who think they're Vampires and only come out at night).
Metallers come along in the same catagory as metal-heads and rivet-heads. Grungers are more associated with skaters. They generally listen to Nirvana and Alice-in-chains. Never get these people along with metal-heads, rivet-heads or metallers, they will start the biggest mosh pit seen to man.
God-knows-whats are the people who you cannot put into a catagory. These people are not easy to find but look hard eno...

are a very unique type of people who love and live the beautiful darker side of life

Goth is not a label. Goth is a real culture that expresses the beauty in darkness and morbidity. Goths usually wear all black, the color of their soul. They don't just wear anything black, the black clothes are more unique and elegant. Some Goths go beyond the black clothes and they wear thick eyeliner and black lipstick. Some make their faces white like a ghost and dye their hair unnatural colors. Goths can be Satan worshippers, Atheists, Christians, Pagans, Wiccans, or any religion. There are some people who give Goths a bad name and other Goths call them posers, but that is simply not true. In a garden, though some vegetables may be rotten, that doesn't mean they aren't vegetables. And as for Goths and non-conformity, what does Goth have to do with non-conformity??? If people join the Gothic Culture just because they want to be non-conformists then that is a very bad reason to become Gothic. People can be Gothic and still be individuals. I'm a Goth and I'm also an individual and I don't try to be different because there isn't any point in it. And Goths aren't all attention seekers. Many of us just feel comfortable looking a certain way, even if we have thick eyeliner and black lipstick, a pale face, and green hair. Not all Goths are angst-filled morons who have their mind set on blowing up their school. Alot of Goths don't even go to school; there are many adult Goths as well as teens. And I hate the word poser. People call other Goths posers to make themselves feel goo...

goths are just people like everyone else and just because were not what others think is "normal" were suppsoed to be some kind of freaks. we dont drink blood,we dont hate everything, and yes believe it or not we do laugh!
we dont do it for attenton, we do it because we are individuals.we are just people who like different things,and we dont need any other groups making us feel like were lower than them. just because they are small minded idiots that clearly have nothing better to do with there life but to make others feel stupid just because were different. whatever u are u have a right to be it.so ignore anyone else that tries to be "clever" by shouting dumb stuff at u.

I hate all you steriotpyical bastards! I am gothic, I do not hate everyone. I DO NOT WEAR MAKE UP! I do not think im a vampire, i do not worship satin, i do not hate people because they dont dress "goth" i do not hate preps just because they are preps. People just see a kid wearing all black clothes and chains and stuff like that and they all think "omfg! its a santin worshiper!" thats really dumb. Because all the goths I know are WAY cooler and nicer than the prepy kids I know. So stop being so god damn steriotypical before i go "GOTHIC" on you and suck your blood!

I. The Gothic personality.
Generally speaking, true Goths are intelligent, artistic individuals with an almost fanatic reverence for the arts and all types of beauty. Many Goths possess certain qualities prior to their initial identification with the subculture or even their knowledge that it exists; some of these qualities include thoughtfulness, creativity, intelligence, shyness, and an introspective nature.
II. The Gothic philosophy.
I will strive to sum this up in as few words as possible. The Gothic subculture is based on the idea of finding beauty and light in all those things dark, grotesque, tragic, and sorrowful. The seeming fixation with Death is an example of this; Goths embrace things that cause fear and revulsion in mainstream society, because in truth they are no less beautiful than their daylight counterparts.
If any among you wishes to further enlighten him or herself, I suggest the study of old Gothic literature, the very best of which is exemplified in the works of Dante, Shelley, Byron, Lovecraft, and Poe.
III. Gothic music.
The term "Gothic" was, to my knowledge, first used to describe the emerging subculture by the band Joy Division in the late 70's. Along with Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Sisters of Mercy, and The Cure, this band helped establish Gothic as a musical genre. The Gothic sound is characterized by dark, brooding, strange music that can sound cacophonous to the uninitiated. Some other notable Goth bands include Switchblade...