Everyday is Halloween: The Role of Fashion and Music in Goth Subculture Lucretia Dunlap

Introduction Findings Findings • Goth subculture has been around since the • In defining goth subculture, 5 subcodes were Subcategories of Goth 80s, first emerging as a reaction to the used: Community – “shared with First, participants were asked if there were subcategories of commercialized pop and rock scenes. This individuals”, Dark/Macabre – “it’s about goth. Their responses were put into 3 subcodes. movement originated with the rebellious punk embracing darkness”, Fashion – mention subculture of the West and United Kingdom. clothing/make-up, Music – “music based Yes – “There are so Goth subculture has had massive effects on subculture” Lifestyle – “recognizing that many!”, listed popular culture; influencing movies, various you’re different inside and expressing that subcategories, music scenes, and fashion styles. The purpose outwards in your life” No – “You’re either of my research was to understand how those goth or you’re not”,​ within the culture define the term ‘goth’, how Defining Goth Subculture Partially – “Kind individuals are introduced to goth culture, of”, saying no, but whether there are different types of goths, and then listing how different types of goths are categorized. subcategories Methods Then participants were asked what kind of subcategories of goth there are. Their responses were put into 3 subcodes. Procedure • Participants were recruited through Goth Fashion – ie. message boards​.They completed a Victorian goth, demographic survey through Qualtrics and corp goth, then completed an interview over phone or Findings vampire goth, email. Introduction to Goth Subculture gothic Lolita, etc. Participant Demographics Music –ie. • There were 33 interviewees. Darkwave, • Age: Mean age of 33.61 years old (SD=9.56). Industrial, Post- • Gender: 5 were male, 23 were female, and 5 punk, Horror selected other. Punk, etc. • Ethnicity: 27 were White, 2 were Hispanic, 1 Lifestyle – “fetish was African-American, and 3 were two or more goths” races. Interview Questions Conclusions • Interviewees were asked 10 questions – only the responses for 3 of these questions were used in this project. • Despite claims that “goth is goth”, there are still clear subcategories within the subculture.​ • “How would you define goth?” • “How did you get into goth culture?” • It appears that music is the gateway into goth subculture, but a person’s • “Do you think there are sub-categories of goth? If so, what?” place in the community is determined by their fashion.​ • The last question was broken into two questions 1) Do you think there are • Further research needs to be done into definitions of goth culture (33.9% sub-categories of goth? and 2) If so, what? not attributed to music or fashion)

This project has been approved by Grand Valley State University’s HRRC, 19-349-H