what is goth culture

The Goth culture is a music-based subculture that began in the United Kingdom during the early 1980s, developed by fans of gothic rock, an offshoot of the post-punk music genre. It has survived much longer than others of the same era and has continued to diversify and spread throughout the world. The scene is centered on music festivals, nightclubs, and organized meetings, especially in Western Europe. The subculture has associated tastes in music, aesthetics, and fashion. The type of gothic music determines a lot of the dress codes within the culture. The Goth subculture is one that remains a group to which people belong and identify. Stereotypes present people who identify with the Goth subculture in a negative light, as people who are broody and obsessed with suffering and death. However, these are generalized assumptions and a disservice to Goth people who may also be funny, kind, and thoughtful. The Goth subculture was built on the values of free-thinking and the freedom of expression. The subculture began out of the dissatisfied youth hailing from the middle class as a way for them to create their own cultures dissimilar from the society that they were born into. The subculture is often characterized by an affiliation to a dark aesthetic, and its imagery and cultural proclivities indicate influences from 19th-century Gothic fiction and from horror films.