Goth, goth phases, & similar stuff, Q for those who are like that/had phases like it

[Jaltus-bot]

What drew you to it?

[steelbeliever]

wanting to be different/unique...until i realized being goth isn't unique cuz lots of people are like that...

[Vash is a plant]

I like because I just do. Some people say that we wear black because we want attention, but honestly, it fits my personality more than other clothing. It has a fantasy appeal, makes ya look like something from another world and to someone like myself that lives out of the scope of reality so often, it's appealing. Mind you that I don't wear that all the time because my parents have problems with it. I'm not allowed to wear all black or the straps on my pants from Hottopic, for example. Heh.. I don't have to dress like that all the time either. Even in t-shirts and jeans people call me a goth. Maybe it's the attitude. But yeah.. the gothic image is just eye pleasing to me...

[starfire]

There was a time where I was heading towards that. But my mom wouldn't let me. I don't know, I've always been drawn to the darker side of things...personally, I'm glad I didn't. I felt spiritually weird about it. However, in my normal clothes, people tend to think I'm like that. I just wear darker clothing. It's not intentional or anything. *sighs* sometimes a girl just can't win.

[Tarnish]

The only goth fashion (I've no intrest in their belief) I've ever really liked was Japanese Elegant Gothic Lolita. American goth looks looks too "punk-teenager" for me, I guess.
The reason I liked it was because, at the time, it reminded me much of my favorite book. So as I became more intrested in that, I became interested in many other types of gothic styles.

[Shao Feng-Li]

wanting to be different/unique...until i realized being goth isn't unique cuz lots of people are like that...

Heheh...

I find myself drawn to the clotihng. Even the more punkish stuff. I love the elegant side of it as well. It more depends on why you where it. I just like the look. Though guys in eyeliner just look ill.

Though, I don't have anything of the sort... >>;

[Doubleshadow]

I don't do Gothic as in I appear angry or hateful, I just wear a lot of black and like the kind of details that come with things that are supposedly gothic, like extra long T-shirts (so I don't have to worry about midrif), long, showy sleeves, which I just like, or long baggy pants, which are comfortable and don't fade as badly as denim but don't require special care . I like dark colors because I think of them as reserved, elegant, and dramatic. I have had many friends tell me the black nail polish just fits me, although one friend quickly said, "Not that you seem all depressed or anything!" XD I'm not trying to dress in accordance with any certain style, it's just what catches my eye. I also have a pink shirt with roses on it. My mom spends half her time calling me a goth and half her time calling me a hippie; I don't know how I could possibly be both.

[GhostontheNet]

To be brief, the absorbtion of the mindset that fuels the prophets, and the sense that everything around me is swirling into failure on every level (including the Western church), and that injustice and all manner of unpleasantness fill the earth. My mind has been filled with the vision of the kingdom of God/the age to come as spoken of by Yeshua and the prophets, and because of it I see the sheer dismalness. I have come to times when reading the book of Isaiah chapter 8:20-22 ESV I understand fully his critique of spiritists and mediums - " To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness." I have come to the time when trying to scrawl the Christian hope drawn from a brief passage on my backpack, I have found the best passage to be "Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death." (1 Corinthians 15:24-26 ESV, drawing from Psalm 2 and 110). This I have artfully embodied in stain glass zipper pulls on the same bag, but none can read the symbols I have plainly set before them. Now I understand why Yeshua in the masterful chapter on the kingdom of God and the Age to come explained his use of parables by quoting the EVER-LIVING's rather depressing but accurate apraisal of Isaiah's calling in Isaiah 6:9-12 -

"9 He said, "Go and tell this people:
" 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.'

10 Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull
and close their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed."

11 Then I said, "For how long, O Lord?"
And he answered:
"Until the cities lie ruined
and without inhabitant,
until the houses are left deserted
and the fields ruined and ravaged,

12 until the LORD has sent everyone far away
and the land is utterly forsaken.

That is to say, "I am speaking as openly and clearly on these things as I possibly can, but many of the people lack the framework for understanding and believing these things no matter what I say, and they must face the consequences." That is why I wear black - because Yeshua came and has already brought about the age to come, and will come again to gloriously consumate it, but so many are foolishly shackled in the old age that was destroyed on the cross and empty tomb. As Suetonius ends his final biography in Lives of the Caesars at the death of Domitian, "There was a raven, strange to tell, who wished to say "all is well!" but had to use the future tense."

[Slater]

I don't do goth. I just find the whole concept and symbolism in gothas anti-Christian; afterall, why go goth when I belong to the Kingdom of light?

John 1:5 ~ And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

2 Cor. 6:14c ~ What communion hath light with darkness?

[kryptech]

I don't dress like a goth or talk like one or anything like that, but I can imagine myself with a gothic appearance and a reserved, grim demeanor. Around family and friends I talk lots and joke and am known as being a bit of a clown. So I guess my internal gothic image is a sort of alter ego for the darker side of me that I don't usually express (though lately I have more through writing and drawing). I don't think I'd dare dress too darkly, but I'd love to have a long, black trenchcoat over black jeans and a black shirt. My car is all black with tinted windows and I think together it would have a slick, grim look. So while I don't outwardly take on the whole goth image, I can internally relate to it.

[Eriana]

There was a time where I was heading towards that. But my mom wouldn't let me. I don't know, I've always been drawn to the darker side of things...personally, I'm glad I didn't. I felt spiritually weird about it. However, in my normal clothes, people tend to think I'm like that. I just wear darker clothing. It's not intentional or anything. *sighs* sometimes a girl just can't win.

Thought about doing it once or twice but then I was instantly reminded of how God does not want me to cloak my body in shades of hatred or shadow, besides, if I went to the mall looking like that and I needed to minister to somebody, would it really help the impression if I was dressed in black with chains hanging on me? That could possibly scar the one chance that I have on a person to minister if I appear to be lost and hurting myself. I do tend to agree with you though Starfire, I look at the darker side of things like you too. Maybe that why I like black a lot.

To be brief, the absorbtion of the mindset that fuels the prophets, and the sense that everything around me is swirling into failure on every level (including the Western church), and that injustice and all manner of unpleasantness fill the earth. My mind has been filled with the vision of the kingdom of God/the age to come as spoken of by Yeshua and the prophets, and because of it I see the sheer dismalness. I have come to times when reading the book of Isaiah chapter 8:20-22 ESV I understand fully his critique of spiritists and mediums - " To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land]Lives of the Caesars[/I] at the death of Domitian, "There was a raven, strange to tell, who wished to say "all is well!" but had to use the future tense."

Meaningful post and thank you.

[GhostontheNet]

[quote="Slater"]I don't do goth. I just find the whole concept and symbolism in gothas anti-Christian] Did not Yeshua Himself say "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast." (Matthew 9:15 ESV)

Eriana: You cannot have it both ways, me being gothic myself, and having chains. To be a Christian is not to be above the pain and sorrow of the world, that is not a Christian value at all but derived from the pathetic American, and perhaps Western value that the ability to feel sadness the EVER-LIVING installed in His very good creation is "bad" while it is fantastic to always be, or at least appear, ever cheerful and happy. No, Yeshua, the True Human Himself could regularly switch between the two, a man of sorrows who bore all our grief and sadness and sickness and pain, and the one who knew the great joy of the creation and kingdom from the Spirit of Peace and His Heavenly Father. If there is no room for sorrow in Christianity, there is no room for fasting.

[~Natsumi Lam~]

ive dressed goth..... on rare occasions ... but i look completely different. People dont even recognize me. Some how they think i put on a different character more like Emo. Than Goth.


I think it is fun for me to do but when it first started... most wanted to be "different but the same" ... now i dont know everyone does it.


~NL~

[Slater]

Didn't say I was against sadness. I like sadness. When I write fiction, I make peope cry a lot, and that's fun

[ShiroiHikari]

[quote="Slater"]I don't do goth. I just find the whole concept and symbolism in gothas anti-Christian]

What does that have to do with wearing black?

[Ingemar]

Never drawn to the goth culture for a number of reasons, one of the principal ones being the disadvantageous position of people wearing all black in a sunny state.

[GhostontheNet]

Didn't say I was against sadness. I like sadness. When I write fiction, I make peope cry a lot, and that's fun

Have you forgotten that black is the color of mourning in Western and other societies? Shadow and darkness are not of themselves very bad, but a part of the "very good" creation of the EVER-LIVING, it is their abuse by humans foolishly still latching to the old age rather than the age to come - "If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn." As it is written, "Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean." (Romans 14:13-14 ESV). You have woefully confused the darkness of iniquity of the heart with the blackness of the clothing.

[shooraijin]

Let's not get into the morality of goth/goth fashion, because this has caused many nasty arguments in the past, and get back to Jaltus' original question.

[Slater]

well, the question at hand wasn't about the color of clothing, and that wasn't what I was addressing. It was about the gothic attitude. Gothic subjects are characterised as being "dark" in spirit and attitude. Those in a gothic phase turn to remoteness and darkness in an attempt to cope with what they're dealing with. The reasoning behind that escapes me.

[GhostontheNet]

Let's not get into the morality of goth/goth fashion, because this has caused many nasty arguments in the past, and get back to Jaltus' original question.

Yes, indeed a pity, not least in light of Paul's admonition (The previously cited Romans 14) to not let matters of arguments over purity or impurity and hence passing judgment upon each other divide the House of the Lord, as purity and impurity stem not from inherant uncleanness without, but the uncleanness within - instead we must exercise the harmony of siblings as the Family of Christ, and to look out for each other and exercise brotherly love in all we do and not do. To be gothic will close some doors and open others - but always must we remember the words of Yeshua's prayer, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Let your kingdom come, let your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:9-10 ESV alt. reading)

Slater: In other words, publically admitting and showing what they already feel and experience? The reasons for doing this would be inherantly as multivalent as the number of people out there. But come, I shall respect shoorajin's request.

[shooraijin]

well, the question at hand wasn't about the color of clothing, and that wasn't what I was addressing. It was about the gothic attitude. Gothic subjects are characterised as being "dark" in spirit and attitude. Those in a gothic phase turn to remoteness and darkness in an attempt to cope with what they're dealing with. The reasoning behind that escapes me.

Terrific. Discuss it somewhere else.

[Lynx]

i just like the color black. it's one of my favorite colors. before i knew it i was dressing goth!

never much for the spikes and big chains, thats more punk than goth anyways.

im part of a drama/dance group at church and we all have to dress in black for performances. the first few performances we got a lot of double takes while we were just sitting in our seats waiting to perform! they're all pretty much used to us by now.

i really dont fit in with the goth subculture other than the black. it's really hard for a christian to be a real goth and not a poser. Joy of the Lord and such. i was told by a goth once that i could never be a true goth cuz im lacking in the goth attitude

[Slater]

black isn't a color. *points to the thread about the Black debate *

I also like to wear dark clothing, and I understand why you wear black for drama. As was stated earlier, black clothing is used to convey certain feelings of sadness; it is particularly useful for being symbolic of the sinfulness/hopelessness of man without Jesus. It also works well for those on crew who are supposed to be invisible

[indyrocker]

back onto the origanal question i guess that ffor me Ive always been drawn to the danker more extream fringes of any group that i am in or what i listen to. On the entire clothing issue i don't know i just like the shade of black how it just seems to match my moods at times and alot of really comfortable clothing with loads of pockets are only in black heh heh. and as far a s the Gothic sub-cuture one may still be a goth and a christian and can ware black as a sign of death to the world a good site for all that are intrested in christen gothic cuture is http://www.christiangoth.com/ .



mmm that was kinda off topic but o well teh deed is done so sue me

[Taka]

[quote="Doubleshadow"]My mom spends half her time calling me a goth and half her time calling me a hippie]
If there is a way, I would fall into it as well.

I did the whole thing. Hair, nails, make up, clothes, f-o attitude. The reason I was drawn to it and addopted it as a way of life was because it just fit where I was in my own life. It wasn't a streach. I would have done it regardless of if anyone else on the planet decided to dress in black and red and purples and make up my apperance so that others would reject me. I wanted to cut to it, and reject others before they had a chance to really get to know me, and then reject me and hurt me much deeper than if they had just not even started a relationship in the first place because of something as insiginificant as how I dressed.

I am still drawn to it. Simply because it has always appealed to me. Like someone earlier said, I like the elegance of it. It allows me to be a girl, in some ways, as in corsets and long flowing black skirts and high-heeled boots. Or to disguise my female-ness, in the more "punk" oversized shirts and pants. It doesn't have to be as skanky as more "normal" clothes. Well, that is if you don't buy all yoru stuff at HT.

But right now, I have grown alot since my "goth" days. I don't feel the need to infuse every outfit I wear with "this is who I am". I'm tired of it. I'm tired of being judged by what I look like. And honestly, being goth, or punk, does play to that. It does say "judge me by how I look, so you will prove me right in rejecting me". And it just gets old, to me.

[Starfire1]

i was drawn to the look of the fashion. i just thought it was really beautiful (and still do) and looked like it came from another world or something. i was into the corsets and the strappy baggy pants, long flowing black skirts, etc. (and as a result i have a closet full of dark blues, blacks, and reds). but then it began to make me uncomfortable in my spirit, but i ignored that and made it worse. it began to weigh really heavily on my mind and i got kind of depressed (the gothic mindset is not for someone like me).
i finally did give it up but i still wear a lot of dark colored clothes and makeup just because i love deep colors. now i look at as just another phase i went through. but i did learn a lot about who i am and who im not in the process.

[GhostontheNet]

But right now, I have grown alot since my "goth" days. I don't feel the need to infuse every outfit I wear with "this is who I am". I'm tired of it. I'm tired of being judged by what I look like. And honestly, being goth, or punk, does play to that. It does say "judge me by how I look, so you will prove me right in rejecting me". And it just gets old, to me.

But honestly, that could be said of any clothing whatsoever, i.e. wearing this trendy stuff would be like "Judge me by how I look and prove me right by liking me because I conform to your expectations and please don't reject me." Clothing has the great potential for symbolism and utility, and I have decked myself out in my own symbols (though many cannot understand them) and, with the addition of a black combat anorak parka ( http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00026LHO0/sr=1-4/qid=1130801613/ref=sr_1_4/103-1902577-6904658?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance ) I have all could possibly need for pockets.

[starfire]

You're right. Clothing can reflect our inner personalitites and convey a message. That's why it's so important to wear edifying clothing, I guess.

By the way, that's a really cool coat.^^

[steelbeliever]

i think there's nothing wrong with it persay...for me...when i was in "goth mode" i did some pretty bad things...i used my image to cover up my real personality...goth just wasn't a healthy look for me at all...i love black clothing and the jewelry rox...but i can't face that part of my life...don't even ask how clothing has to do with my actions...

[Shao Feng-Li]

Black is just a color. Just because it's jsut the color of mourning- it's a society thing, not really a moral thing. But that doesn;t amke society totoally invalid. If you dress "goth" simply because you like the look fine. Just don't adopt the "goth attitude..." All they seem to do is mope around all day anyway. *shrug*