Everyone who claims or has been bestowed this title will probably give you a different view of what it means. I would not even presume to speak for any of them; but I will tell you what it means to me. After all, the only way to find the meaning of what Gothic really is to understand it through the eyes of as many of it's children as possible. I am one voice in the chorus.

For me Gothic is an aesthetic. I don't mean that it's just a fashion, for it is truly much more than that. It is a certain feel or quality that something has. Many times the outward appearance seems to be totally ungothy, but has some sinister element buried deep beneath the surface that makes it incredibly Gothic. Though a pretty surface sure doesn't hurt, it's the substance that really belies how Gothic something is or isn't.

While it is fashion, music, art, all the things the 'normal' world would apply the term to, {literature, architecture because they are part of it too}, and a lifestyle; Gothic is also the sum of it's parts. By that I mean everything that is Gothic makes up what Gothic is. While it is full of traditions and conventionalities, it is also a dynamic subculture constantly changing and evolving as those who comprise it find new ways to express themselves. We goths are an incredibly creative lot, for the most part, and take great delight in redefining who and what we are without ever having to change gears.

One question that often comes up is how to tell real Goths from posers and others that really don't deserve the title Gothic, one that I consider to be a badge of honor. Real gothics are born, not made. It takes a certain something that one has inside oneself that can be demonstrated through the subculture. Gothic is really nothing new, people have possessed this quality since the beginning of civilization, composers have had it, writers have had it, artists have had it; I'm sure there are untold numbers of others who have had it but who have left no mark to be recognized in our modern age.

Often I say that if you used to be a Goth, you never really were. I stand by this assertion on the principle that it's possible to take on the outward trappings without really having the correct kind of substance inside for it to be anything more than a phase. People experiment with different sorts of lifestyles and fashions; but they stick with the ones that are right for them because it _is_ them. Gothic is no different. Either you are or your not.

Still unclear? Read the alt.gothic FAQ.