Goth❌Industrial

That horse kinda left the barn.

I was a goth in high school, like 88-90…because at that time there was no uniform. We were just a bunch of kids who loosely coalesced around some cool experimental music, and were vaguely anti-mainstream. The clubs were an absolute blast. Everybody was welcome. It’s was notably multicultural, and we accepted a lot of refugees from the mainstream queer community that was getting very cookie-cuter and corporate. We were so excited that there was a space where nobody judged you whether you dressed like a prep, were in a wheelchair, were into fetish, etcetcetc

…but fast forward to ~2000 and the scene had evolved into a parody of itself. Boring trance had displaced the experimental music and you had this gross mix of pop-goth and techno…and there was a distinct uniform. If you went to a club and didn’t fit the mold you would be stared at and ostracized. It really sucked, because I loved all the old goth music and the cutting edge industrial music…but I’d have to sit in the corner of the bar by myself getting scoffed at, ignored or gawked at by staff and culture gatekeepers alike. Yes, the scene had also splintered…but going to a hardcore fetish night or listening exclusively to German industrial wasn’t always my thing.

These days it’s just another mainstream identity that’s sold to people and capitalized. Every high school has the requisite amount of “goths” who somehow look exactly the same despite part of the “identity” being individuality.