Starting today, I've decided to start tagging my posts to organize them and make different categories more accessible for followers.
Since this blog is intended primarily to be a blog educating people about the goth subculture, I think it'll be easiest for people to find what specific elements they're looking for with a tagging system.
Tags I'll be using for categories will be as follows:
Films
Literature
Fashion
Hair
Makeup
Aesthetic
Philosophy of Goth
Art
Decor
Funny
Education
Shows
Music
History
In addition, I'll also be adding in genre tags for different music genres:
Tradgoth
Modern Goth
Deathrock
Darkwave
Post Punk
Gothic Rock
Goth Adjacent
And several others as they come up, including goth-adjacent genres like industrial and new wave!
Now, if you've come to this blog looking for an education about goth, not all of these topics are mandatory. The only thing you absolutely need to care/learn about to be a goth is the music; everything else is secondary. You cannot learn about the fashion and aesthetics of goth, ignore the music, and still call yourself a goth. Well, technically you can, but you'll be embarrassing yourself because it'll be clear you're ignorant and the other goths will consider you a poseur and resent you for it, because it's that kind of behavior that directly harms our subculture. If you don't care about the music, just call yourself a darkling instead and be done with it. But goth is such a diverse category of music that, if you like the aesthetics, chances are you'll enjoy at least some goth music.
But there are other aspects to goth that are also a part of the subculture, and if you're interested in engaging in it, you might like knowing about these things as well. These topics include certain hair/makeup/fashion; a philosophy that embraces finding beauty in darkness, acknowledging death as a part of life, and being generally opposed to the commodification of expression; certain films and literature; and a general appreciation for darker aesthetics. An important note to keep in mind about this is that you do not have to look a certain way to be goth. You do not have to buy certain brands or have certain clothing items. You do not have to wear certain types of makeup (or any makeup at all) or style your hair in a certain way. You most certainly do not have to be white, cis, straight, able-bodied, or neurotypical. The only thing you have to be is interested in the music. Yes, a lot of goths enjoy dressing in specific ways or even decorating their homes in specific ways as an expression of their love for the subculture and all things dark, but those things are not what makes them goth, and you can be just as goth as they are without any of those things. Keeping our subculture music-focused not only keeps it true to what it's always been, but also keeps it accessible; you don't need money to spend on clothes or makeup. You don't need to look a certain way. All you need is a wifi connection or a library so you can access the music, and that's beautiful.
My point is, my tags are going to focus primarily on the music and on other popular aspects of the subculture, but don't think that just because I include tags for film and fashion, that you have to like or engage with those aspects of the subculture to be a goth. I want this to be as welcoming and accessible of a place as possible while still keeping it goth.
If there's anything else you'd like tagged, let me know (including triggers! I try to tag things that seem like they might be triggering, but I might not think of anything! There are no bad or silly triggers, and I'll do the best I can to make this blog more accessible no matter what it is you need tagged).
Hopefully this blog is helpful to all the baby bats out there looking for guidance, and hopefully more seasoned goths will enjoy it as well!
Edit: here's the link for the Madi Danger Cryptofascist saga in its entirety, since it's come up a few times.
