That One Babybat

welcome to my bi goth club, how may i serve (Run by @grayve-mistake) Goth fetishists DNI

[thatonebabybat]

Some videos I thought might be helpful to newcomers to the Goth subculture!

A playlist for those who want to know what goth (and most of this blog) is all about! I thought it’d be nice to make something for newcomers who want to learn more about the subculture and its roots <3

[callizinc]

Every time it's hot out and i complain about the summer sun and heat someone's always like "Well can't you wear something other than all black all day every single day" NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[wampyrs]

Fᴏʟʟᴏᴡ Tʜᴇ Bᴏᴅʏ • Tᴏ Tʜᴇ Cᴏʀᴇ Zᴀɴɪᴀs Nᴏɪᴢᴛᴀɴᴋ (2016)

[thatonebabybat]

My goth hot take of the day is that I don't think it's misogynistic to call out women for participating in the widespread hypersexualization/fetishization of goth as a subculture and in fact I actually find it more misogynistic to reduce womens' interests in a music subculture down to a porn category.

Yes, sex work is real work. No, there's nothing wrong with doing sex work and being goth, or dressing any type of way you want. There is something wrong with conflating goth and sex work, reducing womens' participation in it to a caricature and telling us we're hysterical "overreacting" or that it's "not that deep, bro" for bringing up the legitimate harassment women in alternative spaces have to face because of it.

Not to even mention how unsafe this entire issue has made things for minors within the space. I feel like they're constantly left out of the conversation. I and most other goths I know discovered the scene when they were teenagers. You can "it's not that deep bro" "ur just a gatekeeper" all you want, but if children are being followed home and leered at and barked at and shouted at by grown men on their way home from school because they wore the wrong lipstick color or whatever, and there's a group of people egging them on to keep pushing it farther and farther, I'm GOING to say something.

I get it. There's been a rise in puritan and right wing politics in nearly every space recently, I understand being worried about the potential for harm in some of the takes people have on this subject. But the content creators participating in goth fetishization are NOT your allies. They don't give a shit about misogyny or other women or the rights of sex workers or even the broader kink community (the term "safe, sane, consensual" is NOT being applied by these folks). They're there to make a buck at the expense of everyone else, and more often than not, they're the same conservative grifters who used to mock and berate us for our nonconformity. They're no different from the ragebaiting pornbots on this website. Stop giving them a platform, stop giving them a seat at our table. Call me a gatekeeper, some gates are meant to be kept. I'll give you the key if you're genuinely interested in learning what's behind the door, but if you come screaming and making a scene, don't expect us to let you in. Plain and simple.

[gh0stforest]

why's there so much bland conservative gothic rock out there 😭 man shut up about how 'modernity is soulless' and get your covid vaccine

[thatonebabybat]

Some of it might be ai tbh </3 unfortunately ai slop has invaded a lot of niche music spaces and that includes goth. I try to avoid it as much as I can but sometimes you'll inevitably run into it if you're out hunting for new music. (I am fully aware of the irony in "return to tradition" being a common topic of conservative ai music/images/etc. btw LMAO)

[strawberrybutler]

[batterfang]

If anyone tries to say that the goth subculture or the music never has anything to do with politics, here's an album from one of my favorite 90s bands, Age of Heaven. The lyrics would say otherwise. You can find their lyrics and merch {here} ♥

[cemeterygirlscandy]

[thatonebabybat]

"goth isn't even political, it's just music, conservatives can enjoy it too!!!" the music in question:

[thatdu11razor]

I need more shirts I feel like a recycled rag..

[sigynpenniman]

But when I say the “wholesome and funny” YouTube short I have been handed of students surprise showing their teachers 10+ year old photos of themselves and most them were emo/goth in some way and every single one now has medium brown beach waves and is wearing head to toe beige and immediately screams and hides the photo like it’s the most embarrassing thing in the world is a hallmark of a deeply insidious tendency to associate socially acceptable WASPy aesthetics with maturity and responsibility and perpetuates the idea that everyone grows up, “gets right” and becomes the most digestible unobtrusive heterosexual I’m “taking it too seriously”

[sigynpenniman]

“It’s not that serious” oh but it issssss because every day we perpetuate the idea that non-conformity of any kind to the white straight middle class standard is inherently immature and gets “left behind” when someone becomes a socially acceptable adult

[sigynpenniman]

This idea that maturity is conformity is everywhereeee if you look for even a moment

[v4mp1rism]

This may be a hot take but every single post I see trashing modern trad goth is so performative to me. Let people dress how they want. Personally, I like it, and want to mix it with 80s goth (which is probs my favorite substyle), and if I didn't then honestly who cares? Not all people who dress in modern trad support fast fashion. Most I've seen do not. Most I've seen speak up about important political issues. If you aren't seeing this, then you're the one who isn't interacting with the right group of people. And also not everyone who's goth has to be a musician?? And if they are, you realize they don't have to make goth music right?? You can enjoy other genres. You can be goth without being a musician. I don't know why you'd assume you have to be or where this take even came from. So what if it's not the same as authentic 80s looks?? Subcultures evolve. If they like it, they like it. They aren't posers for enjoying a different (and still very much gothic) style. I never see this happen to other substyles, and I'm not sure if these people have an issue specifically with modern trad or if it's just cause it's the most popular, but I think it's a pretty shallow take to generalize that these people are posers because they dress differently than you. In the kindest way possible, go touch grass.

[saistreight]

Bad vs good faith criticism. Most definitely let people dress how they want. No one can control that. And the opinion of one or a few people on the internet shouldn't hold bearing on how you express yourself as a person. Goth or not, that applies to everyone.

However, criticism towards modern trad goth isn't a personal attack on the person wearing it. It's not usually a go bully this person who posted a makeup look they thought looked cool. I don't use tiktok, but I usually hear more that it goes the other way around. Of oh, you can't be goth because goths are all white and pale with black hair. There's been pushback against this idea by people irl thankfully, but that it happened to begin with makes a statement about how closely online goth ties subculture to this specific style of makeup and all the shallow memes that come with it. Memes about graveyards and wearing black are fun and all but that and the neo trad goth style are all that some will ever come to associate goth with when it has so much more depth to it.

Going back to neo trad goth, it can't be denied that there's a lot of people who are just genuinely interested in it as a makeup style that don't claim to be a part of the scene. It has roots in drag makeup and I do think it has more validity in claiming equal roots from drag makeup and 80s goth. It's not just influenced by 80s goth, it has strong influences from drag. Neo trad goth says nothing about whether or not one is in the scene or not, just as how someone dresses also says nothing. No makeup, work clothing, but you could have been going to clubs for the past 20 years and there's no denying that person's in the subculture shpuld they wish to claim.

But here's an exaggeration, "I put on a style of makeup that's trendy and associated with goth and it makes me automatically goth by extension". What people online say is usually different, but the sentiment remains. People who aren't familiar with goth will think that the person with the white base and complicated eyeliner is more knowledgeable about the scene than an actual DJ.

Going back to, for me, it's not a personal attack against any one person who wears it to begin with. Rather, I do get mildly annoyed to see grifters peddling sponsorships and pushing goth as a mindset, but ultimately they exist online and I'll probably never see them IRL. I do also think it gets more popularity online than it deserves (and that's not the fault of any individual when we live with this algorithm favoring extreme looks).

I also have a personal thing of, I don't like it because I like how people's faces look. I think it can flatten people's features and make everyone aspire to a western european standard of alternative beauty of high cheekbones and thin noses. I don't think the makeup does that intentionally by those wearing it, but I don't think it cam be argued against that that is a genuine effect that it has. It makes me sad when people say that they only feel beautiful with it on because they have wide noses or darker skin that won't show as much contrast with black eyeliner. Like, there's a difference between using the white base for artistic purposes. Look at drag makeup. Versus doing it because you want to cover up certain features.

All this as a bit of rebuttal, as I don't think all criticism of neo trad goth is performative. But to add to that notion of touching grass hehe, some observations

In my local scene, that style is only really seen amongst younger people. But it's also common amongst general alternative people who are just into makeup. I see it more commonly at artsy events rather than at goth concerts. The older people who I know that do do some sort of lighter foundation don't really do contour + nose contour + heavily stylized eyeliner. Mostly eyeliner by itself.

[pansy2025]

what they don’t tell you is you have to be so so careful when you listen to music because sometimes ☝️ it will reflect your experiences

[thatonebabybat]

[thatonebabybat]

[thatonebabybat]

[thatonebabybat]