Here, Tina cradles my Marilyn Manson doll
I have to confess, I was stunned speechless (a rare thing for me) when I spoke to my longtime acquaintance. "Why would you want to talk to Goths?" she asked me. "All that black! We are a visual society and they should know how evil they look!" Another person chimed in "You know, they all worship the devil!"
I was bitterly disappointed in them. They were buying into a terrible stereotype and an ignorant one at that. You see, they didn't know about one of San Diego's most powerful and positive forces: The Gothic Volunteer Alliance. Fortunately I do.
I saw my first Goth when I moved to San Diego nearly 17 years ago. My husband pointed out a couple of black clad girls and commented that he didn't know it was Halloween yet. But I was entranced. For one: it looked like fun. I loved their expressive dresses! A part of me felt wistful. How I wished to be 17 again, dressed in their black Victorian lace.
As I have matured and found my artistic muse, I discovered that had I been born in another time, and raised in a more tolerant community, I would have been Goth. So much of my work hearkens to my dark humor. I have been known to spend hours in old cemeteries, straightening flowers and touching the stones. My music of choice ( HIM, AFI, Marilyn Manson) doesn't sit well with most of my contemporaries, who brand it evil. So, I have cloaked my Gothic soul and share it with few.
A couple of years ago, I was cruising the Internet and came across the most incredible group called the Gothic Volunteer Alliance. Troubled by recent violence, both locally and abroad, they had banded together to raise awareness and tolerance. The held fundraisers for charity. They cleaned local beaches. They were amazingly civic-minded and were determined to raise a positive profile to the community.
Yeah.... right. Evil devil-worshippers indeed. Somehow the words of the 2 well-dressed society ladies seemed far more poisonous to me. In a world where we deem everyone of equal worth, why does our choice of something as trivial as dress or music seem to threaten some people?
Sometimes, the good guys wear black.
http://gothicvolunteeralliance.org/about.php
Kim,
ReplyDeleteDid you know that goths take over Disneyland every year on Bat Day? I've never been, but I hear it's a blast. Here's a link: http://www.batsday.net/home/home.html
Btw, if it weren't for the fact that I love pop music, I'd probably be a goth. I love witches, dressing in black, and I used to have a python named Morticia.