I feel Gothicism is a way of life, not a fashion statement. To be gothic is *NOT* to be the palest, most anorexic, black clad, heavily made-up, "death rock" fiend. If you only desire to look gothic and make certain claims about your daily activities and interests, you are not gothic. You are fake. Gothic comes from the inside out, not the outside in. So, if you wish to be gothic because such people look sexy, you are not gothic. What you are however is challanged by a lack of self-expression and identity. Most goths don't wake up one evening and say, "I think I will be gothic from now on." Like everything, it takes time to discover yourself and almost nobody is that good during their early/mid teenage years, unless perchance, someone has access to an area with a large diversity of cultures and people of many different social backgrounds, in which case, that person is able to pinpoint ..almost doubtlessly.. which group they are most easily understood and accepted by after they express their deep-down feelings, thoughts and impulses.

Unlike many other sources/people, my own person feelings don't correspond with that of the ancient Visigoths (although, that is where the name may have originated from). Also, I don't particularly care for the gothic movement associated with late 20th century European rock. Rather, I, personally am most content and most associate myself with the Gothic Movement offshot by the Romantic Era. "The Romantic Era", characterizing an artistic period of time, between the mid-18th Century and the mid/late 19th Century, in which people belived that dying for Love was the most honourable way to attain their ultimate demise. It was a time when Love meant something beyond sex, and not just a word which could be used interchangably therewith..

Gothic, is alike in many qualities, such that the importance of love and nature..like a romantic, a goth tended to have a "distorted" view of these things..distorted in the sense that nature was not predominantly good, rather a mixture of both good and evil..making it more realistic, as well as mysteriously appealing..and distorted love such that, love was not pure in all such meanings of the word, rather, passionately filled with desire, emotially tortuous, as well as intoxicating, perhaps to the point of death (not as in sexual asphyxiation)..which is where we again see the likeness to the romantic, the heroic as well as tragic; sacrifice in the name of love..

In regard to the Romantic/Gothic similarities noted above, I would be eager to make an association between hippies and goths of the present day. As far as I have witnessed/experienced, gothic people are just black clad hippies. As silly as it may sound, the Gothic Movement of the 18/19th century is relatively the same as the present one, (with exception to "Psuedo-Goths" who advocate hate and ignorance) just like the Romantic Movement of the 18/19th century is to the hippies of the 60's and those spilling into the 90's. Thus, the similarities of the past have crossed into the future making present day goths, dark hippies. Obviously this may not be a popular term because of what Goths believe Hippies stand for and Hippies believe Goths stand for, but if looked at objectively the movements intertwine almost completely with exception to the light vs. dark preferences.

Psuedo-Goth - A term I use to describe most persons associated with Marilyn Manson, NIN or the multitude of heavy metal or death metal bands (Note: the word 'most', not all, because I myself fit into this list of musical preference and with exception to a short period of my life, hardly fit into this category attitude-wise and behaviourally) These people are the ones who run around, proclaiming absolute righteousness arrogantly and ignorantly, disregarding any other human being as worthwhile to be within a five mile radius, other than friends, of course. These people aren't necessarily into Manson but other than his drug/sexual/self-mutilatory behaviours, they seem to advocate the same message as he is rumoured to profess; hate and intolerance (which by the way, he doesn't, but Psuedo-Goths haven't the intellegence to figure it out and anyone else hasn't the willingness to).

Again, I would like to take the time to remind you that this is what I believe to be the origins of and personal insights into Gothicism as a lifestyle/state of mind, not a fashion.. Also, I would like this chance to acknowledge that everybody has their own concept of "Gothic"(whether it be descended from music or style), the above is simply my own..

Here are some links to other people's conception of Gothic: