Goths of Colour -Can it be done?

Hello there readers and wanderers. I welcome you once again to my blog and I hope you enjoy. Today's topic, I'm going to try and address the controversial topic of Goths of color or for , can ethnic people be Goth. This is all just strictly my opinion so try to keep that in mind. Okay, let's begin!

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A very popular topic I seem to run into every now and then on the internet are people of color (Black, Hispanic, Asian) who question whether they can be Goth (or heck, even Alternative) even though they aren't white. My heart truly aches when I hear these kinds of things because I remember having the same insecurities and doubts of myself when I was younger and curious about entering the Goth scene despite my skin pigmentation. It's understandable why people can get this assumption because predominantly
in the media, you only see goths who happen to be white and rarely see any ethnic ones.

Myself February  2014

To answer the question. Yes! Yes you can be Goth, Alternative, etc. even if you aren't white. As far as Goth goes, it's not about the race. It's about the appreciation of things considered dark and macabre and in other areas, having appreciation for the music. As long as you genuinely enjoy things considered dark and feel comfortable, you have just as right to be part of the scene as anyone else. Just because the media only shows whites as Goths doesn't mean that other races can't be.

 

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The big issue people of color face when they try to be alternative is usually from people of the same race, they think that we are "trying to act white.". I'm confident in saying that we all get frustrated when we receive comments like this. Am I right? This goes back to the thing that Goth isn't about race. It really isn't. What some people don't grasp is that anyone can like something that's not related to their culture. It's nice to be able to explore, branch out, and learn new things. Learning is not a crime. And expressing yourself is not a crime so long as you aren't hurting anyone and that you feel at peace with yourself, regardless of your skin color. And ironically enough, in some aspects, the spiritual religion
of Voodoo, a West African religion is quite popular in some parts of the subculture. In Japan, the Visual Kei scene and Gothic Lolita styles are also quite popular in the Goth scene as well. My point is that Goth & Alternative have found it's way into all parts of the world and it embraces everyone! Yes, Goth is also a music style and has it's roots and whatnot from the late 70s Punk rock scene, I don't deny this but like I mentioned in my "What is Goth" post, Goth has evolved and when I say this, I mean that it has expanded and influenced all sorts of other styles and people.

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So to all you people of color who are into the scene and want to express your interest in it but are ashamed or afraid to take part. Don't be! I won't lie, there will be some people who will try to berate you because of your race but you have to remember this one thing. They can't speak for you. They don't know YOU. You know yourself. If you're black/Asian/Hispanic and like things considered dark, you go right ahead and like them. The best thing about Goth is that despite the occasional judgmental person, it's a rather accepting subculture that embraces all walks of life who happen to have the same taste in dark aesthetics.

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I hope this helped someone out there who may be having a hard time with this issue. Just be yourself! Express yourself in the way you feel best comfortable in. And don't let the negative comments get you down. You only live once and you should do the things you want to do with an open mind and no regrets. Stay true to yourself everyone! Thank you for reading and until next time, take care!

•Extra Bonus ~ Here is a video I made about 2 years ago that shows some Black Goths. I made this video because I would see the "I've never seen a black goth before" comment and I wanted to show that we do exist. Again, it's kind of old but I hope you guys like.

     

Thanks for viewing and if you have any thoughts, please
feel free to comment. I'd love to hear what you think about the topic.