The below was mailed to me from my mate Douglas. As several of you won't
have caught it, I thought I'd shove it up here for a bit. Bit off the mark in
a lot of places, but wtf.
The Herald, 28 June 2001
Babies in black ain't feeling blue
They may be dressed in constant mourning, but there's nothing necessarily
glum or sinister about goths and vamps. JENNIFER CUNNINGHAM and LORNA
MacLAREN discover that, like all our great literary romantics, they're just
happy being sad
'I was the only boy at school with hair past his ears, which brought me a
few nasty comments, but that was because people at school seemed to take
offence at the fact that I had better hair than them, said Sean Johnston,
now 18 and a self-proclaimed goth.
Today's goths are a largely misunderstood group who have been been evolving
since the late seventies, when they were the breakaway literary faction of
punk whose Victorian fascination with death was fuelled by the writings of
Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley. They soon both adopted and inspired their own
brand of music, played by bands such as Sisters of Mercy and The Birthday
Party.
Twenty years on, most of the new goths, with a few serious exceptions, are
more interested in the clothes and the music than the intellectual
challenges of Victorian necromanticism.
That perhaps makes younger teenagers more vulnerable to the friction
between goths and rival groups, who are equally identifiable by outward
signs: sports clothes with logos (neds) and wearing socks outside their
jogging trousers (bams).
They have, however, a much stronger sense of humour, which runs to listing
self-inflicted difficulties. These include trying to type with lace gloves
on and doodling during boring lectures without your jingling bracelet
attracting attention.
More importantly, and desperately ironically, an important part of their
credo is an appreciation for differences and faults that others have. "I
cannot go out of the house without knowing I don't look awful. That means I
get up, have breakfast, wash, and put on eyeliner. If I am going to a party
I might put on mascara, but I don't put on white make-up because I get the
feeling I occasionally look pasty", said Sean.
The important element in the carefully crafted self image is the big hair.
In his case that means crimping and back-combing the naturally blonde but
now black locks that reach the bottom of his shoulder-blades.
What a male goth really needs, however, is a goth girlfriend. Since it
takes Sean over an hour to achieve seriously big hair, he makes the
preparations, with as many chemicals as he can find, at his girlfriend
Kirsten McMullan's house, where there is less disturbance.
Having a girlfriend also allows male goths to acknowledge that, as Sean
says, it's feminine. It is easier for girls to achieve the required look.
Velvet, for example, is greatly prized, and crushed velvet a trophy.
"You can't just go into a high-street shop and buy things, so you have to
go the second-hand shops and car boot sales. Finding them is a challenge,
but it is easier for girls."
For classes at Glasgow University, where he's a politics student, he wears
whatever clothes come to hand, inevitably black trousers - sometimes denim,
sometimes "rather fetching pvc". They are usually topped by a T-shirt with
a band name (it was Bauhaus yesterday), as long as it is a dark shade -
purple, blue, and red are all acceptable - but the cardinal rule, according
to Sean is never mix purple and red.
He says he was quite happy to wear uniform at school, since it only
required black trousers and a white shirt, a combination still sported by
older goths he knows.
As he got some more money, however, he gradually acquired a wider range,
including a black velvet dinner jacket with red lining, which he keeps for
special occasions.
Contrary to general perception, goths do have an active, even jolly, social
life. Goth dinner parties are not an unknown phenomenon in Glasgow,
although, despite a growing number of black-clad, wraithlike creatures
flitting about the city centre, there are very few "actual goths".
According to Sean, there are "a lot of little babies who have got into
Marilyn Manson and think it's cool to be goth." For those in the know, of
course, Marilyn Manson is not goth but metal. Goths have a black sense of
humour which leads both to the false impression that they are depressives
and to a strong crossover with vampires. Sean and Kirsten, for example, are
leading lights in the Scottish Vampire Society, which is "a group of people
who get together once in a while and do stuff."
Forget the spooky castles: the latest "stuff" was the annual ball, held
downstairs in a pub.
I actually like it when people stare or even call me odd
Arlene Russo, left, is a woman who has carved success from the alternative
lifestyle which set her apart from society. She is someone who fully
understands and has experienced the huge pressure young people face who
dare to be different.
As press officer for the Scottish Vampyre Association and editor of Bite Me
magazine, the country's first supernatural publication, she celebrates the
art of non-conforming and urges others to do the same.
Today she is part of a thriving "vampire scene" which celebrates
alternative clothing, as well as cult literature and films.
Recent television programmes such as Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Anne
Rice's popular vampire novels have further encouraged public interest in
the myths and legends of the fabled creatures of the night.
Meanwhile, Arlene's glossy quarterly publication is growing in popularity
and regularly attracts celebrity writers. However, brought up in Glasgow's
south side Arlene, 33, clearly recalls the negative remarks and attitudes
meted out by her peers while she attended an all-girls' school.
"Being called weird and strange just because you wear black, for example,
use pale makeup, or like a different type of music from the mainstream, can
be extremely upsetting when you are a vulnerable young person," she said.
"It is a time when there is great pressure on you to be the same as
everyone else, to enjoy the same things and act the same way. I was very
lucky because I had a twin sister who shared my interests and my look so I
never felt totally isolated, but even then there were times when senseless
comments and sneers saddened me.
"Looking back I can feel sorry for these individuals - what dull and
unimaginative lives they must lead to have such trouble accepting people
who wear different styles of clothing to them."
Now Arlene claims to have had "the last laugh", and she urges young people
to stick to their guns and take pride in being different.
She has been to Transylvania to research her obsession and visited Los
Angeles for a major vampire ball marking the 100th anniversary of the
publication of Bram Stoker's Dracula. She is involved in a huge Dracula
scene in the US, with fashion events and regular meetings of vampire
enthusiasts, as well as specialist nightclubs. Although she admits to
loving all things occult, there is one aspect of vampirism which doesn't
find favour.
She says: "I hate the sight of blood and would never get involved in
anything to do with it - that goes for practically all vampire
enthusiasts."
Of her current lifestyle she goes on: "When I have occasionally bumped into
old school pupils who used to tease me about my interests a couple have
confessed that they now envy the life my hobby has opened up to me. I take
great pleasure in telling them how I jet around the world attending film
premieres and vampire society meetings. I have met some huge screen idols,
including the actress Ingrid Pitt, and I'm sent beautiful books to review."
Although she's now secure in her lifestyle choices she still gets the odd
negative remark and found that even when setting up Bite Me there was
scepticism over whether it would catch on.
"I now like it when people stare or even call me odd. It makes my personal
story more interesting. The plus side is that I have met some very
intelligent, creative people through my writing, something which may not
have happened should the unusual side of me have been crushed," she said.
"Society is all about fitting in with certain groups. I look alternative to
most people, yet I would not be accepted as a goth because I don't like the
music they like or have quite the same sort of style. Then there are groups
who dedicate their lives to science fiction movies who are different again.
There is room for us all to be unique and find an outlet for our
creativity. It's about having a good time, a sense of humour, and escaping
from everyday life for a while.
"Unfortunately, while there are small-minded people in the world, those of
us who want to spread our wings a little will meet resistance."
- June 28th
Hmmm, well I guess thats about as balanced an article as you're likely to get
in the mainstream media. Hope it was of some interest.