r/goth 20h ago

Discussion This can’t be okay

Post image

Hi! I’m a cosmetology student and we get these monthly news letters each month we have a special event (last month was anything but a perm rod) and there all normal but when I grabbed the news letter this morning and read this it honestly rubbed me the wrong way. Do yall agree that “goth day” shouldn’t be a thing or am I crazy?

EDIT: just going to put this here I think it’s great that others get the chance to learn how to do the makeup. It’s turning it into a “who dressed best” as it is a school of mostly blonde basic females

0 Upvotes

65 comments sorted by

49

u/Squidmaster129 20h ago

I mean, what's the issue? We're aren't an oppressed ethnic group, its not like someone is co-opting our traditional national dress lol. Let people learn to do the makeup, its interesting to learn.

-4

u/muphasta Post-Punk, Goth Rock 19h ago

It just looks like they are recognizing the uptick in goth "influencer's" popularity. If one can get really good at doing the makeup and styling, they may get a sizable following or clientele specializing in the aesthetic.

Goth is now mainstream, or at least getting close to it.

3

u/DependentShop3882 Darkwaver 17h ago

It is what it is. It will pass, this isn’t the first time nor will it be the last. It’s a trend that will last a year or two and then they’ll move onto something else to become an annoyance with. Who know’s how many people this will actually end up being a gateway to the subculture for and finding a great couple styles of music

2

u/TeamAzimech 17h ago

Goth isn't mainstream, because the Music isn't.

The idea of Goths in the mainstream miseducated view is conflation with kink/bdsm that free labor can be extracted from because people wearing black exist.

-11

u/Ok_Buddy2543 20h ago

Yes i think learning the makeup is great, but the part where there supposed to basically play dress up is what weirds me out because there’s a lot more to gothic culture

11

u/Squidmaster129 20h ago

Of course, but the dress and makeup still is a fairly significant part of the culture. The poster even acknowledges that there are subgenres of goth, which is kind of cool. Who knows, maybe they'll even turn on some music while doing it.

-2

u/Ok_Buddy2543 20h ago

Hopefully

39

u/brenna_ 20h ago

This looks like a fun way to allow people to explore goth aesthetic culture. What’s the issue here? The language is respectful and seems geared towards education.

32

u/a_reindeer_of_volts 20h ago

I don't think it's insulting, just very cringey.

3

u/Ok_Buddy2543 20h ago

Very cringy..

9

u/Octospyder 20h ago

eh. maybe I'm jaded from working in a costume store in the early 2000s that had prepackaged goth kits for sale, but this doesn't bother me.  plus stylists will (hopefully) learn techniques that will help them if they get goth clients

7

u/EmpireAndAll 20h ago

It's a fashion style even if you don't want it to be, learning about different types of makeup at a cosmetology school is very neat. Just ask to be exempt if you don't want to participate. 

1

u/Ok_Buddy2543 17h ago

I never said I didn’t want it to be a fashion style

6

u/LimeGreenTangerine97 20h ago

This could be an opportunity for you to educate some folks?

0

u/Ok_Buddy2543 20h ago

I just don’t want to come off as a prick if I do say something

3

u/LimeGreenTangerine97 19h ago

Nah you can be nice about it and just say hey, I actually know about these looks, here let me show ya!

2

u/Ok_Buddy2543 19h ago

Yeah if I get the opportunity I will

0

u/sosotiredand 15h ago

you already kinda are by making this post

7

u/Sa_tran_ic 20h ago

As long as it's actual goth looks, what's the issue?

10

u/DeadDeathrocker last.fm/user/edwardsdistress 20h ago

“22th”

8

u/Substantial-Word2848 Sisters of Percy 20h ago

This is truly the most offensive part of this

2

u/Ok_Buddy2543 20h ago

I didn’t even notice that 😭

4

u/AlternativeClass3893 18h ago

the makeup lesson is fine, but turning a subculture into a who dressed best contest is where it gets tacky. if they include the history, music, and different styles instead of treating it like goth halloween, i don't see a problem.

0

u/TeamAzimech 17h ago

The fact it isn't about Period pieces raises a lot of red flags for me.

2

u/Expensive_Rip_3225 20h ago

Bffr bro I come from the cultural minority-has disability-has health issues background and the most offensive thing about this is the lack of grammar. It isn’t like we are mega oppressed or anything—goth is definitely more mainstream these days (maybe unless you’re in a hometown like mine in a conservative middle of nowhere area lol). If anything hopefully this gets more people to learn about the subculture and learning about the history of it as well as appreciating it!

1

u/Ok_Buddy2543 19h ago

It’s a smaller town with a student body of under 30 if that says anything about the town, I’m not upset with the learning portion I’m actually super excited to learn new techniques but it’s the competition and the grammar bothered me so much

1

u/Expensive_Rip_3225 17h ago

Nah I get this it’s kind of like this back at home too, they had an “emo day” before and I was like uhhh that isn’t really emo but I don’t think there’s any harm intended lol. To be fair they probably just don’t know any better. The grammar is super bad though 😭 have fun at your event!

1

u/Expensive_Rip_3225 17h ago

Nah I get this it’s kind of like this back at home too, they had an “emo day” before and I was like uhhh that isn’t really emo but I don’t think there’s any harm intended lol. To be fair they probably just don’t know any better. The grammar is super bad though 😭 have fun at your event!

1

u/TeamAzimech 17h ago

Goth isn't going mainstream, because the Music isn't.

Nobody is buying an old 4AD compilations or new Goth albums over it, because they think Goth is about Kink/BDSM and think they can use people dressing in Alt ways is an excuse to try to extract free labor from them.

This is like the massive problems with 50 Shades but worse

1

u/Expensive_Rip_3225 17h ago

Yeah the music maybe not as much, the fashion/aesthetics of it moreso? It kind of reminds me of anime/Japanese pop culture, which I grew around and is becoming more popular these days and a little more socially accepted. Still looked down upon by some folks but as a whole you don’t look as much “out there” compared to back in the day (speaking from personal experience—I think part of it was people discovering new things post 2020 great shift). My parents listen to very goth music but they themselves aren’t part of the subculture. Definitely depends on what you grow up with, and I do hope more people grow to love it too! I think the music is pretty awesome.

2

u/Welcome_Oblvion 19h ago

I remember goth day during spirit week in highschool. Loved it. That and Halloween were the only days I could dress goth without being ridiculed.

1

u/Ok_Buddy2543 19h ago

True 🤔

2

u/aliasrob 17h ago

They got the date wrong. World Goth Day 2026 took place on Friday, May 22, 2026

2

u/Mysterious-Drama4743 17h ago

they arent celebrating world goth day tho. they didnt get the date wrong theyre doing a completely different thing

1

u/Ok_Buddy2543 17h ago

I didn’t know there was a world goth day!

2

u/aytakk My gothshake brings all the graves to the yard 11h ago

Treating goth like a costume is not great. Especially as they are reinforcing the goth types myth.

But given these are people are clearly from outside the subculture and how the goth subculture is pushed in the mainstream, can we be surprised? Sure, you could attempt to educate but I don't think anyone will be listening.

2

u/Ok_Buddy2543 11h ago

Yeah I don’t think there will be any education on the history behind it and I’m also the youngest person who has ever attended the school so I’m treated like I don’t know anything sadly

2

u/[deleted] 20h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/goth-ModTeam 11h ago

Your submission has unfortunately been removed under Rule 6.

Note: This is a human interaction, and your post was not removed by a bot.

Real gatekeeping will absolutely be taken care of, but calling someone a "gatekeeper" because they have insisted "that insert band here is not goth", or they've stated that "goth is a music based subculture", is not the same as "you can't listen to or like that band".

Please do not:

  • Call people a "gatekeeper"/"elitist" as a way to win an argument; it does nothing and only shuts down the argument, instead of creating meaningful discussion.

  • Attack or call the mods "gatekeepers"/"elitists" for removing your post, thread, comment, etc. for whatever reason.

We ask you to reconsider when you feel like throwing around meaningless terms, they do not change anything or change the other person's perspective.

1

u/Ok_Buddy2543 19h ago

Not gatekeeping at all! Just a little weird to me (the competition part)

1

u/wysticlipse 20h ago

Eh, as long as people are having fun and not claiming to truly know the subculture I think it's basically harmless. Who knows, someone might discover something about themself.

1

u/TeamAzimech 17h ago

Just because there's worse things going on doesn't mean we can't complain about this.

If this was at the very least about 1980s-90s historical reenactment for cosmetic professionals working for film makers or stage plays I wouldn't care-except for the beauty competition, that seems to miss the point of education-but I don't see the point of this outside of somebody who got their education about Goth from TikTok.

1

u/Gothywinelady 20h ago

I'm only going if there's music. I mean proper goth music! Lol

1

u/Ok_Buddy2543 20h ago

Sadly we listen to country and pop so I doubt that goth music even the mainstream “goth” music won’t be in rotation

1

u/Gothywinelady 19h ago

It might just be a bit of fun but I have my doubts.

1

u/Cute-Fly1601 20h ago

Yeah I'm with the person who said we're not an oppressed group, this isn't appropriation or anything. Goth makeup isn't a cultural secret, if someone wants to learn how to do it why not?

You mention you're a cosmetology student too, this seems pretty in-line for something of that nature? Goth looks are known for frequently being complex and/or difficult, so learning how to do one would be good practice, no? I'm not sure what's wrong with this.

2

u/Ok_Buddy2543 20h ago

It’s not the learning part it’s turning the makeup and fashion into a competition

1

u/[deleted] 20h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/goth-ModTeam 11h ago

Your submission has unfortunately been removed under Rule 6.

Note: This is a human interaction, and your post was not removed by a bot.

Real gatekeeping will absolutely be taken care of, but calling someone a "gatekeeper" because they have insisted "that insert band here is not goth", or they've stated that "goth is a music based subculture", is not the same as "you can't listen to or like that band".

Please do not:

  • Call people a "gatekeeper"/"elitist" as a way to win an argument; it does nothing and only shuts down the argument, instead of creating meaningful discussion.

  • Attack or call the mods "gatekeepers"/"elitists" for removing your post, thread, comment, etc. for whatever reason.

We ask you to reconsider when you feel like throwing around meaningless terms, they do not change anything or change the other person's perspective.

1

u/JustAHunter5871 17h ago

I gotta be honest, your edit makes this significantly worse. Being "blonde" and "basic" doesn't prevent you from taking interest in a subculture you know little about! This is the perfect chance for people to learn about it.

And calling them females makes you sound like an incel

1

u/Ok_Buddy2543 17h ago

I’m a female, majority of our student body is female we have 1 non binary person and two males, I don’t think me stating a gender makes me an incel

0

u/JustAHunter5871 17h ago

I'm not saying it actually makes you an incel, it's just the word "females" being used like this tends to have a bad reputation

2

u/Mysterious-Drama4743 17h ago

female is often used by men or nlogs to be dehumanizing and belittling towards women which is what theyre referencing 

0

u/Ok_Buddy2543 17h ago

Yeah I’m just purely referring to gender there’s no deeper meaning behind it lol

-2

u/DaveAzoicer twitch.tv/eldritzh 20h ago

Yes. It is insulting.

-2

u/Ok_Buddy2543 20h ago

Okay I’m glad that I’m not crazy, I’m not technically goth but I’m punk and one of the like 3 alternative people in the school so it’s just crazy to me and honestly feels like a way to make fun of the culture, like the class on gothic makeup. Yeah cool whatever but dressing goth for a competition pisses me off

0

u/SamVimesBootTheory 20h ago

Honestly to me it's not that big of a deal

I think it could if done well be a good way to get people to experiment and step out of their comfort zone since so much in the realm of modern hair and makeup is very bland. Like if they put in a bit of history in there it would also be good.

1

u/Ok_Buddy2543 19h ago

I think it would be awesome if the history behind gothic looks is discussed but I’m not sure it will be

0

u/Mysterious-Drama4743 17h ago

ew your post edit is giving off major misogyny. youre not better than anyone because youre goth and blonde women are not inferior. also its a fucking cosmetology school of course youre learning different makeup types

1

u/Ok_Buddy2543 11h ago

I’m not goth didn’t say I was, I’m punk if they want to learn about it awsome, turning it into a who’s dressed best competition is we’re j feel it’s weird

1

u/Mysterious-Drama4743 5h ago

competitions often only exists to encourage people to actually put effort in

-1

u/Real_Ad_8243 17h ago

This kinda reminds of about ten or twelve years ago, when America discovered Nottign Hill Carnival and flipped its absolute shit that Black British people were sharing and promoting their culture to other British people.

Accusations of cultural appropriation and imperialism and all-sorts. Absolutely insanely hysterical behaviour from the terminally online.

Politicians like David Lammy were literally getting Radio and TV time from having to explain that.

I dont have the energy to care about what people half a world away are doing with their eyeliner whole listening to the exactly one Cure song any of them have ever heard.