A common darkness
Style and spirituality in Goth subculture
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22996441 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kevin Healey (0000-0001-9044-8228, University of New Hampshire at Manchester), Leigh Fraser (University of New Hampshire at Manchester) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | e12231 |
| Publication date | 2017-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Popular Music Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1524-2226 • E-ISSN: 1533-1598 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/jpms.12231 |
| OpenAlex | W2757356546 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 11 |
This article provides an ethnographic account of Goth subculture within a major metropolitan city in the northeastern United States. We situate our study in the context of previous literature in nightlife and dance subcultures, including Delgado and Muñoz's work on Latin-American dance culture, Bailey's research on drag queen culture, Saldanha's study of Goa freaks, and the Goth studies of Powell and Siegel. We expand these studies by drawing from scholarship in media and religion, framing Goth as a manifestation of “quest culture.” We argue that Goth rejects both normative religion and conventional psychology, embracing darkness” as a vehicle for authentically transcendent spiritual experiences with sonic, visual, and embodied dimensions (what one attendee called “spirituality on the dancefloor”). As noted in our conclusion, these efforts are troubled and often include regressive moments which amplify latent misogyny and racialized privilege within the community. By integrating these approaches, our study highlights Goth's similarity to other subcultural and nightlife communities, while also situating its unique sonic aesthetics within the context of religious-institutional decline and the subsequent emergence of hybrid forms of spirituality driven by popular media.
Aesthetics · Art · Context (archaeology) · Dance · Ethnography · Nightlife · Political science · Religiosity · Scholarship · Sociology · Spirituality · Subculture (biology) · Visual arts · Anthropology · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · Gender Studies · History · Latin American and Latino Studies · Law · Music History and Culture · Psychology · Social Psychology
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.43 |
| Citation span | 2019 - 2023 (5) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |