Results of Ivy le Jolie's Jun 97 Goth Survey, page 3

	Goth Life
Goth is being in touch with the dark side of life.	What makes the goth life different than the mainstream? Most replies seem to focus on acceptance - of self, of life, of death - and also on unacceptance - of society's expectations and rules.	Goth is being creative, nocturnal, and it's an attitude.

"There are so many different types of goth it is really dizzying. They are usually poets or artists or such, they do interesting things, they have known pain and they seek something...that is the best sketch I can give."

"Spending time in the darkness is very popular (at least with me). I tend to think of The Life (and Death) as more of a mindset rather than a fashion or musical statement. I consider myself a goth because of my tastes in clothes, mates, and literature, my likes and dislikes for many things, but I think other goths would likely despise my taste in music because I listen to very little of what people call goth music."

"hedonistic fun passionate busy romantic... gah"

"A passion for all things arcane, mystic, antique, and particularly beautiful... Furthermore, a quest to bring philosophical validity to the superficial formalities of the 'lifestyle,' such as clubs, music, attire, and whatnot..."

"Quiet. Low paying jobs so that one can devote most of their energy to bad poetry or music or modeling for 'propaganda'. Like to stay up at night and sleep in the day (the sun hurts that delicate skin). Some are drama queens, but most are not."

"Goths seem to have strong nocturnal tendencies, which lend themselves nicely to going out to clubs a lot. They are cynical and are interested in death as much as life. Some goths are very shallow and will disregard anyone who doesn't share their level of extremity in their appearance. I think goths tend to be more reserved than your average mainstream person, probably from being treated differently by people who don't understand what it's about, I think. Being goth automatically puts you on the outside of society because it's such an outright visual rejection of how you're expected to be. That could be why some goths are skeptical of people who don't go all out, because they're trying to weed out the "posers". Anyway, aside from the black-clad, death-loving, non-smiling, cemetary-frolicking stereotype, I basically think being goth has more to do with your outlook on life, your interest in things typically considered to be morbid than it does how often you go out!!"

"We melt in the daylight. Although it may not seem, we are happy in our gloominess."

"Generally vampyristic...... sleep all day, up all night so we can keep that perfectly sickly pale complexion... haha"

"The lifestyle is quite fun... you get strange looks, you can scare old people, and you get lots of attention (although its not always the best type). There are many HOT goth men and women (be warned... sometimes it is hard to tell the difference) but the best part of all... when you walk down the street and a mother with her child(ren) are approaching, its quite amusing how quickly they push their kids either behind them or as far away from you as possible. I find that quite amusing... :)= "

"Art history, graveyards, anti{non}-X-ian ideals..."

"Varies... most have a 'respectable' alter-ego for the 'rest' of life."

"I would say a comfort in darkness, perhaps an attraction to things associated with the night. I've never tried to explain it before."

"It's whatever you make it... some choose the darker side of goth, some choose the happy side of it. It's all about individuality and freedom."

"Morose obsessing over death is NOT a prerequisite of Goth. Acceptance of the darker side of life, and comfort with it, is."

And you could also check out the previous results which were posted here.

June 1997 Results of Ivy le Jolie's Goth Survey, page 3
https://members.tripod.com/~IvyleJolie/jun97results3.html
Last Updated: 8 May 1998