Goth - A Global Phenomenon

By Author: jan Weidenbach
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Since its origins in the London of the late seventies and early eighties the gothic subculture has spread to so many countries that it can be called a truly global phenomenon. What was once just an offshoot of the post-punk music genre has transformed into subculture that can be found in most of the developed countries. But what realy is goth?

Gothic or gothic rock is a punk-subgenre that has emerged in London in the late seventies. The music is characterized by dark sounds, heavy keyboards and depressing lyrics. As musicians who initially shaped the formation of gothic rock The Sex Pistols, The Velvet Underground, David Bowie and Iggy Pop can be named. The bands of this genre often dressed in dark, morbid clothes and wore dark hair and make-up. This style - music impressed young people worldwide and transformed into a subculture with followers in most of the countries of this planet.

Besides London, Toronto in Canada has probably the most active Goth scene in the world. The city is home of numerous Goth clubs and bars and hosts a monthly gothic-fetish event that is called "Fetish Masquerade".
Toronto is ...
... also home of "The dark Place" aka. The gothic Society of Canada, an organization that is unique to the Goth culture worldwide. Toronto is also the city with the highest number of gothic fashion designers and retailers in the world.

In Japan a gothic subculture has emerged that is fundamentally different from the western gothic scenes. The gothic scene in Japan is based on fashion and evolved into music whereas the gothic culture in the western countries is based on music and evolved into fashion. Probably the most popular figure of the Japanese gothic culture is the gothic-Lolita. Unlike the western gothic culture, the Japanese gothic fashion has a broad appearance in all kind of medias, especialy television and manga.

The gothic subculture has also moved to continental Europe of course. Gothic people are a widely known image in the cityscape of most larger cities in Germany. The people in Germany call them "Grufties". France is also home of large Goth community with many internationally popular gothic rock bands like Baroque Bordello and Asylum Party.
About Author:
Jan Weidenbach is the owner of www.punkz.fm. Emo people welcome!
We have a large punk forum.