Tighty Whitie

Apparently, black isn't pale enough for real Goth. Via the Ultimate Goth Guide comes this article on racism and black Goths.

That Goth is raced is not surprising. That Goth subculture would contain so many people with dumbass racist ideas about Goth identity is more than a little dismaying. But then that's how racism works in white society. It's the constant undercurrent working beneath the polite appearances. Then something gets caught and pulled under to reveal just how racist the entire system actually is. And we catch a glimpse of how whiteness is enforced.

Goth is very white. That's how it was formed. And if Goths only see whiteness then that becomes a part of the identity. It's just the norm. The way things are. That's how whiteness works. Other people just can't do it right. They can't act white. It's something ineffable that makes it impossible to copy. That's how it excludes.

Because there is no 'sense' to it, it does make it easy to criticize, mock and ridicule. Saying it, however, doesn't change it. There's too much invested in racism for it to disappear with recognition and denunciation. It is a part of being white. We all know it. We catch those horrible thoughts, the racist imp of the perverse, all the time; and we control the monster.

But it takes a lot of work; and our identities are not our own. They lie outside us; and that's the part we have to negotiate and choreograph with other people. That's where subculture comes in as a potentially transformative institution. We can redefine and redeploy our collective identities.

Let's have a little imagination, tighty whities! We need to think and act and live beyond the pale into the dark future.

Cybergoth is certainly promising. It points the way to the perfect perky gloomth. Androgyny of both genders coupled with a trans-racist vision that doesn't dismiss or downplay racial identities but provides methods and space for experimenting with and deconstructing race. Blacks, whites and other races can then pull it off together in different, twisted and dystopian performances.

Not utopian. Dystopian because it's never finished. It is conflicted and conflicting. Based on problems and problematizing. And intensifying trouble. To make it hard for others and for ourselves.

Come on, gothlings. We can all play together. People of all races are welcome for a little dead time.