With Halloween right around the corner, TikTok is already telling us which costumes are problematic.
Say thank you to the internet.
TikTok forgets that dressing up as a goth for Halloween is the problem.
The internet has already been responsible for the harassment and oversexualization of goths and other alternative subcultures for years. Now, the same people who tear down real goths are dressing up like them for Halloween. We’ve reached the time of year when people who would usually shout hate at a goth in public are now complimenting us on our “vampire costumes.”
Goth is not a costume.
Being goth is a lifestyle rooted in non-conforming ideologies, not complying with beauty standards or gender norms. Being goth means taking society’s rules and shattering them.
Thanks to the age of hypersexualization, goth has been diluted and reduced to a fetish. What was once the dark and the macabre is now an object of the male sexual fantasy.
That’s where the paradox comes into play.
The gothic culture evolved from post-punk cultures, which came with DIY fashion using leather, fishnets, corsets and fetish-adjacent accessories. The fashion aimed to shock conservative society and reclaim bodily autonomy, kickstarting the ideology of non-conformity.
What came with this was outsiders looking in through an erotic lens, assuming the fashion was an open invitation for sexual advances.
That lens has now evolved to fit the internet.
Being goth is a very hot topic online. Not only does the internet provide a platform for problematic people, but it also brings about hate in the form of memes. Memes introduced the phrases “goth mommy” and “step on me,” each gross stereotypes of goth women.
Sexualization has always existed with goth women, but it’s only become a trend in recent years.
Take Drake for example. An already controversial figure, he stated on a podcast that his type of woman is “tweaked out, goth, kinda tatted all over,” who has “O cups.” He later met Lin Lamar (Pinkchyu) on a YouTube dating show, who seemed to fit that unfortunate stereotype.
Pinkchyu is already a problematic figure herself. She’s a member of the “Goth House” group on social media, an influencer group of women who use gothic culture to promote their OnlyFans content.
It gets to a point where you’re tired of searching up “goth” on social media only to find Drake barking for a woman who’s goth exclusively for the male gaze.
This attitude contributes nothing but hypersexuality and reinforces stereotypes onto a culture that worked for over 40 years to tear down these fetishized standards imposed by society.
Situations like the controversy with Drake and Pinkchyu reduce gothic culture to a TikTok trend. Surely by now we can see that whatever trends on TikTok defines the most popular Halloween costume of the year.
And usually that costume ends up being sexualized, whether that’s the intention or not.
In recent years, even Ghostface from the “Scream” series has become overly sexualized and turned into a sexy, risque costume.
Sure, a busty or cheeky Ghostface costume isn’t deliberately disrespecting someone’s culture, but it still contributes to the issue of hypersexuality and overconsumption of sexual content online.
And honestly, the consumption of this type of content encourages unhealthy behaviors in young and impressionable men as well as reinforces unhealthy standards that women have been battling since the beginning of time.
Women don’t want to be objectified. We simply want to be.
The sad reality is that sex sells, and it’s more than likely that it always will. But we, as a society, can do things to better ourselves and understand a culture before we damage what they have been fighting for.
It’s always important to have at least a little knowledge about any culture you wish to dive into. But most importantly, even if you don’t know much about it, that does not excuse harassment, sexualization or fetishization. Not just for goths – for everyone.
Forty years ago, gothic culture emerged to defy the shift toward conservative, right-wing ideologies. Goths never wanted to gatekeep their culture. In fact, they wanted to spread their message: nonconformity.
So stop conforming to hypersexuality online, and don’t belittle others for being different from you.
Despite what some may think, goths are not vampires, even on Halloween. We’re people, just like you.
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Celine Lamirand
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Goth isn’t for your pleasure – or your costume
With Halloween right around the corner, TikTok is already telling us which costumes are problematic.
Say thank you to the internet.
TikTok forgets that dressing up as a goth for Halloween is the problem.
The internet has already been responsible for the harassment and oversexualization of goths and other alternative subcultures for years. Now, the same people who tear down real goths are dressing up like them for Halloween. We’ve reached the time of year when people who would usually shout hate at a goth in public are now complimenting us on our “vampire costumes.”
Goth is not a costume.
Being goth is a lifestyle rooted in non-conforming ideologies, not complying with beauty standards or gender norms. Being goth means taking society’s rules and shattering them.
Thanks to the age of hypersexualization, goth has been diluted and reduced to a fetish. What was once the dark and the macabre is now an object of the male sexual fantasy.
That’s where the paradox comes into play.
The gothic culture evolved from post-punk cultures, which came with DIY fashion using leather, fishnets, corsets and fetish-adjacent accessories. The fashion aimed to shock conservative society and reclaim bodily autonomy, kickstarting the ideology of non-conformity.
What came with this was outsiders looking in through an erotic lens, assuming the fashion was an open invitation for sexual advances.
That lens has now evolved to fit the internet.
Being goth is a very hot topic online. Not only does the internet provide a platform for problematic people, but it also brings about hate in the form of memes. Memes introduced the phrases “goth mommy” and “step on me,” each gross stereotypes of goth women.
Sexualization has always existed with goth women, but it’s only become a trend in recent years.
Take Drake for example. An already controversial figure, he stated on a podcast that his type of woman is “tweaked out, goth, kinda tatted all over,” who has “O cups.” He later met Lin Lamar (Pinkchyu) on a YouTube dating show, who seemed to fit that unfortunate stereotype.
Pinkchyu is already a problematic figure herself. She’s a member of the “Goth House” group on social media, an influencer group of women who use gothic culture to promote their OnlyFans content.
It gets to a point where you’re tired of searching up “goth” on social media only to find Drake barking for a woman who’s goth exclusively for the male gaze.
This attitude contributes nothing but hypersexuality and reinforces stereotypes onto a culture that worked for over 40 years to tear down these fetishized standards imposed by society.
Situations like the controversy with Drake and Pinkchyu reduce gothic culture to a TikTok trend. Surely by now we can see that whatever trends on TikTok defines the most popular Halloween costume of the year.
And usually that costume ends up being sexualized, whether that’s the intention or not.
In recent years, even Ghostface from the “Scream” series has become overly sexualized and turned into a sexy, risque costume.
Sure, a busty or cheeky Ghostface costume isn’t deliberately disrespecting someone’s culture, but it still contributes to the issue of hypersexuality and overconsumption of sexual content online.
And honestly, the consumption of this type of content encourages unhealthy behaviors in young and impressionable men as well as reinforces unhealthy standards that women have been battling since the beginning of time.
Women don’t want to be objectified. We simply want to be.
The sad reality is that sex sells, and it’s more than likely that it always will. But we, as a society, can do things to better ourselves and understand a culture before we damage what they have been fighting for.
It’s always important to have at least a little knowledge about any culture you wish to dive into. But most importantly, even if you don’t know much about it, that does not excuse harassment, sexualization or fetishization. Not just for goths – for everyone.
Forty years ago, gothic culture emerged to defy the shift toward conservative, right-wing ideologies. Goths never wanted to gatekeep their culture. In fact, they wanted to spread their message: nonconformity.
So stop conforming to hypersexuality online, and don’t belittle others for being different from you.
Despite what some may think, goths are not vampires, even on Halloween. We’re people, just like you.