By: Salena Braye-Bulls (’23), Staff Writer
Alongside cooler temperatures and pumpkin-spiced everything, October brings us an emphasis on the eerie, creepy and unusual through Halloween. For many, Halloween is an exciting opportunity to explore a spookier side of life through trick or treating, watching thrilling movies like Us or Get Out, or wearing an edgy outfit complete with obscene amounts of black eyeliner and leather. Goth and alternative subcultures, characterized by their dark aesthetics and penchants for embracing sadness, are ubiquitous with horror and rebellion. In most cases, they’re also synonymous with physical and cultural whiteness. There have always been Black people who have enjoyed alternative media and styles, but they historically have experienced social pressure and alienation from all sides. Now, this is beginning to change.
Like various other popular aesthetics, goth culture stereotypically idealizes paleness and thinness. Lily-white skin and freshly powdered bright faces come to mind when most are asked to imagine what goth “looks like”. The Addams family is flour personified! Beauty conventions like straight black hair and overt petiteness don’t leave much for dark skin, kinky hair, or pronounced facial features. What little room these conventions leave is crowded out by white alternative community members’ racism and exclusionary actions. Earlier this year, an extremely popular clothing brand that specializes in goth, punk, and alternative clothing dubbed Dolls Kill, released a collection of shirts and hoods with a text overlay saying “GOTH IS WHITE.” As Dani Buckley of Vocal Media’s Styled magazine explains, even if this phrase had the most innocent intentions, it furthered the idea that, “if your skin color isn’t a shade of white, you aren’t allowed to be goth.” Rhetoric and branding like this actively disincentivize Black people and others within BIPOC communities from participating in a culture that they may truly resonate with.
Still, alienation comes from both sides of the aisle. Black alternative people have been ridiculed by other Black people as being “weird” or “acting white.” Unfortunately, having an interest in anything “offbeat” or “weird” is viewed as being in direct opposition to Blackness. This is harmful to the Black community-at-large. Generalizations like these incorrectly perpetuate the idea that Black people are a monolith. As a result, Black people interested in all sorts of subcultures (alternativeness, anime, skating, theater) are often held back from expressing all parts of their identities. There is room for Blackness in every corner of media and expression. To truly support each other as a community, we must realize that we are multifaceted.
This is an ongoing process. Although such aforementioned negative attitudes have persisted, these tides are turning. Black artists have highlighted their involvement within alternative culture, and they have recently risen to the forefront of alternative and mainstream culture. By highlighting their own involvement and influence within the alt community, Black artists have risen to the forefront of both alternative and mainstream culture. Lil Uzi Vert incorporates emo lyrics and the rockstar energy of lead punk singers into his songs – just listen to “XO Tour Llif3” to find out. Beyoncé’s visual album for Lemonade seamlessly blends gothic elements with American southern aesthetics to create a work that’s touching, passionate, and emotional. Rico Nasty, whom UNC hosted for this year’s Jubilee concert, has ascended to fame as a true Black alternative icon. She always preserves the unique style, and makes raw music that resonates with justifiably angry women of color. As a 2019 article from Zora details, Rico Nasty has been extremely influential in “shaping cyber perceptions of black woman rage”. She authentically conveys her anger in outstandingly creative ways. This is all incredibly important for Black people – young and old – to see. One of the most revolutionary things that we can do as a community, is radically be ourselves.
Sources:
https://vocal.media/styled/goth-is-white-racism-in-the-gothic-subculture
https://zora.medium.com/rico-nasty-and-the-angry-black-female-artist-295f3a919ec3
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