Feminine Gothic and its power
of reading - words
The goth feminine has been surrounded by a lot of stereotypes over and over again. We must emphasize the fact that we are not talking here about "woman" but about the feminine. The feminine is present in each of us (yes, men too) in different forms. The feminine must be balanced in an individual with the masculine. So, it implies for everyone when we say feminine (the reference is more energetic than physical).
The biggest stereotype that the mainstream has to create is the role of goth in pornography. There would be several titles in pornography that would cater to 'Goth chic'. This stereotype has been used subtly in mainstream media as a biased opinion on how the goth woman is this sexualized entity who builds her identity on sexual attractiveness (if you're wondering why most goth and emo female characters are constructed to be sexualized, except perhaps a few). This is why we see a lot of casual Goth and JGoth depictions in movies but not a lot of Victorian or pastel Goth.
However, the feminine in our community is tough. She (using it only for referential purposes, for unfortunately a lack of a more inclusive term) knows how to piss off those elitist populations who know nothing about the culture and tend to make crude assumptions from all sides. Let's break this down. Women have always been oppressed by the patriarchal society in which we live. she faced violence, marginalization and forced coercion. There is always a fine line to be crossed to be defined as a "slut" or a "graceful" for the average woman. She is measured by a few inches of the skirt and the shade of lipstick she is wearing.
The feminist community knows this very well and refuses to conform to being neither. How ? Well, she's definitely not interested in labels but if you peg her into one or the other, she tends to lean towards the slutty side. She complies, only to defy it. In this, she becomes hyperfeminine. What is it, you ask? Well, the hyperfeminine takes gender conformity to the extreme by defying all binaries. We will clarify this with an example. Heeled shoes in common fashion are considered a symbol of modesty or disgrace. A woman who decides to wear a six inch heel is subconsciously constructed to be a sexual object (Bedazzled, hello!) and a woman who opts for a four to three inch heel is a modern, modest woman.
Have you ever looked at a gothic women's heel? They are all over six inches tall in general. They own their sexuality and it's a big fuck for society. She's not afraid of being labeled because she knows they don't define her. This implies the same thing for his clothes. The sexual appeal dies in the dramatization of the entire scenario and she emerges as the all-powerful hyperfeminine who cannot be put down by men or society. Look at this wickedness!
The biggest stereotype that the mainstream has to create is the role of goth in pornography. There would be several titles in pornography that would cater to 'Goth chic'. This stereotype has been used subtly in mainstream media as a biased opinion on how the goth woman is this sexualized entity who builds her identity on sexual attractiveness (if you're wondering why most goth and emo female characters are constructed to be sexualized, except perhaps a few). This is why we see a lot of casual Goth and JGoth depictions in movies but not a lot of Victorian or pastel Goth.
However, the feminine in our community is tough. She (using it only for referential purposes, for unfortunately a lack of a more inclusive term) knows how to piss off those elitist populations who know nothing about the culture and tend to make crude assumptions from all sides. Let's break this down. Women have always been oppressed by the patriarchal society in which we live. she faced violence, marginalization and forced coercion. There is always a fine line to be crossed to be defined as a "slut" or a "graceful" for the average woman. She is measured by a few inches of the skirt and the shade of lipstick she is wearing.
The feminist community knows this very well and refuses to conform to being neither. How ? Well, she's definitely not interested in labels but if you peg her into one or the other, she tends to lean towards the slutty side. She complies, only to defy it. In this, she becomes hyperfeminine. What is it, you ask? Well, the hyperfeminine takes gender conformity to the extreme by defying all binaries. We will clarify this with an example. Heeled shoes in common fashion are considered a symbol of modesty or disgrace. A woman who decides to wear a six inch heel is subconsciously constructed to be a sexual object (Bedazzled, hello!) and a woman who opts for a four to three inch heel is a modern, modest woman.
Have you ever looked at a gothic women's heel? They are all over six inches tall in general. They own their sexuality and it's a big fuck for society. She's not afraid of being labeled because she knows they don't define her. This implies the same thing for his clothes. The sexual appeal dies in the dramatization of the entire scenario and she emerges as the all-powerful hyperfeminine who cannot be put down by men or society. Look at this wickedness!
