The Goths - A Black Paper

"Gothic" subculture is all the rage these days, what with the black clothing and white makeup - one might think that Kiss had gone underground and founded it's own subculture:

The Goths (Gothic: gutans were an East Germanic tribe who according to their own traditions left Scandinavia, settled close to the Vistula mouth (in present day Poland), and from the 2nd century settled Scythia, Dacia and Pannonia. In the 3rd and 4th centuries, they harried the Byzantine Empire and later adopted Arianism. In the 5th and 6th centuries, dividing into the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, they established powerful follower-states of the Roman Empire in Iberia and Italy.

Oh, wait. Not that kind of Goth - This kind of Goth.

The goth subculture is a contemporary subculture prevalent in many countries. It began in the United Kingdom during the late 1970s to early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era. Its imagery and cultural proclivities indicate influences from nineteenth century Gothic literature, mainly through horror movies.

From Goth.Net comes this explanation:

Goth in its simplest form, is a subculture. A group of people who feel comfortable within each others company. There is no specific thing that defines what you need to do or be to fit into the goth scene (except of course the implied black clothing). People in the goth scene all have different musical tastes, follow different religions, have different occupations, hobbies, and fashion sense.

Goths tend to be upbeat, positive people:

"...being Goth, for me, is seeing beauty, and its coming destruction, at the same time. For me...It's the last dance as the walls are crumbling around you..." Beatgrrl

"[Goth] is the ability to find the art where art seems to be lacking; to find the light in the darkness and embrace it for all it's worth..." Jennifer Mason

There are even Christian Goths - there is no contradiction.

Goths are a worldwide phenomenon - below is a woman in Bangor, N. Ireland, out for a little fun:

And they are definitely a part of Japanese culture, as well:

Of course, non-asian toys are also available:

Goth culture has been of tremendous value to the greater society (though not without its supposed blemishes) - below is a screen shot of Visicalc, one of the first spreadsheets, produced by Dan Bricklin, a well-known latter-day Visigoth: