What is Utah.GOTHICS?

The Gothic Organization To Help In Community Service is a group of socially conscious and concerned individuals who are interested in effecting positive change in Utah while promoting a more positive image for the social group with which we associate – the Gothic subculture. Not all of us use the label Gothic to describe ourselves, but we are all involved in the Gothic scene to some extent. The organization is currently small, made up of seven active members and several other intermittent volunteers. At the moment, the majority of Utah GOTHICS are in our twenties, although most members of the Gothic subculture in Utah are teenagers.

History

Gothics, or Goths, are distinguished from other youth subcultures most overtly by dress style, which usually consists of plenty of black clothing and sometimes extreme makeup on both males and females. (Black lipstick and heavy black eyeliner are common.) Besides the common dress style, most Gothics listen to several related styles of music called Gothic, Darkwave and Industrial. Gothic music can be briefly characterized as intensely textured, often gloomy or dark both lyrically and musically, and heavily influenced by Celtic and European folk styles, punk rock, heavy metal and classical roots. The Gothic subculture, as we interpret it, tends to focus on individuality, emotion, drama, dark aesthetics, intellectualism and creativity, among other things. The subculture's origins are usually placed in 1979; and the culture has grown steadily in the past ten years in many places around the world.

In March of 1997, an unfortunate incident resulting in the death of a young Salt Lake teen due to diabetic shock caused some parents and police to condemn Gothics as a dangerous group. However, the two boys present at the party where the death occurred were judged not guilty of negligent homicide and were only convicted of failure to report a dead body. These boys were quite incidentally labeled Gothic. The media at the time presented sensationalistic, biased and often untrue information about the Gothic subculture. Such tragic events have caused some people to blame a subculture for the foolish actions of a few individuals. For more details about this incident visit A Study of Gothic Subculture: an Inside Look for Outsiders.

Gothic teenagers demographically aren't any more or less violent, criminal, artistic, confused, depressed or aware than most other teenagers, but their clothing and musical tastes sometimes cause them to be called satanic, evil, death-obsessed and unnatural. It is the contention of GOTHICS that those of us in the Gothic subculture are just normal people with a slight difference in perspective and aesthetics. Members of Utah GOTHICS feel it is time to put the negative stereotypes to rest by letting our actions speak louder than our words.

The community service group finds its roots in Utah.Goth, an internet email list which serves Utah's online Gothic and Industrial music fans. As the list grew in the beginning of 1998, several members began to express a desire to do something as an organized group that would help the community in some way and promote a more positive image for Gothics. Several projects have been discussed, and plans for action were set in motion.

Goals

1. To bring about positive change in our community at large.
2. To get others in the Gothic scene more interested in contributing to their community by pooling the talents and resources of those within the scene. We want to provide them a way to do something good in an environment where they can feel comfortable.
3. To promote a positive and life-affirming image for our otherwise poorly-received and often misunderstood social group.