So, I look at a lot of "Gothic" groups on deviantart. I like Gothic fashion, so I like to look at Gothic inspired artwork and photos, Gothic stories and Gothic story-based movies. I am also a fan of "Goth" fashion. I wouldn't say that I'm not a fan of Goth music. Truth is, I don't pay attention to music styles. If I like how it sounds, then it's good to me. Whenever I like a song, I look more towards the song title, rather than the band name, or genre.

So, I find a group that is supposedly hardcore Goth. The admin of the page demands you state what bands you listen to, and if you don't listen to the bands that the admins says are Goth, then you can't join the group. I look at the pictures, and I notice that there is a lot of Gothic stuff in there. Now, I know a lot of people believe that Goth and Gothic are just different words used to describe the same thing. Although I actually do that myself sometimes, they are two different things.

To sum it up simply. Gothic is an art form that has been around since the 1200s. It is a very broad art form as well. It is a form of fashion, architecture, literature, paintings, music, and so on. Beauty and the Beast is a Gothic story. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Notre Dame de Paris) is a Gothic story. Notre Dame itself, is Gothic architecture. So, Gothic art is really over 800 years old. Goth is a style of music that started in Europe in the 1980s, that grew out of Punk. Even Goth fashion looks more like Punk than it does Gothic. Yes, Goth fashion does borrow from Gothic, but it borrows more from Punk.

So, I'm not trying to put down the admin of that group. I just found it amusing that the admin came off as so demanding of a love for Goth, yet there was so much Gothic work there. You can love Goth without liking Gothic. Contrary-wise, you can love Gothic without liking Goth. In fact, you can like one thing Gothic without liking other things Gothic. You can love Gothic fashion without liking Gothic architecture. You can love Gothic literature without liking Gothic music, and so on. So yes, there is actually a difference between Goth and Gothic, although most people (including me) often run them together as the same thing.

It reminded me of that one video from Kill Natalie on youtube, where she talks about how isolating the Goth subculture is. Not because the subculture is meant to be isolating, but because Goths are afraid to approach or befriend other Goths in fear that the other Goth will not accept them as a Goth.