will the real goth please stand out?

is olivia a real goth or just a poser? read the comic.

view comic:
will the real goth please stand out?

art & story by:
rachel nabors

Comments

[Cassandra]

I think it's better to be unique and stop thinking of yourself as something. Someone will always say things about everyone, no matter what. It's true what the comic said, you will always be a poser to someone else. It's just best to be yourself and not label yourself as anything.

We are something different to everyone else. Some will label you a goth, others an emo, others a freak. Someone else can be a prep, loner, so on and so forth. I wish we could all just drop the labels and be ourselves.

[Anna]

LOVE the comic.

Someone called me a poser recently cause I like alternative clothing stores but I don't listen to the music you have to listen to to have that style.
Apparently I'm only allowed to wear something other than Abercrombie and Hollister if I listen to the bands that all the non-posers listen to.
I don't pay attention to most music that's popular in ANY subculture, mainstream or not. I mean if I chance upon it and happen to like it, great, if not, I'm not gonna go out of my way to find out the damn band's history. That just screams poser if you ask me.
I dunno, maybe I am a poser, but I really don't think so because I don't consider myself punk, goth, emo or any other label. I mean, it would make sense that to be a pose, you would have to conciously try to fit into a label, which I don't do.

"OK," you're thinking, "So far this chick doesn't seem too bad..."
But that's because you haven't heard what I'm about to say next, which will prove to you that I am indeed a poser because it most definitely is the brands we wear that define who we are.
I own a few pairs of A&F jeans. I rather like their jeans actually. See, I have no hips or butt, so trying to find jeans that fit me is a nightmare. But all of Abercrombie's do. But because I don't want to fund child labor or pay 70 dollars for jeans worth half that much, I usually get them at thrift stores. Plus, that way they're all nice and pre-stretched.

And now because of that, a bunch of people probably want to kick me in the face right now. :)

[G]

I am a G.W.I.G.E.P.F.G.O.O.T.
Girl Who Is called: Goth, Emo, Punk, Freak, Geek, and Other Odd Things

:P

[Howdy]

I hate how people call themselves goth, listen to Marilyn Manson, Slipknot, etc and call them goth bands.
People need to learn the real thing. A goth would never call him/herself a goth.
A real one wouldn't wear all black but be creative in what they wear (instead of buying things from hot topic).
A fake one would run around screaming "I'm so effin gofffffikkkk!!!"

:P Good comic.

[Crystal]

This is why I make my own clothes now. $200 for a PVC corset from Lip Service that is four sizes smaller than what it's tagged as? I'll pass.

[ashley]

olivia didn't notice she was just as a poser as the girl was.

[Aurelia]

I love it!
It was totally funny and so eye opening.
don't judge lest you be judged lol

[...?]

Yah, here in TX, being alternative is mainstream.
So does that mean conforming makes you different?

It's so confusing!!!

[seena]

wtf!!!???? i can't beleve that happened to her but thats what u get for judgeing ppl. people call me emo which i'm not cuz nissa has proved that i'm to happy to be one and i know how ppl feel when ppl say thair something thair not

[Eve]

Forgot to add something.
I'm only 13 (14 in two weeks!) but i have never been called a poser by older goths, even though most would class me as 'emo'.
they were very excepting. it helps that i love gothic music, siouxie and the banshees are my favourite. but anyway i don't enjoy labeling myself. so i'm a gothic hippy peace-loving anarchist who loves emo, gothic and punk rock music. there :)

[Eve]

i know, everyone labels me an emo at school. its stupid that if you gave someone a list of names of the people they knew they could just go goth, emo, prep, chav, mosher, skater. there's tons of aspects to someone's personality rather than just 'oh, she's a goth'.
great comic by the way ^_^

[paris]

i luve olivia's style

[PoisonGirl]

ahh, labels. when will we be free of them? firstly, i must say that i absolutely adore the gothic subculture, it's so intriguing and has an interesting history, plus it's the one that truly helped me find myself, back when i had my teenage identity crisis and went from label to label trying to see what kind of person i should transform into in order to feel good about myself. after doing my research, i liked the goth subculture most, because it emphasized every aspect that i consider positive about myself (i try not to be judgemental of people until i get to know them, i'm friendly to new people and am always open to new friendships and new ideas, and literature, art, writing and most of all *thinking* are a very important part of my daily life). i never truly considered myself a "goth" because i couldn't afford the wardrobe change (i shudder to think how *conformist*, as gothy gotherson said ^_^, i would've become if i had been able to afford the black trench coat i still lust after lol), but the subculture helped me see a side of myself that i had totally missed.

however, even though i didn't really use the label "goth", later on i gave myself my own label: quiet, shy, self-proclaimed outcast. why? because it was easier to sit in a corner reading a book than it was to go out and meet new people. even though i was developing all these positive traits, i wasn't sharing them with anyone cuz i was just too shy to socialize. and it pissed me off that no one took the time to get to know me, although now i realize that it was my fault for not giving them the chance.

but then i moved and starting mixing with a new crowd that basically dragged me out of my shell. at first i hated it, i felt sooo awkward, but soon i was a full-blown social butterfly, and started wearing revealing clothing that i never would've worn before, and doing things that make me feel so ashamed now when i think about it. i experienced what sparrow went through in the comic "sparrow's song". i would make out with random guys at parties, not remember any of it the next morning cuz i'd been so drunk, have rumours spread about me because of my party animal behaviour, but i wouldn't quit. even though i was meeting more people than i ever had before, they were all empty shells, none of them could carry a decent conversation, all guys saw when they looked at me was a pretty face, and they thought i was so equally one-dimensional that they felt they could get into my pants after talking to me for ten minutes (thankfully i didn't give in to any of those jerks, otherwise who knows in what state i'd be in right now). i was so desperately lonely and caught up in a web of drinking and seeking comfort in the lips of strangers...i was a mess.

but again, it was my fault. i didn't show respect for myself, what made me think total strangers were going to respect me? i considered myself a party animal and i was proud of that. what kind of impression could i expect to make upon people with an attitude like that?

so, after all this, my point is that not only do people label us on a daily basis, we label ourselves. it's easier than finding who we really are, because the definition of who we are is constantly changing, and sometimes it's just too painful to keep up with these changes. how can we expect people who don't know us not to whip out a label as soon as they lay eyes on us when we ourselves hide behind our own labels? we're all a little bit of everything. it took me four years (seems like it was so much longer, though, it was such a gruelling process) to figure this out. but i did figure it out, and took the best of both experiences. so now i'm an intellectual with highly polished social skills. which i think is excellent, considering where i started off.

but i would still die for that black trench coat!! hehe

[lady batfang]

These days the goth subculture seems to be mainly about accusing other people of being posers. It's rather sad that they can't just all get along and mope together.

[Before I get accused of labelling, discriminating and being the sole cause of global warming - it's humour.]

[Maz]

Lables are stupid!
I get classed as EMO cus I dislike most ppl in my school and listen to MCR and Paramore. My GOD!Is everyone really THAT shallow that just because of what you wear and what music you like that, that defines everything you are and who you get to hang out with?!

[Sorcha_Mochrie]

for me Goth isn't about what you wear, its more about what you read and listen too. I'm a mom. I work as a bank teller. I can't have blue hair anymore, I can't wear bondage pants to work (and anyway, bondage pants are "new goth,") I think that a working knowledge of philosophers like Nietzsche and Sartre, Authors like Poe and Lovecraft, bands like Bauhouse and Rasputina, and knowing the difference between Jungian and Freudian psychology are a lot more about what it means to be goth. Sure I shelled out $300 for a custom made corset, and I have platform boots that go up to my knees. But they're not practical everyday wear. Heck, the last time I went to a concert was 3 years ago, I don't have time for the "scene". And that concert? It was Ministry, and it was awesome.

[Sorcha_Mochrie]

for me Goth isn't about what you wear, its more about what you read and listen too. I'm a mom. I work as a bank teller. I can't have blue hair anymore, I can't wear bondage pants to work (and anyway, bondage pants are "new goth,") I think that a working knowledge of philosophers like Nietzsche and Sartre, Authors like Poe and Lovecraft, bands like Bauhouse and Rasputina, and knowing the difference between Jungian and Freudian psychology are a lot more about what it means to be goth. Sure I shelled out $300 for a custom made corset, and I have platform boots that go up to my knees. But they're not practical everyday wear. Heck, the last time I went to a concert was 3 years ago, I don't have time for the "scene". And that concert? It was Ministry, and it was awesome.

[kelly]

what i find hysterical is the fact that even though "real goths" criticize other people for wearing black, they themselves are usually wearing nearly the exact same outfit.

labels like the words "goth" or "emo" are not enough to cover the essence of every aspect of a person.

great work rachel ;]

[Kathryn]

I loved the comic! It was so inspinational!I really think the editor's note help complete it.But I think the colouring should be improved.But the message was clear.Ever so clear!!!The graphics were great.I just loved it. Kathryn,Ontario,Age 8

[cat]

i new comic isn't work i keep geting will the real goth stand out can you please fix this

[Emily Grace]

There is only one label I use

that would be Human

because were all human

I wear what i want to a certain extent

because I would love to go out of my house everyday in prom dresses but unfortunatly i dont have that option or that money

if i would have a label it would be

the nonchalant , sometimes goth/emo/prep chorus geek nerd indie non conformist hippie veg head flirty random self destructive activist protesting drama queen poetry writing fan fiction obsessed walking dictionary curly haired brunette with the style of a drag queen/elton john/rainbow who likes to wear feather boas and plays the xylaphone and longs to play the electric violion

but thats a mouth full

So just call me emily grace

I go to a school where we wear uniforms and their are still beople being called goth or emo or prep

it makes me giggle

when your not part of it the whole label thing seems hysterical

[nina]

i get where youre coming from. you make you.
it sucks because we live in a society where people judge you based on what you where. if you where bondage pants and an anarchy shirt, you MUST be punk.
there's also that whole 'uniform' people feel they need when they want to make a statement. 'punks don't wear that' 'punks don't do this.' who says? we've made this unique fashion into such a regime, that's it's all fake now. so- just because u where anarchy shirts doesn't mean ur a punk superstar.
and the reason why i use punk is because i can relate to it in this way. i love punk music, and i have beliefs that follow the punk subculture. but- i don't feel like i need to wear my favorite sex pistols shirt everyday, just so that people know im punk. sometmes i wear dresses to school. i wear whatever i feel like. but not a lot of people agree.
so- sorry for the life story- but i like your comic. you are who you are. if only people could ask you about you, instead of making a guess because of what you where. it's clothing!

[gothy gotherson]

this comic was absolutely asinine. granted, the whole goth subculture is cliquish, but had the teenage goths actually known their music the elders would have embraced them with open arms. as long as you know the material, you are welcomed into their subculture. the goth subculture is more accepting and open to new people than most. i was an elitist baby-bat and i was taken under the leathery wings of the elder goths, myself. i resent the fact that goths were once again were shined in such a dim light. and yes, puns intended.

just as a sidenote: goths don't always wear black (i for one prefer colors for everyday wear), most have friends with diverse styles from all walks of life, there is a lot of humor in the scene, and finally, it is simply a musical subculture. like all music scenes, it is typically accompanied by a certain style of dress.

(also, title of poseur was sooooo last year. now we call everyone conformists.) assimilate, children, assimilate! :]

[San]

Beautifully done. I have been labelled "Goth" by my peers for about 12 years and I always laugh when a 12 year old comes up to me and acts like they know what they're doing. The ones that run around going "Hail Satan! Yeah Manson!" make me laugh hardest. I gladly explain things to others, but then theres the ones that are really just trendwhores and I dont bother. I've met quite a few older goths (30+) and not once have I ever been called a poser by them. As others have said, it's all about the mindset.

Keep up the awesome work.

[Rachel_Nabors]

I remember the first time I went into a Hot Topic. I was wearing a ragged edged denim skirt and a white gypsy princess shirt. I was so scared and meek. Then I saw the boots, it was as though my platformed feet were being pulled in by tractor beam. Alas, they still don't carry a size 12.

The music was so loud and assaulting. I was much alarmed!

[Kurenai Ichi]

This comic is great, it even made me a little sad because that IS how people think. But I am ok with dressing in black and white every day. And I certainly don't care for my social standing if it is to be based on such a thing as trends.
As of right now, everyone in my school that is considered popular are "scene", and they dress the part. I have had the same style sence middle school and I hate it when people ask me if I am "goth" because they see what I am waring. And even though it is the thing to dress scene now I still sit at the same lunch table with my set of mixed syled friends no matter how much the scene has changed.

[Lily]

Well i didnt think being a goth was such a big deal!! I was called a goth for wering black all the time! It is soooooo cool now to shop at hot topic and places like that. A lot of people like skelanimals and Gir. Soooo i guess It is wayyy cool now! Yesturday i bought some stuff at hot topic and two blonde girls came in and were wering ambercrombie and fitch stuff. Well I guess it is "cool" now for grrrls to walk into "goth" places!!

<3
Lily!!!!

[Hilary]

I love the comic but I thought the point was to just forget about labels all together, I think there's way too much friend bashing going on. And to Meghan, the Hollister jeans you were complaining about are actually the most comfortable things I own (I can't stand high waisted jeans) and not only that, they're reasonably priced and fit my short legs. I wear Abercrombie, Hollister and American Eagle but I make sure thats not all I wear. I dress to suit my mood, not my "label." I can dress like a prep, a jock, a girly girl or scene. I'd rather my name to be assoiciated to who I am as a person, not my social standings.

[Mari]

I'm A poser!!! :P Naw I'm what ever people fancy me to be. I was called a hippie once it was awesome. Almost inspired me to dreads~ :P Would be easer to take care of my hair like that. :P

[Lily]

It's pathetic that people label themselves and define who they are with a single word. And then they try and say "I fit the definition better than that person. They're a poseur! I'm the real thing!" Even worse is being blindly led by some adult who makes it their job to make music that pertains to a single 'definition', sets the bar for the naive kids who follow the stereotype, such as Marilyn Manson being 'goth' or stuff such as that.

I can truly say I listen to any music I like, wear what looks good on me and what I think looks good, and I don't care what stereotype someone is, if I want to be their friend. I don't judge like that. Noone should, but apparently that doesn't occur to many people. But to each his own, I suppose.

[marina]

ok, i really AM a real goth, the posers, wear corsests n they are tryin WAY too hard so they just look stupid.

[Ally]

that story was good and was a big coincidence i my friend lisa is a goth and she keeps saying tat she's a "real goth" but she's a poser.

[jaylee]

Things like this are so true. There are people in high school that say that they don't use labels, but they rely on them so much to define who they are. It ticks me off so badly. Why do you WANT to be known as something that the rest of the population is known as? I hate it when people label me, simply because there is more to me than the way I dress and my friends. I have my own personality.

[Corky]

Oh my GOD, what a total coincidence! I had just posted a blog about this same subject...about how in just about every subculture, there are "teeny-boppers", the elitists, and the ones in the middle...Wow, great minds must think alike, huh? :)

[Cheryl]

LOVED it! I refer to myself as a "true goth" and most other people as "posers", which isn't very nice, but I have my reasons. While I despise labels, I refer to goth as the actual motherfreakin' LIFESTYLE, rather that a stupid clique that hates "preps" and shops at hot topic.(Which is, in my expert yet pretentious opinion, a very hypocritical and corporate shop for scenesters.) For all other goths, there's a cool website about gothic lifestyle at www.morbidoutlook.com. Check it out! :)

[Ellie]

Funny stuff. But... Goth is a state of mind. You can be wearing a bright yellow Stepfordesque sundress and still be GAWTHER than Manson. xD

[Amanda]

The whole "social" world has been crashing for years. People define themselves or others, whether it is a prep, goth or poser. You will always seem like a mistake to someone. Just forget the "fads" and be yourself.

I've been labeled prep(i don't know why?), goth, stoner, rocker, punk, hippie and gothic-hippie. I just dressed based on my mood not by what's the latest, unless it is a gift.

Rachel, your point of view always seems true (hey that ryhmes!). People just need to sit back and RELAX!

[Laura]

As I'm reading all the comments on here im surprised to hear so much about emo. Who is emo, who isn't, friends that are emo. I'm sounding like my mother now but, is that the new popular counterculture?(this is a serious question, im curious!)
When I used to follow labels it was always punk. Everyone tried to be punk. Personally, it was draining trying to keep up and prove myself and my "punkness" to everyone, which I guess is the point of this comic. But once I got older I could define myself with my job, my hobbies, my talents, my interests and didn't need the security blanket of a one word definition of me. Labels are fine as long as you don't limit yourself by them.
Great Comic!

[BlUeSeAl]

honestly people are getting in the stupid trend whore crap to be cool and i completly agree more power to rachel for revealing that to stupid people who try to be cool but are retarded and we se threw it !!!!
mwhahahaha lol

[roisin]

People who categorize themselves are worse than the people who do it for them.

I have an ex-friend whos got into the emo scene.Called herself emo, the whole shebang.And shes even trying to get an emo boy who is obviously playing with her.
Even having suicide "attempts".
But the worst thing?She has a great home life, had good friends and good grades.

And shes thrown it all away to look cool to the emo crowd.

Anyhoo love the comic really awesome!

[xrawrxbbyx]

I completely agree with this!!!

[Ruby]

i can't afford to follow trends. i dress like crap because all my clothes are old and strange. i can't afford to get anything- i wear sneakers every day and i only have 4 pairs of jeans that fit well (the rest are too big :-) )

so here's the thing: how you dress is how you communicate yourself to others. it gives ppl cues to who you think you are. if you dress goth it means you think you are goth, regardless of what others view you are.

some things you can't change eaisly- the phat kids, the kids with glasses, the kids with zits.

To Marina: we label eachother because it's eaiser to push people behind a label than it is to see who they are. sometimes people meld themselves with a label just because it's eaisest. preconceptions latch on. sometimes the image you are trying to project of yourself doesn't match everyone's else's image of you, which really messes with their minds.

[GurlAtTheRockShow]

I really likes this comic because it's perfict for my friend. She says shes an emo but really is a wanna be. When I showed her this comic I told her she was a trend whore and she freaked on me saying that she was a true emo but it was SOOOOO worth it!
I'm so glad for this comic it was the only thing that kinda got to my friend!
XOXO

[Kim]

I love this comic,it means a lot to me.Y'know,I kept considering myself as a true 'punk'.But then my cousin came up telling me that I wasn't even a 'true punk'.Just someone who's 'trying hard'.So in the end I didn't give up my style but I know that I don't need a damn label,I'm just me.

[Cat]

We're all posers really, there's not one person that hasn't seen a top and is like "WOW!" but suddenly thinks "What will my friends think?" so they just buy things and do things that fit into what "category" they're in (jock etc.)

Great comic!

Cat

xxx

[xo_misspennylane_xo]

i luv this there are allot of ppl that go to my high school that are like that they are really judgmental and they call almost everybody a poser it can get really annoying god forbid anybody likes even one thing that's mainstream =P i really hope someday they will grow up a lil

XoXo

[M0DELzSTATUS]

Hii.

iM NEW HERE....I READ THA COMIX && THOUGHT IT WAS HILARIOUS!I LiKE H0W YU SWITCH THE WORDS.

WELL....HiT ME UP SUMTiME..

BY THA WAY CAN SOMEONE GiVE ME THA 4-1-1 BOUT THIS SITE?IF YU CAN...MAY YU PLZ TEL ME.

[Leah]

Omg i love this comic to death. People who claim to be above labels then turn around and say they hate someone because the person's a 'perp/jock/ect.' crack me up. Probably because i used to act like that and now i just sit there and go wow, we're all abunch of idoits. haha. again love this comic and you're drawing style is absolutly adorable. Keep up the fabulous work!!! xoxox

[Aniella]

This made me laugh 'u'

I loved the bit at the end as well. My friends were going through loads of labels and saying which ones they were most like. They were going along like "Ellie's a prep, Imogen's an indie, Jess is a nerd etc etc". I asked them "What am I? What am I?". They all looked to one another and said "You're Anna!"

I took it as the hugest compliment...

[Meep.]

God, I love you Rachel.

When of the things that really boils my broccoli is when people claim to despise labels, and then say how it's "just because those preps don't get goths like us". Geez.

Being a self-proclaimed nonconformist just so you can freak out and change every time people like what you're doing doesn't say much for you and your title.