There’s two sides of the spectrum when it comes to the perception of goth people in our society; On one side, you have people at the mall who’ll look at them judgmentally, and on the other, you have people who would beg to be stepped on by a goth woman. 

While I might lean towards one side more than the other — step on me, please — I think both extremes feed into negative stereotypes that either goth people are truly evil or that they need to be hypersexualized. 

What do you think about the goths? Do you think about them at all? Do you think about them as much as I do? I think about them too much. It might be a problem. But there’s a good reason for this. 

Let me tell you why. 

When Jay-Z said “all black everything,” he was talking about goth people. 

The ability goth people have to take a simple color and make it their entire personality is remarkable. Black clothing? You got it. Black hair? Don’t count it out. Black makeup? They coat themselves with it. There’s so much black that I feel like I’m being sucked into the darkest of places a person can go; bring me there, take me to their darkness. 

Don’t overlook their amazing music choices either. Open up the mosh pit because the goths have come to rock out. 

As goths are considered outcasts of our society, there’s something we could be learning from them apart from wearing black: how to express ourselves. 

They’re unequivocally themselves. They wouldn’t wear all black, dye their hair and get every part of their body pierced if that‘s not what they want to do; they do it because that’s their inner expression displayed on the outside. 

Now, I’m not asking you to dress in black fishnet leggings and get your nipples pierced — unless you want to. But is the clothing you wear, the music you listen to or the things you do an outward expression of your inner feelings? 

For those who know me, I’m not a goth person; I’m the entire opposite. But this lifestyle seems so intriguing to me. Representing yourself through outward appearance is something everyone should be doing. 

But if I have to be honest, I don’t think I’m doing that. 

What I express to others is that I am a very happy person — a “golden retriever” archetype. But deep down, I feel like I’m a very dark person, and I don’t know how to represent my true feelings. 

So now I’m thinking — am I goth? Are these my true inner feelings that need to be expressed on the outside? Is my soul predestined to be a goth and this is how I’m supposed to live the rest of my days? 

I hope not. 

A friend once told me, “Don’t knock something until I try it;” As this friend was exploring her identity, she would try everything that would come her way. Yet, I can’t seem to do that. I’m too scared to try something that might be deemed socially weird which will cause people to look down upon me and look at me in a negative way. 

What if one day I decide to become goth? Will the people who I know want to still be friends with me? Or will they turn their back on me like most of society has done with goth people? 

We have prioritized perception over inner identity — what other people think is apparently much more important than what we think of ourselves. I’ve fallen into this trap too and it’s hindered my ability to live how I truly want. 

That’s why goth people deserve the utmost respect, they’ve made a conscious decision that this is who they want to be. They decided to shape themselves into this lifestyle and didn’t care what others thought. This fearlessness to express their identity is to be applauded and we should all take after it when it comes to identifying who we want to be in our own lives. 

They’ve laid out the blueprint for us, and it’s our job to follow it. Dress in what you feel comfortable in, listen to the types of music you want and love the way you want to! At the end of the day you’re the only person who can control who you want to be — not others. 

So maybe I might become goth. Maybe I’ll dress up in all black and get my eyebrows and nose pierced. Maybe I might really like it. 

But what if I don’t? What if I transform myself into this image of what I think is my actual inner expression and am not satisfied with it? That’s OK! Name me one scientist who did their experiment on the first try and it worked — you can’t. Experimentation allows us to find what we actually like and be the best version of ourselves. This is what the goths have done, and we should do the same ourselves. 

The next time you see a goth person on campus or in the mall, don’t give them that stank eye you’re so used to giving them. Appreciate the greatness that’s before you and realize the hard work that’s been done for them to become who they want to be. 

Because it’s easy to realize who you are, but it’s hard to show others your true self — goth people have mastered this and we must do the same.

Joshua Abraham is a kinesiology junior and opinion writer for The Battalion.