Sexiness and Gender in Gothic Youth Culture. How do Ideals of Beauty Relate to Gender Roles?

Seminar paper from the year 2014 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 3,0, University of Bamberg (Department of English Culture Studies), course: 150 Years of (Neo-) Gothic: Literature, Architecture, Youth Culture, language: English, abstract: This term paper investigates and explores the Gothic subculture and attempts to bridge the gap between the question of what ideals of beauty and sexual appeal are prevalent in the Gothic scene and how they relate to notions of gender.§§This term paper cannot even begin to cover every layer of the Gothic subculture. But it will give an insight into the most visible, as well as a few invisible, features helping to understand the connection between the Gothic idea of sexiness, beauty and the role of gender. Starting with a clear and brief insight into the emerge of the Gothic subculture and with a cohort introduction into the ideology of the Goth, the term paper continues with explaining the importance of fashion within the Goths' lifestyle and with the essential features of their special to get dressed. The next chapter illustrates the ideas of beauty in regard to being a Goth followed by the exploration how Goths define sexiness and salability in consideration of their dress code and their lifestyle. The term paper finally concludes with the development of gender roles prevalent in the scene.§§This year, the year 2014, is the year of the 250th anniversary of (Neo-) Gothic and Horace Walpole's novel The Castle of Otranto, published in 1764, is seen as the first representative of the Gothic romance. Its main innovation was to arouse opposed emotions such as horror and commiseration. This use of a radical contrast is one of the hallmarks of Gothic: light and dark, good and evil, love, sex and death. 'Gothic' is to be counted to one of those terms that have to be observed more closely because it contains more than at first sight. Gothic is not just black clothes and a depressive attitude. It rather turns out to be really difficult to encompass because it comprises many different aspects: Gothic stands for architecture, for literature and for the special present subculture: the Goths. This term paper does not approach the architectural or literary aspects of Gothic.