Should Goths be allowed to wear what they want without being judged?

No

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by Ruth Woodhouse

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In western society in the 21st century there are very few restrictions to what people can wear. Just about anything goes. You don't even have to look particularly decent. You can wear almost nothing at all and get away with it as long as the minimal essentials are covered. In many cases very little is left to the imagination.

That's not to say that you won't have people casting a critical eye in your direction and making all sorts of judgments of you based on your clothing - or lack thereof. Many of those judgments may not be totally fair. Others are reasonable reactions though.

Many people still have quite high standards of dress. Most people won't have the kind of expectations that our grandparents and even earlier ancestors did. Nobody will be treated as a criminal or even a person of low morality for wearing too little in public. However, people will nonetheless make their personal responses, at least inwardly, to what others are wearing or not wearing.

So it's unavoidable that people who choose to dress in all black - that is in what has become known as the Goth style - will be judged on that choice. A significant percentage of them may be essentially decent, good and kind people for all the rest of us would know. But the image they present to the world is one of a dark, negative outlook on the world. It's not even surprising if people are inclined to associate such a mode of dress with witchcraft or satanic worship. After all, black has always been regarded as a colour of dark and evil spirits.

I well remember once when my husband and I were on holiday interstate and we stopped at a little craft shop along the road. As my husband was sick of looking at craft shops, I went in alone. As soon as I walked in the place gave me the creeps - but when a woman with long black hair and a long black dress appeared from the back of the shop, it really freaked me out. I didn't take the time to see if there was a broomstick and a black cat. I couldn't get out of the place fast enough.

Of course not everybody who wears a long black dress is a witch! But there's no denying that witches have always been associated with wearing all black and having long black hair. Just add a wart or two on the face and a few missing teeth in a creepy grin and most of us wouldn't be hanging around for small talk.

That's not to say that everything that is black is seen as being evil. Far from it! Black can look extremely attractive. Take for example, the classic little black dress, which can look very sexy and stylish on a woman who has a good figure. A man can look very smart and distinguished in a black suit. Black can look fantastic when used to contrast with bright colours too. Black has its place.

But it's only natural that many people are inclined to be suspicious and critical of anybody who chooses to dress in nothing but black all the time. That's unless you're a nun of course! Not that they even necessarily dress in all black any more.

How would it be if we all dressed in nothing but black and wore black face makeup, dyed our hair black, painted our fingernails black, etc? What a depressing, dismal, boring world it would be! We need our world to be full of beautiful colours. For most people it's just not considered to be appropriate or normal to make a determined habit of going all out to wear nothing but black clothing, accessories and makeup.

It's certainly not the only clothing choice that people pass judgment on. There are plenty who also object to things like thong underwear showing above a person's outerwear, midriff tops and low hipster pants being worn in winter - or by people with bulging rolls of fat hanging over the top - what has come to be known as the "muffin top" look.

As somebody with a weight problem I have no doubt there are those who look at me sometimes and think I ought to wear something that flatters my figure a bit more. That's inevitable too. I in turn look at others my size and think, "Goodness gracious! Don't they have any idea what they look like in those shorts! What an eyesore!"

I also can't comprehend people who walk into shopping centres with nothing on their feet - not even so much as a pair of rubber thongs - or flip-flops as they are called in North America. Not only does it give the impression that the person has no sense of what is socially acceptable, but it's downright foolish because they have no idea what they could tread on. As for letting children walk in public places with bare feet, I think that's downright irresponsible in these times when there can be hypodermic needles laying around anywhere.

I also can't comprehend parents who take little girls in particular into shopping centres without even a little top on - or babies without so much as a little singlet even if it's hot. To me that's inappropriate.

We all have our own ideas about what is appropriate and what the way people dress says about them. So of course people who dress in Goth clothing will be judged accordingly. If they don't like it, they just have to "lump it", as my mother would have said.

I don't expect too many of them have people coming up and insulting them verbally for it. That would certainly be unacceptable. However, they may well find that people are inclined to shy away from them and they may pick up body language signs that they are viewed with distaste. That's life! It's human nature.

They may well have to accept it if employers are put off by it too. The fact is that employers do have a right to expect certain standards and conformity to normal and even superior dress code in certain jobs. That has always been the case. Again, standards are generally not as strict as they used to be in many areas anyway.

For instance, my husband works for the government and, whereas he always used to wear a tie, he hardly ever does now. Mostly he wears good trousers to work, but some Fridays he even wears jeans - and he says many others wear jeans a lot of the time. It would certainly be quite uncommon for men to wear a suit to work these days unless they are in a very important position.

Teachers too often wear jeans to work. Even nurses don't wear the traditional nurses' white dress any more. They may be required to wear some kind of uniform but it's much more casual than it used to be.

Standards of dress are generally much more easy-going than they used to be. Nevertheless, people will always receive some kind of appraisal or judgment on what they wear. It's human nature. So if you wear Goth garb and all that goes with it, just accept that the consequences are you will find a considerable number of people who judge you accordingly. As the old saying expresses such facts of life: "Them's the breaks!"

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