by Melissa Washington

Created on: August 07, 2009

As a teen in the late 80's/early 90's, I was Goth before there was even a term for it. (Ok, maybe there was a term, but I was unaware of it at the time.) Everything I wore was black. If I went into a clothing store, I didn't even look at anything that wasn't black. I wore lots of silver jewelry, such as huge ankhs, crucifixes, and silver rings on every finger.

I kept piercing my ears until I had six holes in one ear and four in the other. (This was the pre-body piercing era and I later got my eyebrow, tongue, nose and belly button pierced and a couple of tattoos.) I also had natural four inch long nails that I painted black. To top it off, I wore lots of black eyeliner and blood-red lipstick and sometimes even black lipstick.

Why did I dress like this? For many reasons. I admit that I had some depression back then and sometimes I was outwardly expressing the pain I was feeling on the inside. Other times, it was just because I thought it looked cool. I liked being different and I didn't want to look like everybody else.

Some people didn't understand me and assumed the worse about me, but I wasn't a devil worshiper, on the contrary, I actually went to a Baptist church back then. (Of course, I toned down my look on Sundays!) I was also a good student who was studying Spanish and French at the same time and getting A's in both.

Goths may seem "weird" to some people, but they are the ones who are open-minded and confident enough to be themselves. It's unfair to judge another human being by appearances alone regardless of the reason, whether because of being Goth, being Asian, being short, or whatever. I could easily come up with a number of stereotypes for straight-laced, average Joe types, but I choose to judge people individually and only after I have met them.

Being Goth is no different than being a Preppy, a Hip Hopper, or a Metalhead. It could be just a look or a devotion to a whole subculture. In any case, no one has the right to dictate how another person should and shouldn't look. Last time I checked, we still had freedom of expression in America.

We teach our kids that it's wrong to judge a person by race or looks and such, so why is it ok to judge Goths in a negative light without really knowing them?

I am an adult now and I am no longer Goth. I hide my tattoos and piercings when I am working in an office and I've grown into a hard-working, productive adult. The young Goths may change one day or maybe they won't, but at the end of the day they will be happy for choosing to be themselves and not bowing down to the pressure to be "normal".

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