I have noticed something that disturbs me

[celtic_faerie]

GilAskan

You have had an encounter with mallcore, or more accurately, mallgoths.

99.9% of teens who claim to be goth are, in fact, mallcore or mallgoths.

GilAskan

Mallgoth (n., adj.):

1. (n.) A member of the mallcore who falsely associates themselves with the goth culture
2. (adj.) Describing a mallgoth or things liked by them.

Mallgoths tend to [note: these are characteristics that mallgoths tend to have, but having one or many of these traits does not essentially make you a mallgoth]:

-Wear almost nothing but Hot Topic Clothes
-Wear Tripp Bondage Pants
-Wear ridiculous amounts of wrist-bands
-Wear ONLY black
-Write in black sharpie words like "death" and "pain" over any white area of clothing
-Try to get attention, but claim they aren't [trying to get attention]
-Claim to be goth, but don't actually know what goth is
-Are angsty
-Claim to be "More goth"
-Instantly hate anyone who isn't mallcore
-Claim to be artistically inclined, though, typically only say this to fit in with the art crowd
-Claim to be against labels, but use labels themselves
-Spend a lot of time at the mall, annoying people or wasting time
-Purposefully scare non-goths
-Call members of the real goth culture "posers"
-Listen to bands such as (but not limited to): Marilyn Manson, Evanescence, koRn, Slipknot, My Chemical Romance, Aiden, Cradle of Filth, and AFI
-Regularly wear band logo shirts
-Wear shirts that say "I'm a Goth" or "GOTH"
-Wear too much make-up, typically which is over exaggerated
-Are undyingly obsessed with Marilyn Manson, Gerard Way, Dany Filth, or such other figures
-Are pointlessly rebellious (i.e. against ANYTHING that's AT ALL popular)
-Claim to be bisexual (but tend to be straight, only claiming to be bisexual for attention)
-Wear too much jewelry, which tends to be low quality

These are some common traits.

Other terms for mallgoths:

Mallcore (more broad term, including mallcore-emo and mallcore-punk)
Gloomcookie (mallgoth which wears Hot Topic or such brand clothes exclusively; see picture in second post)
Doomcookie (mallgoth who wears too much makeup, typically in the style of Cradle of Filth members, Marilyn Manson, or the Crow)
M&M (see "Mansonite")
Skingoth (vain teenagers obsessed singularly with the goth image)
Kindergoth (immature teenagers who choose to be "goth" in an vain attempt to rebel)
Mansonite (term specifically referring to mallgoth who are obsessed with Marilyn Manson)
Gruftie (German slang for what we now know as mallgoth; originally referred to legitimate goths, but the actual word "goth" grew more popular)
Cucaracha (Spanish slang for mallgoths)
Nos (French slang for mallgoth, short for "Nosferatu". A shirt with the word "Nosferatu" grew very popular amongst french mallgoths)

If you're still in high-school, I have even my doubts about whether or not the people you have met are goths. Some schools will, on occassion, have a small group of legitimate goths, but it's not widely common.

The goth culture has stayed pretty solid in it's 27 years on this planet, but the mallgoth population is rapidly growing. Many teenagers (now with Hot Topic making such fashions and styles accessible) try to fit the goth style as a way to rebel, or because they want to be unique, however, the majority of them have no idea what the real goth culture consists of.

i love evanescence, MCR, Marilyn Manson, NIN, and many other bands that would be considered mallgoth, and am currently obsessed with trent reznor^^i love black, lots of arm bands, bondage pants, victorian clothing, especially corsets^^, i wear low-quality jewelry(but then again, i'm poor, so don't ding me for this one), i love to scare people, but not because they aren't "goth," just becuase it's fun to scare people. i am bi, am an artsy-kid, sometimes angsty(especially when stupid people are all around me) and am still in high school.

does this make me a mallgoth?

before you make up your mind, let me say this:

i have a 148 IQ, i scored a 1225 on my SATs, and a 92(out of 99) on my ASVAB. i am highly intelligent and wear more than just black. in fact i am currently wearing a pink dress(i generally hate pink, but it's pretty, and it's my parents' anniversary, so i thought i'd be nice and wear something nice ^^)

just because someone answers yes to a few of these doesn't make them a poser.  

[Love.Your.Hate.]

i hope i'm not mallgoth. i fall under some of those. for the msuic part, for instance, i listen to korn, afi, slipknot, and my chemical romance. they are my favs.  

[Acid_Tape]

i may only be 13 but im glad that i only fit into only like 2 of those descriptions...many of the people who claim to be goth at my school are actually skaters or emo...and i only have 1 pair of pants from Hot Topic...and i don't like going to the mall...too many people, but i do kind of do it for individuality (even though i know thats not exactly whats it for)...but there arent many at my school and im the most "classified" goth at my school, and i barely listen to Marilyn Manson, AFI, and Slipknot i'd rather stick by Nightwish man...just to tell you guys domokun ninja  

[darkrock64]

what about goths like me that dont have much black clothing and heaveling express too much rage are they or should i say does that make me mallgoth or do i just have a rage problem and lack of clothing choice? sweatdrop
i listen to linkin park abit of green day and some static X but mostly linkin park.
i also hate being around any group of people tat i dont know which kinda makes me anti-social sweatdrop
most of the time i have no emotions on my face id rather hide them for personal reasons.
im also a wiccan.
so basicly im a wiccan/punk and hopefuly goth.
if im not a goth then please tell me  

[Alliecat]

In my opinion, everyone is a poser because in someone elses eyes, there will be someone who doesn't fit their 'standard' of what a goth should be. And if most of the Goths I've met at clubs (Barcode, Death Guild, TraumaX, Etc)
are 'real goths', then I pride myself in being whatever they would want to call me because I find them usually incredibly stupid, or attention whores, or incredibly Vain.

You must also remember, not just in highschool, but for the rest of your life, you will find that half the population is just plain stupid. It goes for any labeled group or just group of people.  

[darkrock64]

true and its the reason that ive gained the reputation in my area as a self styled and potentioly dangerous loner lol i hate being around people face to face but i find goths are the only sane and intelegent people left in the world.. well most of em anyway and you guys are on the intelegent list. 3nodding  

[XxBelovedxSoubixX]

Omega_Dragoon_Wolff

I don't know if anyone else accross the country has noticed this, but something that is greatly disturbing me here.

When I first entered High School, 2 yrs ago, the goths, to me, seemed to be ordinary people who dress darker and intelctuals. Now I don't consider myself a full goth (you may ask why I'm here) but I got along with the ones in the schools because I could give an inteligent conversation.

At the beginning of this school year I noticed that the freashmen and transfer students who dub themselfs goth, seem to have nothing between they're ears. But there is the occasional one who seem to fit the bill of goth, at least to the school's goth population standard (maybe thats a bad term).

Now tell me this, is there an ebb and flow to the goth culture, or is it that kids who don't know anything trying to expand into territory that makes them look cool.

this stuped(not as in school wise but she can't say anything that gives me a reson not to think she's stuped) girl at my school who stalks me this year she ware's all black becuase she's copying me and my friend. she thinks she's being cool but she can never just do her own thing. she always has to copy someone.  

[XxBelovedxSoubixX]

alot of people call me goth cuase of my personalty, sorry can't spell werth crap, and becuase I'm "diffrent" to them( what ever that means ) and my hate for stuped people( not people who are not good in school but people who are annoying and can't be them self, always having to copy something ), and becuase I read alot. I don't constder myself goth. I mite "acked" like one( what ever that means OH I READ that makes me a goth) but I don't think I am. I like black and all things dark but I don't think you can just decide your goth one day when you wake up.  

[Oterys]

I don't worry too much about what people call me anymore. Some might say Im goth, some might say Im just morbid, since I don't really fit into most people's stereotypes and never really felt the need to. It doesnt matter to me, really, I'm just what and who I am, and all that matters is that I am comfortable with that. But I've seen mallgoths and they make me acutely uncomfortable...  

[Freedom Fire]

I don't go around saying "I'm goth," since I don't fully fit the stereotype. In general, since I don't really fit any stereotype, I don't like to label myself. I shop at Hot Topic, I wear band t-shirts, I listen to rock (punk, alternative, classic rock . . . rock operas); some of my clothing is gothic, some of it is punk, I tend to be rebellious and I'm extremely liberal - I guess I'm really just alternative.