alternatives

The only problem with labels is that there is much variation in the actual definition. Ask 10 different people "What is goth?" And you will get a variety of answers based on different experiences and age. In the 80's someone may have said someone with messy dyed black hair and listens to The Cure, Bahaus (sp?), Siusie and the Banshees and wears all black. In the late 90's it tended to be defined as someone with long black hair, Tripp bondage pants, spiked collar and listens to Marilyn Manson and NIN. What people define as goth now, I have no idea. But you see what I mean, subcultures end up being defined by how the mojority percieve them. I would define myself as a mix of goth/industrial/metalhead. Since I'm more inline with the 90's percieved goth style than the more original 80's truer goth.

I think now that emo and goth tends to be lumped together even though emo started out as an ofshoot of punk with an adopted style that usually didn't look goth at all but then I think it morphed a bit over a decade ago and they got lumped together so emo is the new goth.

Of course there is also cybergoth which is probably an offshoot of Industrial with a mix of club/rave style thrown in. Probably one of my favorite fashion aesthetics after Visual Kei.

Yeah labels do tend to have mixed views. For example the label hipster has been shunned by so many as a typical person who has glasses and a fancy facial hair style who goes around and picks out all of the hot things for them. Then picks apart at everybody else. However if you go by more minority views the hipster can be seen as a person who simply likes difference and has no particular one style. In the end this is what I feel stereotypes are bad. They make illogical assumptions about a person and try to define that person into a niche rather then letting them speak for themselves. This can also be used as a scapegoat for a person in that niche. For example if somebody calls a person a nerd for being anti social they would imply that group and niche is anti social. Thus labeling anybody who has remotely any similarities as a nerd to be antisocial. Which isnt true there are plenty of extrovert and more social nerds out there. In this sense the person could then feel like im not alone because my fellow nerds are all antisocial too. Even though it was just him personally that was antisocial.

I last dyed my hair red because i watched Seikon no Qwaser and wanted to look somewhat like Mafayu but now i question whether or not to dye it back to black, because the bleach is killing my scalp, as far as the label thing goes,im finding the steampunk style looking very kawaii, yet still attached to my punk rock/ emo look ;)