What is a counter-culture? A counter-culture is best described as a break off from traditional society or some lifestyle "counter" to that of the mainstream. Examples of Counter-cultures are the Beatniks and Hippies of the 1960's, the Grunge Movement of the late 1990's,(brought to the masses by bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam) and most controversially of all the Gothic subculture.
To understand a subculture beyond the stereotypes, you must first be willing to research it.
Without research, you may come away with a skewed or superficial point of view. Some subcultures are viewed through a microscope. The reason for this "view through a microscope" is that mainstream society may not understand the subcultures and therefore they may fear them.
I am not here to make judgments one way or the other, but I am writing to encourage others to do their own research. According to my research and from talking to various friends for example, I noticed that "Gothic" does not have the same connotations to everyone. The definition is as varied and diverse as the people.
To some Gothic is a lifestyle, to others it's about art, and to still others it may simply be that they are looking for acceptance from their peers, a refuge from what they see as the pressures of a fast paced, often judgmental society. One might ask "If these people are so afraid of being shunned, why can't they just be normal."
To this I will say that "normal" is often a matter of perception. A key example of this is while you might think comic books and video games are a "normal" form of entertainment, there are those that believe comic books and video games are "responsible for the decay of civilization."
I know you may think that's a bit dramatic, but you can understand my point.
I encourage you all, before making judgments or beating down another because they may look or dress or walk or talk differently than you, at least be open-minded enough to find out the reasoning.
I wrote another article called "A Misunderstood Culture" that talks further on this topic.
