literature

Goth—in Literature, Rock, and Subculture

August 20, 2023

Dark, gloomy, with a dash of horror. That is how Goth literature is mostly described. Looking back, Goth gave the stage to medieval women writers challenging the norms of the day. Centuries later, Goth grew into a subculture in the music genre, the fashion world, and as a way of life that represents nonconformity. This element of nonconformity in Goth, often romanticized as being dark feminine energy, has continued to evolve to this day in pop culture, in clubs, in the life lived by today’s Goth generation.

As a literary genre, Goth came out of the post-Romanticism era in medieval England. Some say it is a subgenre of Dark Romanticism. Classic Goth features dark romance with a damsel in distress in a remote, gloomy castle in the mountains, waiting to be rescued.

If we take a look at what, or rather who, the term Goth referred to, we will see that it referred to a Germanic tribe which were responsible for the fall of Western Rome. The ancient Goths, called the barbarians by the Romans, invaded Rome and weakened Roman culture. Their kingdoms rose after the demise of the Western Roman Empire. The two branches of the tribe, the Visigoth and Ostrogoth, where its people were believed to have originated from Scandinavia, paved the way for the rise of medieval Europe while spreading Goth culture. The term Goth was then generally used to describe a style of medieval architecture that was popular in the 12th to 16th centuries. The castles typically featured masonry pointed arches and stained-glass windows—the epitome of Goth architecture.

So how did this medieval genre with its signature chivalry trope turn into a subculture of rebellion and nonconformity?

The medieval setting in literature characterized by remote castles, mystery, and terror with romantic overtones were known as Goth because of its association with medieval architectural type of settings. The first novel to be called gothic was one given such name by the author himself. Horace Walpole’s Castle of Otranto, published in 1764 was the first gothic novel, where he used the subtitle, “A Gothic Story.” He used the term to describe something barbarous and medieval. Other novels following this style of dark and medieval setting with the damsel in distress trope have since been labeled Gothic.

So how did this medieval genre with its signature chivalry trope turn into a subculture of rebellion and nonconformity?

Although it is one of the most classic forms of patriarchy in literature, Goth in fact gave rise to women writers and more women readers. The genre emerged at a time when women’s literacy in England was on the rise as well as the educated middle-class. Women began to write and more were reading. Ann Radcliffe is considered to be the first Goth female writer; her first novel, The Castles of Athlin and Dubnayne (1789), was written anonymously. Then she rose to fame and fortune with four more novels during her lifetime. This was an important moment in history as it was around the time Mary Wollstonecraft published A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792). Although Radcliffe's writing still leaned towards the patriarchal values of the time, over the years, Goth evolved as more women authors began to create less traditional female characters and thus began the conversation of patriarchal oppression and social change.

Radcliffe herself bore the label of being anti-Catholic because her novel The Italian (1797) portrayed elements of Catholicism negatively. Later female Goth authors, such as Louisa May Alcott, Charlotte Bronte, Emily Bronte, and Mary Shelley would challenge gender roles and raise issues concerning subjugation, class, and female autonomy through their female characters.

Siouxsie Sioux (Pinterest)

Centuries later, in the music scene, Goth rock became a genre that embraces this attitude of dark fearlessness. This genre is marked by its poetic lyrics that romanticize darkness with themes of nihilism, sadness, pain, and death presented by haunting vocals, heavy basslines, and distorted melodies with an ambience of gloom. Well, of course this is a generalized description, however, the dark music and style of Siouxsie and the Banshees and the Cocteau Twins are often used as typical examples of Goth music and fashion, whether the bands like it or not.

Gothic rock emerged during the post-Punk era in late 70s Britain with Joy Division and Bauhaus considered as pioneers. The genre flourished throughout the 80s, and then further evolved in the 90s and 2000s. To go with the music, Gothic fashion reflected the dark mood with its trademark black attire, dark hair and makeup, and often androgynous appearance. However, dark eye makeup aside, Nico (German singer-songwriter, once of the Velvet Underground) with her proto-Goth sound is the godmother of Goth rock.

Women found their voice through Goth literature in 18th century England and women authors used it as a means to express critique of the society they lived in. Because of the famous Gothic women writers and their nonconforming narratives, Goth is associated with women’s equality and modern-day feminism. Fans of Gothic novels will find a somewhat wide range of this literature penned by female authors today.

Interestingly, centuries after the emergence of female-penned classic Goth literature, out of Goth rock emerged a new female image of feminine rebellion and empowerment. Earlier, the punk era saw more women playing in bands. However, during post-Punk, we saw the rise of a few female icons in Goth rock, like Siouxsie herself, and they were definitely no damsel in distress.

Goth is not just a literary or music genre or even fashion trend.

Fashion-wise, Goth faded in the 90s but like the cycle of fashion that repeats itself, Goth has re-emerged—sometimes called Neo-Goth for ditching the black dress code—but still maintains the dark feminine energy that fuels Goth-girl power. Examples are in today’s popular TV series, such as Wednesday, or Goth clubs in different parts of the world.

Goth is not just a literary or music genre or even fashion trend, although it may be for some. Goth actually represents a way of life that is, according to its followers, founded on equality and values outside established norms. Today’s Goth generation tries to live a life of freethinking and sexual freedom founded on a gender egalitarianism which was considered lacking in previous subcultures. Although today’s Goth subculture is post-feminist, it nevertheless faces the struggle of achieving inclusivity and ousting heterosexist norms. The revolution goes on!

-Some Thoughts from the Cappuccino Girl- (2023)

#Goth #Gothrock #Gothfashion #music #feminism #gender #subculture #counterculture #literature

You might be interested to read: Who Were the Mods? Modernism and Paris After the War Check out my other blog, Some Thoughts from the Cappuccino Girl for topics on gender and history.

Top Image: Rob Oo (Wikimedia)

Sources:

Darya (2018) ‘What the Hell Is Goth Music? Brief History of Goth Rock.’ Miss Mephistopheles. https://missmephistopheles.wordpress.com/2018/07/20/where-the-hell-did-goth-music-come-from-and-what-the-hell-is-it-the-history-of-goth-rock/ (Accessed 19 July 2023).

Jarus, Owen (2022) livescience.com. https://www.livescience.com/45948-ancient-goths.html (Accessed 19 July 2023).

Ledoux, Ellen (n.d.) ‘The Female Gothic: From the Second-Wave to Post-Feminism.’ Atmostfear Entertainment. https://www.atmostfear-entertainment.com/literature/books/female-gothic-second-wave-post-feminism/ (Accessed 20 August 2023).

Wilkins, Amy C. (2004) '“So Full of Myself as a Chick”: Goth Women, Sexual Independence, and Gender.' Gender and Society, Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 328–349. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4149405 (Accessed 19 August 2023).

Mrs. Robinson, Countercultures, and Politics

December 12, 2021

“Mrs. Robinson, you’re trying to seduce me.” That is one of the most famous lines from Hollywood’s classic, The Graduate (1967). Through Benjamin’s (Dustin Hoffman) relationship with Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft)—a young fresh graduate with a bored middle-aged, middle-class housewife turned seductress—the movie tells a story of a noteworthy period in American history.

Following the postwar economic boom and increase in population, in the 1950s young middle-class couples moved from the overcrowded cities to new housing areas in the suburbs. These homes, equipped with new efficient home appliances, particularly in their kitchen design, were dubbed the “typical American house”. In 1959, Nixon once tried to enlighten Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev about the dishwashers directly installed in these houses. Nixon claims, “In America, we like to make life easier for women.”

It was during this Cold War period that the ideal white middle-class American family consisting of children, a male breadwinner and housewife was part of a political propaganda. In the US Cold War propaganda abroad, gender ideology played an important role to establish capitalism’s success over communism through the image of the Western middle-class, breadwinner-housewife nuclear family.

In fact, in the 1950s, the term middle-class Americans was more of a political term rather than an economic term, as political scholars have pointed out. The term was used to refer to an American identity associated with a set of values, a specific lifestyle, taste, and culture. This was marked by the rise of a consumer culture and a culture of conformity. It was against this setting that counterculture movements began to emerge.

The counterculture movements criticized the establishment, class divisions, education, gender norms, as well as the family and marriage institutions. The movements' dissatisfaction with American society is reflected in The Graduate through Ben’s journey to leave his dull privileged-life and break free from society’s conventions.

The story line reflected the hypocrisy of the privileged life in the comfortable suburban homes, which confined women to domesticity. In her research published in her book The Feminine Mystique (1963), Betty Friedan revealed that behind the doors of many seemingly happy suburban homes, lived an unhappy educated housewife who was discontent with domestic life. As much as the counterculture movements, such as the Beat and hippie movements, appear to offer a kind of sexual revolution—women—as disclosed in Beat women’s memoirs, remained as sexual objects and domestic creatures.

It was not only traditional values that encouraged women to primary be domestic beings, but it was also the politics of the day. For example, political issues surrounding childcare in the US had a significant contribution to the domesticity of women. During the Second World War, women were mobilized to work due to the urgent need of fulfilling war production. To encourage and enable women to join the workforce, the government provided quality federal-funded daycare. When the war ended and women were expected to return home to make way for male employment, the daycare initiative ended, despite considerable opposition from many women.

When the need for federal-funded collective childcare was raised again in the 1960s and ‘70s, it continued to face objection, in part, because the Cold War foes use such a system, so it was deemed incompatible with American values. Nixon vetoed the Comprehensive Child Development Act of 1971 arguing that it would “commit the vast moral authority of the National Government to the side of communal approaches to child rearing over against the family-centered approach.” Thus, childcare was and is still treated as an issue for individual families—particularly the women—to cope with, rather than an economic investment that will empower women and their families. Not surprisingly, to date, the US has no adequate childcare infrastructure intact, a problem which has been further exacerbated by the pandemic.

However, as with the politics of the Cold War era, male-dominated countercultures which emerged at the time too did not want to deal with any issues that might disrupt the gender power structure too much at their inconvenience. In terms of gender equality, changes were slow. As we see, after Mrs. Robinson’s liaison with Ben, she comes back to the comfort of her suburban home, behind the doors of the domesticity that define her.

-Some Thoughts from the Cappuccino Girl- (2021)

#ColdWar #counterculture #US #childcare #WorldWar2 #gender #history #literature #films #cinema #class

More on The Graduate https://feministpassion.blogspot.com/2021/11/the-graduate-and-middleman.html More on US wartime childcare https://feministpassion.blogspot.com/2021/09/war-politics-and-childcare-in-us.html More on countercultures https://feministpassion.blogspot.com/2017/07/flapper-queens-beats-mods-and-punk.html

Sources

Dratch, Howard (1974). The Politics of Child Care in the 1940s. Science & Society, 38(2): 167–204. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40401779 (Accessed 25 July 2021).

Friedan, Betty (1973) ‘Up from the Kitchen Floor.’ NY Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1973/03/04/archives/up-from-the-kitchen-floor-kitchen-floor.html (Accessed August 22, 2020).

Krasner, Barbara (2014) ‘The Nuclear Family and Cold War Culture of the 1950s.’ Academia. https://www.academia.edu/9926751/The_Nuclear_Family_and_Cold_War_Culture_of_the_1950s (Accessed December 21, 2019).

Maragou, Helena (2015) Lawrence R. Samuel, The American Middle Class: A Cultural History. Review https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/10458 (Accessed 14 November 2021).

Punch, David A. (2018) The Graduate: Symbolism in Film. https://medium.com/@DavidA.Punch/the-graduate-symbolism-in-film-a549ef9882c0 (Accessed 21 November 2021).

The Kitchen Debate-transcript 24 July 959 Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev U.S. Embassy, Moscow, Soviet Union. https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/1959-07-24.pdf (Accessed August 16, 2020).

Modernism and Paris After the War

October 9, 2021

The moral devastation experienced by the US after the Great War led the country to the quest of achieving a new stability. This was sought through regaining economic strength and retaining traditional values. It was during this aftermath that many American modernist writers, in search of a safe haven, emigrated to Europe. Many settled in Paris, finding the freedom that could release them from the disillusionment caused by the war.

For many years Paris was home to American modernist writers, poets, and artists during an era of postwar recovery and prefascist political power. These writers were then known as “the Lost Generation”—those who due to the war had lost their faith in the government, God, and the American dream.

Even with the economic and social independence that American women gained in the roaring '20s, the literary and art scene still offered less freedom to women. This led many American female writers and artists to join the emigration to France in the 1920s and '30s. Among these women were Gertrude Stein, Djuna Barnes, Solita Solano, and Thelma Wood, just to name a few. However, “the Lost Generation”, a term first coined by Stein, remained associated mainly with male writers, such as Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald—the major heroes of this generation.

In the 1920s and 30s, Paris had inspired women modernist writers and artists as the city gave them freedom to live an alternative lifestyle to that of the conservative postwar American society. These Parisian women, who led the unmarried, bohemian, and bisexual lifestyle, were later dubbed the “Left Bank women writers”, as they famously resided in this part of Paris. Their work and lifestyle quickly became a subculture within the male dominated literary and art community of American modernists.

The Left Bank women writers were less acknowledged in modernist literature than their male peers. They were eventually recognized but labeled as “women writers” or “lesbian writers”. Some writers find this separate category of recognition as derogatory. Barnes, who is well-known for her classic novel, Nightwood (1936) which was influenced by her relationship with Wood, once said, “I hate women writers!” and wanted to disassociate her work from this label. The category had emerged owing to the absence of white heterosexual male bias (albeit still predominantly white) in the works of Left Bank women writers. Despite this, arguably, the category may have kept the work of Left Bank women writers at the margins of the modernist literary movement.

The male comrades of the Lost Generation emerged from a state of cultural changes and turbulent times. Even though breaking with traditional literary conventions, they were often criticized for preserving a predominantly masculine culture; thus, contributing to modernism’s marginalization of women.

Photo: Solita Solano and Djuna Barnes in a Paris cafe around 1922 (Maurice Brange)

-Some Thoughts from the Cappuccino Girl- (2021)

#literature #Worldwar1 #womenwriters #lostgeneration #history #US #Paris #gender #women #subculture #counterculture

If you are interested in this topic, you might like to read: Unsung Women Writers of the Postwar Era https://feministpassion.blogspot.com/2019/03/unsung-women-writers-of-postwar-era.html

The Writers’ Gender Gap: True or False?

September 18, 2021

Do you think that there is a gender gap in the publishing industry? Just by reading a few sources off the internet, I found women writers claiming that they get more responses from publishers when using a male pseudonym, suggesting that the publishing industry and society in general do not take women writers seriously.

Not that women never had a prominent position in literature; if you look back, some of the earliest poets in history were women. Consider Akkadian/Sumerian poet and high priestess, Enheduanna (2285–2250 BCE), who—historians generally agree—is the first female poet, if not the first in the world. And of course we all have heard of the famous Ancient Greek poet Sappho (c. 610–c.570 BCE). Another female poet, Al-Khansa (575 to–645), was said to be the greatest Arabian poet of her time.

Other female writers over the course of history include 11th century Japanese novelist Murasaki Shikibu, Byzantine 12th century author and historian Anna Comnena, and Italian-French Christine de Pizan—the first professional female writer of the late 14th century. However, like the female poets who came before them, these women were from affluent circles or have a strong connection to them.

Even though the 18th and 19th century saw the presence of some notable women writers, such as Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters, many women still chose to write anonymously or under a male pseudonym. There were women reformers who were avid writers and who were getting published, such as English philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft, and later, American novelist and lecturer Charlotte Perkins Gillman. But generally speaking, the fact that most women writers tend to hide behind male or gender neutral pseudonyms indicates that it was harder for women to be accepted as authors.

The Victorian Era, with its ideology of separate sphere, contributed much to the challenge women writers face as women writers were, well… considered silly, because men (even those who were ruled by a queen) thought women lacked intellectual capacity. However, the use of pseudonyms was instrumental for women writers to gain entrance to the publishing industry. Anonymity also made it possible for women to contribute to quarterlies on conventionally male subjects such as politics and economics, while female novelists can write without being confined to the feminine literary tradition. Nonetheless, the double standard did rule. Tuchman and Fortin’s 1989 analysis of the Macmillan publishing archive from 1867 to 1917, tells us that men enjoyed higher acceptance rate and that by the 1880’s, women were being paid less (Alexis Easley in Linda H. Peterson, 2015).

It is interesting to know that even today female students and academic writers have confidence issues as they struggle in a male dominated academic world. The “confidence gap” is experienced by many professional women, according to The Atlantic (2017). I also once read that JK Rowling was told by her publisher to use her initials because boys wouldn’t read fiction written by women. Similar to what women in the academic field face, the female writer experience of harder acceptance may be a result of a gender gap that has long existed in society.

I’ve heard some say that the issue is not of any discrimination of some sort, but just the fact that there are less talented women writers. Even if this is true, we will have to ask why and any sufficient answer would need to look at issues in the education system as well as gender socialization and stereotyping. But then again, you will have to admit that some forms of sexual discrimination are just so subtle and difficult to prove even if you know that they truly exist. This may be the case with the writers’ gender gap. Just saying.

-Some Thoughts from the Cappuccino Girl- (2019)

#writing #gender #women #womenwriters #literature #womensliterature