So, just what are we talking about?

[Occhidiangela]

Can you tell me where and when this modern "Goth" fad started? My exposure to it has been small, and I will quite frankly tell you I find the posturing lame, trite, and neurotic, however, my father likewise found some things I did regarding long hair, rock music, and playing adventure games to be completely pointless. My perspective is thus not impartial.

Whence came the modern, secular Goth, and why?

EDIT: Looks like I have a slight answer: From Some Stuff about Goths

The words Goth and Gothic have had many, largely unrelated meanings:  the name of the Germanic Visigoth tribes that overthrew the Roman Empire. From this source arose the concept of a Goth as an uncivilized person, a barbarian. 4
a style of architecture in Western Europe which was popular from the 12th to the 16th century.
a style of horror/mystery literature that is dark, eerie and gloomy.

Goth, as a modern movement, started as one component of the punk rock scene. As the latter faded, Goth survived by creating its own subculture.   The first use of the term Goth in its present meaning was on a British Broadcasting Commission (BBC) TV program. Anthony H. Wilson, manager of Joy Division described the band as Gothic compared with the pop mainstream. The name stuck.

Their use of black clothing was originally "something of a backlash to the colorful disco music of the seventies." 5 It also stuck.

The movement first became established in the Batcave, a nightclub in London, England, in the early 1980's. 3
Spreading to the U.S., it first became popular in California.  Goth is featured in The Crow horror movies (1994, 1996). Other Gothic movies are the original Nosferatu, the color remake Nosferatu the Vampyre, and the Cabinet of Doctor Caligari.   Popular music bands are the Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Sisters of Mercy, Dead Can Dance, and many others.

Goths, historically, were a people who migrated into Europe from somewhere north of the Caucasus. IIRC, old Gothic, the language, is related to Old German but not to Old Norse. Gothic architecture was heavy duty stuff in the Middle Ages. The modern face painting and whining Gothic behaviour seems tied somewhat to the Vampiric theme, which is also related to various Christian motifs of the Middle ages and later in the Victorian era. (Vlad the Impaler was hardly a Vampire, he was a typically brutal feudal lord.)

I realize that you have taken some cheap shots in your day in re your chosen motif, perhaps your personal explanation can shed some light on it for this old fart.

Care to share, or would you rather PM?

Occhi