The Goth cliques in teens are collective reactions to what they see around them. Think back to Gothic/Victorian social values--very, very conservative, but with an appalling, disturbing sexual undertone that everyone repressed (publicly). I would say that some teens use it as an attention-getting approach, but only a small percentage who dress this way. Many of these goth teens see this same social pattern in every day American life. Particularly in the South and Midwest, where social values are still (externally) conservative. i.e. the preacher's daughter is 13 and sexually active, but you would never bring it to her father's attention, because, well, "it would give off a bad appearance." In a society where we collectively sweep everything under the rug that doesn't fit the current "spectrum" of republicans to democrat (center-right to center-left), the "goth attitude" is one of mocking. Americans just say "nice things" in public, we don't believe them or really talk about them seriously with our families. We don't talk about death, we don't talk about sex, etc.... My understanding (I was never into goth at all) is that most of the goth kids are more entranced by the morbidity and overstated hypocrisy of Victorianism, than they are little kids wanting to get attention from their peers by wearing black lipstick.
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