Babybats and How Not To Look Like One: Part1

A babybat is what they sometimes call younger or beginner goths in short someone who does not know much about the subculture; although most times it is not meant to be taken as an offense, it usually comes off as derogatory. And for a good reason. Look it up on google, skip the animals, and there you have it. "Babybat" is usually associated with badly done eyeliner, Nightmare Before Christmas shirts and greasy hair; not things one wants people to think of them as having. Converse, cheap fake leather cuffs and collars, and tons of skulls go there too. So, in this series of posts I will try to give tips on how to stay away from looking like a babybat, and, for beginners, never being called one again.

1) Don't read "how to be goth" guides written by non-goths

This is first and foremost: If the author doesn't know what goth is, chances are you won't either after reading their posts. The above image is actually from a tutorial video. Yep, that's a belt around her neck. Don't listen to people who wear belts around their necks! The same goes for YouTube videos and blogs; Look at the author before choosing to trust or not trust the content. Just because someone somewhere said something, doesn't mean it's law.

2)Don't make "rules" for yourself


This is all too common. Upon seeing black is a staple color in the goth subculture, a beginner vows never yo wear any color again, discarding anything else from their wardrobe. Needless to say this does not look right, so the person"rebels" against themselves, wearing rainbow armwarmers or the similar and looking even worse. Remember that there are hundreds of styles to choose from and there is no point to limiting yourself to just one.

3)When asked goth or not, answer honestly


If someone asks you if you are goth, or what style it is that you're dressed in, anmswer honestly. However, don't start telling every passerby that you're goth or bragging about it. Just say yes, I'm goth, or no, I'm not. If you're asked what the subculture is about, briefly explain that it is people who like a certain style of music and want to express that and who they are on the inside by the clothes that they wear. Don't go into long rants about how you're not allowed to shop at Hot Topic and what you think of the latest HIM album. People usually just want to know it in the general sense, so answer more if they ask more.