Anatomy of a Goth Dance Floor

Observations from the least goth person you'll ever meet

Over the past nine months, I have been to three goth… parties.  Club nights?  Festivals?  Places where goths hang out, get together, and dance.  I myself am not a goth and could not be mistaken for one, but I do own a corset - so if I wear that and a black dress and a positive attitude, I find that the goths will allow me to join and observe.

And I quite like them!  I find goths tend to be an accepting sort, and are quite amenable to talking to strangers, especially compared to some of the other dance floors I’ve been a part of.

There are three predominant archetypes that I regularly see at goth clubs, that I don’t really notice anywhere else:

First are the teenagers, the baby goths.  Very young, very awkward.  They’re not dressed as goths as much as they are… TikTok’s idea of a goth.  They uniformly have very elaborate outfits and makeup, and I’m sure they look great in photos, but they’re stiff and scared on the dance floor, if they’re dancing at all.  I find myself cheering for them - c’mon, dance!  It’s fun!  But even if they don’t dance, that’s okay. Just showing up makes them braver than I was at their age.  

On the opposite end of the spectrum are the old-school goths.  Their outfits feel less like a costume and more what they wear in their day to day. The men may wear some eyeliner, a black tee shirt, and a leather jacket, and the women will wear a short black dress and black lipstick (but not much more than that).  And props to them, when these guys dance, they dance.  They’ll flail their limbs any which way, in a style of dancing that seems unique to these scenes.  It’s fascinating to watch.  But when they don’t dance, they’ll stand back.  Like, the teenagers will go onto the dance floor and not dance - the older goths will hang out at the bar and watch if they’re not feeling it.

The third are… alright.  So.  The kinky people, I guess is the best way to describe it...  Always a couple, never alone, and uh… to be a bit harsh, I wouldn’t describe these couples as… the most attractive on the dance floor.  Lots of leather, strappy harnesses, and lots of like… possessive dancing, I’ll say.  Like, I’ll see a man wrapping his hand around a woman’s throat.  Or in its more extreme form, I’ll see one person leading another around on a leash.   Now that I think about it, I’ve never actually seen a couple having sex at one of these goth nights, although I feel fairly confident saying it does happen.

And like, I get it, to some extent.  Goth clubs are sexy!  The music is hypnotizing, the lights put you in a trance, everyone around you is wearing leather and showing off their bodies, and the combined effect means you just want to make out with someone.  I’m admittedly a prude, but I always feel the need to avert my eyes from people who are making that vibe explicit, like, get a room!

And where am I in all of this?  Well, I’m holding down the dance floor, with… usually a smaller group of dedicated twentysomething boogie-ers.  I love when I have space to dance at a goth club, and I can generally find it. I love just closing my eyes and feeling the music run through my body. I usually get unsolicited compliments, which is crazy to me given (what I perceive to be) my visible outsider status.  Usually on my vibe, or my outfit, or sometimes my hair.  And I love that!  Rarely do I get compliments at clubs. 

It’s an interesting vibe, and between the friendliness of the people and the trance-like state that the music puts me in, I have more than enough reasons to keep going to goth parties.