with a hip

Hello ^^

As it appears, I am currently staying in the midwest. The good ole heartland.

Why?

Well, the boyfriend lives out here (he is moving with me back to Cali) but for now we are enjoying some downtime in the expanses of greenery until we have to migrate back to the urban sprawl of the desolate and cluttered Los Angeles.

I've been searching for apartments all this morning and with our almost questionable plans it looks like for at least half the year we may be staying in a studio. Which means no parties. What does this have to do with goth? Well, nothing if you press.

However while staying out here, I have been trying to rock my gothling wardrobe without eliciting too many stares from the locals.

Of course, there are many small town goths who make perfect good use of their enviroment and I have been one of them. It occurs to me though, that California lends itself particularly well to goths. Not so much for the heartland, despite the idea that I have while staying here that it is *precisely* this enviroment that lends itself to many goths who flock to California the first chance they get. One pirouette through the malls and finding a goth wardrobe is likely to be daunting. I still have yet to hit the thrift stores.

So, inasmuch as being a goth is enough for a stare, a black goth in the heartland? Well, well, well aren't you just setting up for an investigation? I do receive plenty of stares for my multi-colored hair, but I have made some edits to the wardrobe you don't want to scare the people at the local Baskin Robins with your six inch Demonia boots and Christian Death Shirt in the vestige of the christian heartland. It's just not that smart of an idea unless you're ornery.

I am enjoying the midwest, but I do miss california in all it's darkened sunshine glory.

Army of you and me.

Hey everyone ;)

I'm baack. For reals this time. I took a very long hiatus over the course since the blog started, basically finishing up some courses at my school, moving, starting a relationship, and becoming an goth model.

That's right, a goth model.

The decision came to when basically I noticed a lack of goth models of color and I felt like I had a good go at it. I have done some shoots...and Im still a bit hesistant as if I should link this blog with my modeling pursuits....I mean a model who posts angry stuff? Unheard of. But maybe, I'll await to see if that is something worth doing. But when I started modeling I was immediately swept into genres that weren't really me, but I have decided to come full circle and do goth/alt/whateverthefuck I feel like. I mean if you are going to do something, then do what you feel in your heart you should do. Do it honestly.

It has not been easy, and partially because people don't know what to do with a black goth model. Now, I want to be a smart ass and say "well, ahem.....take their fucking picture" :D

But I do enjoy modeling, because I enjoy creating images and getting done up and all that. I mean, I don't know too many goths that don't like being dramatic with their looks. Goth is a style choice that's pretty bold.

I digress...

I'm very happy to be back :D I saw some comments on the blog that touched me and let me know that there is an audience out here for what I have to say and that means a lot. Also I was inspired by the comments and getting to see who was following the blog, Black Magik being one of them. I found the blog in my aim to find more black models who were doing alternative work and so to have that blog following me, WHOA DUDE.

Alas, I was inspired to come back. Specifically, I've decided to stick with my decision to be a black goth. Plenty of times I have not stuck with the decision because it's easier to just go the already paved route, but it didn't make me happier.

But it's a lifestyle I like, and I love it, and being goth....hmm...I can define it for myself because I'm *that* much closer to knowing who I am as a person. I hope that many of you will get to that point, or at least in that path of the journey.

I'm still going to tackle a lot of issues that come with being a black goth. I'm going to aim to keep the blog balanced and rich basically.

Thank you supporters/new friends :)

I'm still alive.

Hey guys,

sorry for such the long lag between updates...that wasn't cool. I will be updating this site, when I can but this is just a note that I'm back, bitch.

Black is the color of my lover's ...

A Nina Simone reference if you will. This post will be exploring goth elements in African American culture, and basically.....it's a primer because a lot is in the statement I've just said.

People think of Black culture, in restrictive notions: i.e, we're all gang members, into hip hop exclusively, we don't do "white" things. And this is a bunch of horse shit.

For example, it's perfectly normal for someone to say "Oh, I'm really interested in Japanese culture,"and it's a valid statement, however if you say "I'm really interested in Black culture," well what do you mean exactly? Does one mean hip hop? Rap? Jazz? Blues? What is it?

Well, cultures are made up of a lot of things. And Black culture is no different. All people from any one group are not identical, they are not monoliths who think the same. Do all goths act the same? For bat's sake, they do not. And if you make this assumption many goths will roll their eyes at you with a dismissive glance, so why is it safe to assume that all Black people (or any ethnic minority group for that matter) should behave in a similar fashion? Doing so, discounts the individual stories, not to mention the richness that makes up a group of people. If you study Japanese culture, you are quick to learn that Japanese culture is not a synonym or interchangeable term for just Ukiyo paintings, Enka music and what have you. That would be really silly. You study different segments of a culture, just like American culture has it's subcultures. But Black culture, or Latino culture, or Asian culture are not the same as American culture. These groups are not subcultures.

Bringing me to what is begrudgingly called "Urban" culture. "Urban" culture is a codeword that marketing dummies use to signify that something is geared towards Black. Now, despite the fact that a lot of Blacks live in Urban areas still does not quantify nor justify the usage of the term Urban, for Blacks live in the suburbs too.

Urban culture has become basically a catch-all for anything that is Black.

If you're a Black punk rock musician, it does not matter that none of your music is hip-hop, it will be relegated to the R&B section at a record store, I promise.

Similarly, Urban literature, is grouped together at bookstores, basically all genres of books written by Black authors get lumped together. Black = Urban, to these folks and boy are they wrong.

But...thats another post, for this post, we're finally going to skim the surface of mainstream Black artists (some not so mainstream) that have gothic elements but yet are not attributed as having any, for what reasons,hmmm let's think about that shall we?

The first example we should really pay attention to is the Blues. Oh my god, it's a genre of music that basically says in its description this is morose, sad music. Also, The Blues was called "The Devil's Music."

Does it really get any hardcore than that?

Perverts of Color

Sometimes, the goth scene cross-sectionalizes (wait, is that even a word?) with the BDSM/Fetish community. That being said, alternative erotica or alternative modes of sexual expression for people of color is fairly limited. I, for one, am tired of all those stupid "ghetto" (s)exploitation skinflicks, it's real weak folks, it's real weak and inane.

So, taken from racialiscious ( a great web site by the way) is an announcement for submissions for "Perverts of Color."

Call for Submissions – Perverts of Color

The voices of US racial minorities in alternative sexual communities are important but often unheard. The Perverts of Color anthology is a collection of voices from people of color (POCs) who participate in alternative sexual and relationship practices which include but are not limited to: S&M, D/s, leather, kink, fetishism, polyamory, and swinging. If you are a person of color who has been or is involved in the kink and/or poly community, the Perverts of Color anthology needs to hear your story.

Our Intent
a) celebrate the experiences of US racial/ethnic minorities navigating alternative sexualities;
b) recover hidden histories and recognize the contributions of POCs to alternative sexuality rights and culture;
c) share stories about ways POCs have resisted dominant narratives about their sexuality; and
d) create possibilities for coalition and resistance for kinky POCs.
We are accepting non-fiction essays (1,500-5,000 words) related to the theme of the intersection of race and alternative sexual practices. New authors are welcome. Fiction, erotica, and poetry are not accepted. The Perverts of Color anthology is intended as a multi-ethnic, multi-racial collection, so we encourage all POCs to submit their stories. We invite POCs of all genders, ages, religions/spiritualities, sexual orientations and socio-economic backgrounds. All authors will keep the copyright to their submission, have a printed biography, and receive one copy of the completed book.

Contact Us

If you are interested, email us at pervertsofcolor@gmail.com with a one-paragraph summary of your essay (250 words maximum) and a short bio (250 words maximum). All submission summaries are due by December 15th at 12 midnight (Eastern Standard Time). We will contact authors individually to express interest in a complete submission.

New article up (from me heehee)

The lovely editors at Mookychick.co.uk have posted an article of mine, and I hope to be writing for them in the future.

Check it out:
Black Swan

Inspiration

Apart from the heady analysis that this site will have, I think it's like eating yeah of course you want substance but you also want desert.

So, with that I bring you pictures for you goths of color.