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.

The Black Swan Theory

What do you think of when you think of the image of a swan?

Graceful birds, or maybe the ugly duckling that grew into a beautiful swan, and you more than likely pictured that the swan was white.

And indeed, most swans are indeed white birds.

But, there exists black swans, and they are rare but they do exist.

Black swans have always coexisted with white swans but were not documented until the 18th century.

There's an excellent Wiki article about the Black Swan theory that basically describes unpredicted and undirected events as black swan events.



In a previous post I talked about exoticization of black goths, and to break this down.

A perspective from the punk side

Being a minority in a minority subculture is a double-edged sword. Some people will use your existence as merely a form of tokenism to prove how "accepting" and "diverse" the culture really is. Because you know one black kid at a punk show means that punks aren't racist ;-)

But racism/invisibility go hand in hand with subculture scenes sometimes. For example, a quick look through alt-porn sites like Gods Girls and Suicide Girls will show you just how real this tokenism is. These sites loudly declare that they accept alternative forms of beauty, and yet, the girls all look the same. So what to make of that is it hypocrisy? Ill-intentioned? That's hard to say, the problem with living in a white supremacist culture is that if you are white it's hard to see beyond whiteness. So, it's as if to say if you're a white swan and all your used to seeing is white swans you assume A. All swans are white. B. Only white can be attributed to being a swan.

It's a logical fallacy, and yet it's one that plays out whenever a black goth or punk goes into a predominately white scene and has to shoulder a racist comment that was just "a joke" or when someone says "You're not like all the other black people, you're different."

That's not a compliment for sure, it's an insult. That's akin to me saying "You're not like all the other white people, you're different."

A quick read through Gothic.Net's infamous "Black people don't make good vampires," or "Black goths...Never seen one" thread will show you the spectrum of just plain ignorance associated with goths who are not white, specifically black. Some people think that black goths don't look good in goth attire, as they believe that Victorian clothes are well suited for white people maybe. Now it's true, you will not see a Black goth scrambling to paint their face white, that would be rather ridiculous yes?

The problem here is that the whole set up is breeding in icky racist bacteria. It's hard not to feel a sense of bitterness towards people who are from the same scene from you thereby the same "we're all misfits cumbaya" but...they'd rather you go back to some other box. It's not fair but neither is life. I ran across a horrible joke that said the reasons you don't see black goths is because they *can't* be seen. It's so stupid in it's scope, and so really, it's a dumb joke. Listen here whoever came up with that pile of trash, if you can't see me, you can't see the damage I'm getting ready to come up with for you *grin*

To re-iterate, goth is an aethetic choice. Aesthetic. Choice. Meaning if it's a choice anyone can do it. It's an aesthetic, meaning it's a look, you put the two together and it's a look that someone can choose. Ha. Ha. Ha.

Reading some life stories of black goths and punks actually makes me sad, the idea that someone can make you feel inferior for simply choosing something is beyond me and really sad. Those goths/punks/emos/whatever who condemn non-white members based on their race and other hideous facets should really be ashamed of themselves, and in fact they should get kicked out of the club. :P

Truth is, anyone can carry a certain aesthetic if they want to, free fucking country.