When you hear the word goth you might think of cultural icons like Robert Smith of the Cure, the death-obsessed Beetlejuice character Lydia Deetz, and the dark camp of Elvira. Goth is synonymous with wearing all black, reveling in melancholy, and celebrating the macabre. But it's also often incorrectly thought of as a subculture that's rooted in whiteness or comprised mostly of white people.
What began in the late 1970s and early 1980s as a rejection of the mainstream and capitalism’s co-opting of punk, gothic subculture has continued to evolve and flourish over the years. Its influence has altered the landscape of pop music, fashion, and art. Almost 50 years later, contemporary goths embody the representation they yearned to see when they were younger. For them, beauty is a way to center marginalized voices and live their truth, a way to look beyond whiteness and uplift the many identities and histories that exist within the goth community, past and present. By doing so, they remind us that people of color have been a part of the scene since the very beginning—from Glorious Din's front man Eric Cope and the Cure's drummer Andy Anderson, to more recent icons like Princess Nokia and Light Asylum's Shannon Funchess to name a few—and that they are inarguably a part of its future.
In celebration of that future and the legacy that precedes it, we asked 10 goths of color about the power of the goth aesthetic, their favorite products, beauty routines, and why diverse representation within the goth community matters to them.
"Badass Brujas like me exist, and you should see more of us.” —Melissa Castro Almandina
Courtesy of Melissa Castro Almandina
Chicago-based poet and artist Melissa Castro Almandina’s definition of beauty has always been shaped by gothic subculture. “In high school, I wore a lot of black lace and velvet and my everyday lip color was Cyber by MAC,” she recalls. “I still wear a dark lip today, but [I’ve switched] to Bésame’s 1930s Noir Red and love how decadent it makes my lips feel. It’s a great formula and the company is owned by a woman of color, so I appreciate supporting it.” In addition to finding the perfect crimson lipstick to incorporate into her everyday look, Almandina enjoys pulling inspiration from the past to cultivate her own aesthetic. “I like to mix anything from the Victorian era, the 1920s, 1940s, [and] the costume design in Interview with a Vampire and Penny Dreadful,” she explains. Like a contemporary riff on the glamour of Vanessa Ives, old Hollywood, and the poetic decadence of Anne Rice’s Lestat, Almandina’s essentials include “a dark pout” and floral scents. “I really love the smell of flowers, especially roses, so I carry rosewater in my bag and use Arabian Rose by Kuumba Made,” she says. “Folks say I smell like a funeral home or an old lady or just divine af and I’m here for it all.” Whether reapplying her favorite Bésame lipstick or spritzing herself with perfume, Almandina finds comfort in being goth, but it also gives her strength. “Badass Brujas like me exist,” Almandina says, “and you should see more of us.”
"I invented my own aesthetic, because there aren’t many Paki chicks in the goth scene, not to mention bands or entertainers that are of a similar skin tone.” —Maheen Lemon
Courtesy of Maheen Lemon
