Goth's Dark Empire [Paperback]

In Goths Dark Empire cultural historian Carol Siegel provides a fascinating look at Goth, a subculture among Western youth. It came to prominence with punk performers such as Marilyn Manson and was made infamous when it was linked (erroneously) to the Columbine High School murders. While the fortunes of Goth culture form a portion of this books story, Carol Siegel is more interested in pursuing Goth as a means of resisting regimes of sexual normalcy, especially in its celebration of sadomasochism (S/M). The world of Goth can appear wide-ranging: from films such as Edward Scissorhands and The Crow to popular fiction such as Anne Rices vampire novels to rock bands such as Nine Inch Nails. But for Siegel, Goth appears as a mode of being sexually undeadand loving it. What was Goth and what happened to it? In this book, Siegel tracks Goth down, reveals the sources of its darkness, and shows that Goth as a response to the modern world has not disappeared but only escaped underground.

Siegel . . . counters the dearth of research into goth and the hostility of post-Columbine representations with a sympathetic, compelling examination of goth subculture as premised on gender fluidity, with sadomasochistic practices as 'radical technologies of resistance.' . . . Recommended.

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Perils for the Pure: Goth Cultures and Abstinence Programs
2. In Memoriam Darkwave Hippies: Angela Carter through a Goth Lens
3. That Obscure Object of Desire Revisited: Poppy Z. Brite and the Goth Hero as Masochist
4. Boys Don't Cry: Brandon Teena's Stories
5. Heterosexualizing the Femme Boy: From Tea and Sympathy to Crime and Punishment in Suburbia
6. Identity Hunter A: Asian American Goths and New Masculinities
Conclusion: Goth's Come Undone
Appendix: A Discography of Goth Rock Artists, by Don Anderson
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Carol Siegel, Professor of English and American Studies at Washington State University, Vanl³e