Writing Feature Articles - Step 1 - Lesson 1 | Page 56

Writing Feature Articles - Lesson
Writing Feature Articles - Handout . a

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Name: ________________________________________ Date: ___________________

. a: Feature Articles Packet

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Gothic Teenagers: Misguided or Misunderstood?
Linda C., Grade 6
They dress weird, look different, and keep to themselves…. Do we need to be worried about
these mysterious teenagers?
In the spring of 1999, two teenage outcasts
shot and killed thirteen students and wounded
twenty-eight others before turning the guns on
themselves. This tragedy at Columbine High
School was felt across the country. The two
students wore black trench coats and many in
the press immediately labeled them as Goths.
This led to widespread “Goth hysteria” with
people fearing anything related to the Gothic
subculture and the people involved in it.
Misguided
Mainstream America, whose only contact
with Goth ideas is usually through the media,
believes that Goths are all about strange
makeup, depression, and death. Goths are often
victims of weird looks, name calling, and even having things thrown at them.
Adults often take the attitude that they are looking out for teenagers’ best interests by trying to steer
them away from Goth culture. Carolyn Sommer, a teacher at Wilson Academy, explains her concern:
“It’s one of those doors where you open it and you don’t know how far back it goes. I think it is good that
[Goths] are ?nding an identity, but I don’t think most people realize that it is centered around death.”
Alicia Porter, designer of the Web site “A Study of Gothic Sub-Culture: An inside Look for Outsiders,”
explains the mainstream attitude. “Three words best sum up what the Goth stereotype is all about:
death, pretension, and angst.” She adds, however, “Like any stereotype, the Goth stereotype is a onedimensional exaggeration and people are not usually so one-dimensional.”
Misunderstood
Despite the fears that people have, the Gothic subculture is not really all that bad. “Parents think
it grabs hold of teenagers and warps them. It’s quite the reverse. Instead of causing suicide and
depression, it gives them people to talk to. It’s a catharis,” says Gavin Baddeley, author of Gothic Chic: A
Connoisseur’s Guide to Dark Culture.
Many teenagers who become involved in the Goth subculture are already depressed and feel that they
are isolated from the rest of the world. By getting involved with the Goth community, it gives them people
who are feeling the same way to talk to and it makes them feel better knowing there are other people
out there like them. “I like the clothes, I like the music, I feel comfortable. It doesn’t make you more
depressive, it makes you happy explains Alison Ehrick, 22.

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