Goth and Reality

[cyberdark]

Well I think this is not something extrange for you guys, or any goth.
Of course people look us as weird, and sometimes we are object of many things, from distrust to violence.

But Im a working man and my question goes more to the oldes guys arround.

I manage my work and my personal life as two totally different things.
Due to my job I could perfectly end one weekend playing golf with a client, sometimes I got interviewed by Tv channels about my opinions arround China etc. so I have one personality for bussiness and one for my self.
My society is very closed, and I CANT be seen by my partners or clients in goth cloth, not to mention tatoos, or piercing... so I had to left all that stuff appart.

Now Im wandering.. what the fuck... but Im 33 and you know.. at 33 people dont seems to say but the fuck too often and get tatued and use piercing and walk into a bussiness meeting with the Chilean Chinease Chamber of Commerce... you know...

My question is, how you manage the little things... I do, but I hide them, and that actitude works for a while but sooner or later... every body is going to know...

[spoon!]

I'm only twelve years younger than you, so I have no real business throwing in my two cents, but here goes:

My history professor last year was not a goth, per se, but definitely alternative. She never dressed like the stereotypical professor. But, her credentials said otherwise, as she was kick-ass as a teacher and probably gets more student turnouts than maybe even the math and science courses.

What I'm basically saying is how far to the extreme do you want to seperate the two. You can easily be conservative for your business and then be yourself on the weekends, or you can have a semblance of that gothdom about you (a ring or a bracelet perhaps?) but still retain the air of professionalism that I would imagine someone in your capacity would need.

That's just a young whippersnapper's view I could be totally wrong too.

[LadyLucretia]

Originally Posted by cyberdark

But Im a working man and my question goes more to the oldes guys arround.

I manage my work and my personal life as two totally different things.
Due to my job I could perfectly end one weekend playing golf with a client, sometimes I got interviewed by Tv channels about my opinions arround China etc. so I have one personality for bussiness and one for my self.
My society is very closed, and I CANT be seen by my partners or clients in goth cloth, not to mention tatoos, or piercing... so I had to left all that stuff appart.

Now Im wandering.. what the fuck... but Im 33 and you know.. at 33 people dont seems to say but the fuck too often and get tatued and use piercing and walk into a bussiness meeting with the Chilean Chinease Chamber of Commerce... you know...

My question is, how you manage the little things... I do, but I hide them, and that actitude works for a while but sooner or later... every body is going to know...

I work in a professional environment where I want to be judged by my performance, not by my subcultural affiliations. I have a separate wardrobe for work, and I only express part of my personality amongst my coworkers. They do not know or suspect I am a goth, and I wish to keep it that way.

Ultimately, if you are a big enough asset in your position, that is what will matter most. I have friends who get away with being openly goth in the workplace because they are highly qualified and credentialed, and too valuable to let go over black nail polish or whatever. I hope at some point to rank high enough to get away with that sort of thing, but for now things must remain very compartmentalized.

It certainly can make one paranoid about being "found out." I think that finding creative euphemisms - like "post punk" instead of "goth, or the all encompassing "I'm into 80's stuff" - helps explain your interests in a "safe" way. And if you get caught gothed up, you could always just say you're going to a costume party .

[DarkGentleman]

I'm pretty much a valued employee at my work based on my working ethics and knowledge on fabrics/sewing. My bosses and co-workers say I am a goth, I'm fine with that and they are too. I do however keep my working wardrode to the fashion and business-like level, which is no problem if I just do the corporate goth look then it's all good.

[chelseagirl]

I'm also 33. I'm a legal assistant at a law firm. I don't dress that differently when I'm at work, as my firm is totally okay with how I look. They don't mind my piercings, tattoos, or strange hair. I suppose it's a lot different in Chile though.

By the way, I loved Sangre Eterna and Angel Negro! When I saw Sangre Eterna, I thought, damn...does Chile actually have that big of a goth scene?

[cyberdark]

Well in Chile those pictures are not considered "good films" by the goth community, and you are right is kind of a big community related to the quantity of people in my country, we are like 16 million total population.
And are probably more Goth per capita than in other countries ^^

Some palces where you can check about goth in chile:
www.vampiros.cl
www.blondie.cl
www.club-under.cl

Are in spanish but you can check ammount of people, types etc.

[DeathToLems]

where i work (office place) i dress how i want and ppl dont seem too botherd
some days i make an effort to look formal for work other days i dress in a band shirt and jeans.
only major problem i have is i cant wear my fave punk trousers with loads of zips or my trousers with chain suspenders because of the metal detectors *boo hoo*
i did however get away with my ripped jeans one day, but i balanced it out with a nice black shirt. ^_^

most working days i just wear formal stuff like a nice grey wooley jumper and black trousers.
they still havent said anything about my newrocks yet, altho it does get ppl talking. lol its funny hearing ppl say to me "whoa! size of them!" honistly they arent that big! they are the most normalist ones if you ask me Oo