Marilyn Manson is Not Goth: Memorial Struggle and the Rhetoric of Subcultural Identity

Abstract

The author argues that subcultural identity is a process informed by memorial struggles, or contests over what counts as a “history” and a “memory.” More specific, this article suggests that popular, mainstream representations of subcultures often provide subcultural adherents with a discursive space in which to redefine and negotiate subcultural identities, histories, and memories. To this end, the representation of “gothic subculture” by both the press and “goths” themselves is examined to illustrate points of contest and negative redefinition. The article concludes by suggesting that a better, shared understanding of subcultural discourse demands some degree of ethnographic research.