Gothic

Years back I discovered that "gothic" is fetish tag on Fetlife, and how William Control had used his "Neu Romanics" gothic brand to market himself to baby goths and emos who got into goth as they aged. Angela Benedict on Youtube talking about the IRL consequences of Fetlife and their users fetishizing gothic or suggesting there is an automatic connection between kink/BDSM and gothic. A lot of gothic fashion borrows from BDSM gear and fetish wear, but (at least in my personal experience) a lot of goths are actually very sexually conservative and not into kink at all. A lot of them, especially the gothic females, are true believers in romantic ideals of love, like lifelong monogamy and dedication to their "twin flame". The idea that goth chicks are freaky and kinky promoted on Fetlife and elsewhere is quite harmful to these women who just like the fashion/music but aren't into kink and hate being associated with that. I do think William Control exploited that Fetlife association between goth and BDSM with his Neu Romantics gothic brand. It's very likely that this created the perception in his younger fans (some of whom he ended up hooking up with) that to be gothic you have to be into BDSM as all. Like BDSM was part and parcel of the lifestyle.