I already wrote about this some years ago but it seems to be lost so here goes again.
"Darkly inclined" is a term that goth Karens use to describe goths who aren't extremely well versed in goth music.
An example of this is goth YouTuber Kai Decadence. He made a video,
The Problem with "GOTH" Characters (GOTH vs GOTHIC vs DARK) where he claims many well known goth characters in media "aren't goth but are darkly inclined." He even refers to this as a "problem" when in reality, this itself is a problem.
(You don't have to watch the video as I will be going over its relevant parts.)
In that video he states a number of the following.
"Goth being a mindset is nonsense." It is not nonsense as the goth mindset is a part of being goth. Having a mindset, interests etc relating to one's subculture is simply being part of said subculture.
"Goth is only music based. If it has nothing to do with the music, then it's not goth." This is where people and things are being called "darkly inclined" or the even more redundant sounding, "gothly inclined." First of all, "gothly inclined" is an oxymoron as inclined means what one leans towards interest wise. So saying one is "gothly inclined" is pretty much saying one "likes goth" which is redundant and unnecessary because if you're goth, it obviously and only means you are into it and are part of the subculture.
Darkly inclined means one who is drawn to the darker aspects of life both physical and metaphorical. Obviously music is included since it's also a part of life. Using the term "darkly inclined" is literally taking the goth out of goth so to speak. This kind of mentality is absolutely controlling, manipulative and is practically gaslighting. All it's doing is taking away what people want to identify as. It's childish and is pretty much "if you don't do, say, and think what I want you to, you don't get to have this."
He also has the audacity to use the term "fake goth" which is inherently rather juvenile and would be quite rude if said to an actual person. He also seems to only consider one type of goth makeup to be actually goth if it's in the Siouxsie Sioux style. I could be wrong but that's what it sounded like in his video.
"Goth is not fashion based." That is asinine as the fashion is another huge part of goth and gothic. Towards the end of his video he lists a huge number of goths and alternative characters in media and actually said some such as Misa from Death Note, Sam from Danny Phantom, and Abby from NCIS are not goth which is utterly ridiculous. If you're familiar with the characters you will know well they are clearly goth. If not, look them up. That's said because there are no goth music references around them which again is redundant.
To be fair, a lot of characters that are labeled as goth such as Marcline from Adventure Time aren't actually goth but rather alternative. I can understand the minor confusion between the two from those who aren't as familiar but honestly it's not a big deal.
Now where lies the real problem in all this?
Sure it may not be hurting anything but it's leading baby bats and those who aren't as familiar with our subculture towards becoming what I recently started to call 'goth Karens.' I don't like the term 'elitist' but that is what goth Karens are normally refereed to. To clarify, a goth 'elitist,' 'gatekeeper' or 'goth Karen' is when one is being controlling and rude about the goth subculture.
Now I understand the need to clarify facts and define definitions and doing so does not make one a 'Karen' in itself but when one gets to the point where they are disputing well established facts over a personal bias, that's when it's uncalled for and is what makes one a 'Karen.' That and being rude for no good reason. The rest should be obvious.
A few years ago I wrote an entry on how goth Karens have negatively impacted me but now days I am not as easily made anxious by someone making an a** of themselves. [x] [x]
All that being said, I do understand the importance to gatekeeping to a degree. 'If anything can be goth, then nothing is goth.' It is important to not let just anything get labeled as goth because that leads to misinformation and in some cases can actually be harmful. It is annoying for me as well to hear someone who knows nothing of the subculture to label someone wearing all black with no other corresponding aspects to goth as "goth."
As for the harmful side to this, it's where goth is portrayed as just a "kink" and we're expected to act as such. Individuals that think that way should immediately be avoided and blocked as that's a huge red flag as it shows where their mindset is.
Now I do agree with Kai on somethings. For one, just because someone or a character dresses in all black, does not mean they are goth. Nor are things like vampires, dark fairies etc goth in themselves. Objects and creatures themselves aren't goth or gothic. When it comes to objects or creatures etc, they are more so a blank canvas until given their own individual personality which can sometimes be goth or gothic.
Goth and gothic are a conglomeration of several different and related elements which come in all forms such as music, fashion, literature, atmosphere and aesthetic. As far as gothic goes, it includes architecture.
Actual definitions from Merriam Webster:
Goth: 1, rock music marked by dark and morbid lyrics.
2, a fan or performer of goth. 3, a person who wears mostly black clothing, uses dark dramatic makeup, and often has dyed black hair.
Now in this whole debacle some like to say the only definition is that it's a music genre which is absolutely incorrect. Yes they are correct when they say 'goth is a type of music' and 'gothic is a type of architecture' but taking away the other elements is the issue.
For the past few years this has been spreading around on the goth YouTube channels where they are stating the aforementioned manipulative and disinformative rhetoric. Smaller channels, including one I respect and follow also stated in one of her videos that "all you need to do to be goth is listen to the music." Again, disagree as there's more to it than just the music.
Do I think one is still goth if they don't like any goth or alternative music but still like everything else? I don't see that happening if I'm honest. If one likes goth in general, they're bound to like the music if not some other type of alternative music because a big part of being goth is liking these things to begin with. So in a way I see this question as a bit of an oxymoron.
The smaller goth channels I feel are just going along with it to not get hate from any of the goth Karens out there and so they don't feel discredited. I myself as a content creator felt this myself a few years ago as I mentioned in my previously linked journal entries but I'm over it now and I will stand by what I say and I know, that this whole debacle is a load of tripe and should not be taken too seriously. Those of us who have been in it for most of our lives don't want to see even more people pushed away from us and we especially don't care to see even more disinfo. What's even worse is that it's coming from our own subculture.
In closing I want to add my final thoughts. No, I don't think that most that use all these derogatory terms and have these mindsets are bad people, but I see them as not very mindful and frankly, a tad bit selfish. I'm not trying to demonize anyone with this, I just like to spread awareness and clarification so just maybe, there might be a few less people who get pushed away from our subculture.
