Cities in dust: percursos etnográficos da subcultura gótica em Goiânia (GO)

Abstract

This study investigates the Gothic phenomenon as a contemporary urban subculture in Goiânia (GO), analyzing the psychosocial dynamics of identity construction, belonging, and resistance among its members within a conservative and commercialized dominant culture. Grounded in Cultural Studies and Critical Social Psychology, the research adopts an ethnographically inspired qualitative approach, combining literature review, participant observation (highlighting the 9th Gothic Encounter of Goiânia), and semi-structured interviews with members of the local scene. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of Stuart Hall, Dick Hebdige, Antônio da Costa Ciampa, and Bader Sawaia, it discusses how the constituent elements of the "Goth universe" — style, post-punk music, body, and the aesthetics of excess — operate as tools for semiotic subversion and symbolic dispute against capitalist normalization. The results demonstrate that affiliation with the subculture drives a process of identity-metamorphosis toward a post-conventional and emancipatory stance, allowing individuals to reframe the ethical-political suffering caused by exclusion and perverse inclusion. The study concludes that the Gothic scene in Goiânia consolidates itself as a strategic space for affectivity and collectivity, transfiguring the stigma of the "stranger" and experiences of melancholy into the power of action and a dignified survival within the urban territory