Steampunk

This chapter identifies an intersection between the dark aesthetic practice associated with goth and the more sepia-toned steampunk community. The central argument employs the post-subculture model, which sees subcultures as elective and postmodern in terms of identity politics.Whitby Gothic Weekend, in the UK,is used as a departure point because it has an established steampunk fringe event and has hosted the US steampunk band, Abney Park, as well as other bands familiar to steampunk, such as The Men that will not be Blamed for Nothing. This is noteworthy, as it suggests considerable overlap between the cultures, but it also flags up contentions and debates surrounding authenticity and boundary marking in the goth subculture. This chapter then undertakes a survey of themes in steampunk music, fashion, whilst also theorising the subculture’s relationship to activism, Neo-Victorianism, and postcolonialism.