Self-Identified “Goths” Are Elevated in Mental Illness, Unconventional Sexuality, and Homosexuality

Edward Dutton, Emil O. W. Kirkegaard and Noora Poranen

Published: 2026/06/01

Abstract

The Goth is an increasingly prominent social stereotype, with qualitative investigations into Goths revealing Goth identity to be associated with mental illness and escape from reality, as well as with sexual promiscuity, at least among females, and androgyny among males. In this study we aim to quantitatively test whether these stereotypes are true. In order to do this we drew upon the large OKCupid dataset (N = 68,371). We find that being a Goth is most associated with mental instability, replicating a previous study. There are weaker associations between being a Goth and homosexuality and sexual unconventionality. We argue that the relationship between being a Goth and mental instability makes sense in terms of mimic aposematism and aspects of Narcissism.

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