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Alot of genres which were underground or weren't but had a distinct audience and beat became watered down shit like punk ( stranger things and it's consequences ).I think this is a fenomenon happening with everything, not only music. As i am always been a nerdy guy, i used to play the old pocket edition minecraft and D&D from when i was a kid; now i see people saying they love D&D cause they watched sum show about it ( again, stranger things and it's consequences ) and other people saying theyre gamers ( especially women ) but playing the most blatantly corporate slop ive ever seen or misusing games to e-date.

Gatekeeping is a must to distinguish the normie from the actual enjoyer.

Great entry.  I very much agree.  Getting into things "back in the day" took some real effort and obsession.  I didn't have the internet when I got into these subcultures, I relied on fucking magazines and xeroxed distro-lists (had to special order them from the classified sections in the back of metal magazines). I undoubtedly would've been gatekept as a young person, and it would've been deserved. Many genres unfortunately were not gatekept enough, and then we are left with shit like Lords of Chaos movie, Kekht Arakh and it's ilk, black metal soap, Witch Club Satan, RABM, Old Nick.  It's been interesting to watch the changes through the years, and the true enshittification of a genre I put so much intensity into.   Agreeing with Kaal very much as well, goth may have suffered even more or at par with black metal.  

I always say gatekeeping is a necessary evil because, sooner or later things get commodified and diluted into petty business ventures. I feel that's happened to gothic rock and metal more than most genres. Dressing in all black may be one component, but people often neglect the atmosphere, emotional weight, and soul crushing lyricism that drew core listeners to these genres in the first place. As for aesthetic marketing, grunge and the (again) goth scene have probably suffered the most. Being a goth myself, I can say that many people seem to think it's merely a fashion style, which is ridiculous. There's no written manual dictating how one has to dress. Appreciating the music, engaging with the culture, and understanding its history matter far more, in my honest opinion