i was also a family outcast when i was younger and dressed like a member of specimen(early goth band)I live to read history,and have visited hundreds of castles,abbeys,churches etc all over europe.i still love goth music and always will be drawn to the dark side.tried self harming once whilst drunk,cant remember why i did it but it hurt to much the next day,and i was embarresed about the scars for a while after. A.

Self harm is hard to categorise... if it's being done for the attention seeking purposes of most youths, it's unwise. If it's being done because there really is no other emotional avenue short of getting lithium from your doctor, it's still unwise but at least understandable. Harming for teh purposes of scarification can be beautiful when it's done correctly. And if it's because you have a blood fetish and want to share, well... that's up to you.
Harm does not make you goth. Harm doesn't define anything about you or your social grouping. This is a key point to remember, which so very many mainstream media institutions seem to forget. If you want an Alt-lifestyle view of it, then there's due to be an article on it, compiled from the views of many goths around the UK, in the first issue of Nocturnal magazine- have a look out for it.