Types of ravers
The following are loosely defined stereotypes generated by the U.S. rave community. They are generalized, inconclusive, and are not necessarily complete or current.
Club Kids - the self proclaimed "original" ravers and nightlife circuit attenders, predominantly a major urban center (New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, etc.) culture type. Most club kids came from the early gay and house music scenes, many are transgender or crossdress. The most famous examples of "club kids" would likely be Michael Alig, the convicted murderer and subject of the 2003 movie Party Monster, or RuPaul, one of the world's most famous drag queen.
Candy raver, Candykid or Kandikid - often wears brightly colored and child-like fashions such as day-glo wide-leg pants (aka phat pants), black light-reactive or glow-in-the-dark bracelets/necklaces, fur pets and t-shirts featuring cartoon characters. Candy ravers or candykids wear homemade bracelets and necklaces made of plastic, glass, or felt beads or candy. They are often found exchanging or giving out small gifts. These small gifts will usually be hugs, toys, glowsticks, CDs, necklaces, bracelets, and/or candy.
Junglist - refers to a sub-culture of the rave scene defined by drum and bass and jungle music. Many Junglists detest mainstream rave music and prefer darker and deeper vibes. Many junglists differentiate themselves from 'ravers' owing to the public/mass media connotations of the word. Many junglists dress in a more militant or urban fashion: many wear either hip hop influenced clothing or camouflage / military influenced clothing. Junglists are generally seen as more jaded, angry, and aggressive than other ravers but that’s not always the case. This term died out in the UK circa 1996, and its continued use amongst certain Americans generates a degree of amusement amongst the British contingent. In addition, UK fans of drum and bass / jungle are only to happy to term events 'raves' and describe themselves as, if not 'ravers', then most certainly 'going raving', 'going to a rave'. Camouflage is definitely a fashion 'no-no' in UK drum and bass clubs / raves, as is any military clothing.
Dark raver or Graver - the raving equivalent of a goth. Gravers tend to wear darker clothing and makeup and frequent events called dark raves. Like Junglists they tend to enjoy darker music and atmosphere. There is some overlap between the dark rave scene and the industrial and EBM scene. "Traditional" goths occasionally hold distaste for gravers, as they prefer dark electronic music, or "electrosludge" as detractors have termed it, over the more traditional gothic rock. Some go as far to say that bands popular with gravers are causing decay in the goth subculture by flooding scenes with more easily produced music.
Cyber kids - Sometimes considered a hacker, but in the rave scene they are somewhat of a mix of a candy kid and a graver. They will often wear the baggy pants with straps and accessories common to the graver, but they choose the tight or loose fitting colorful shirts of the candy kids. Unlike most gravers they do not think themselves too good to dance, but in contrast they indulge in the feeling of the music and dance to their heart's content. They generally wear some "candy" and/or bead-based jewelry, but not an abundance noteworthy of the candy kids. They tend to choose colors more somber than the candy kids, but brighter and more lively than the gravers do. Some carry a stuffed toy and other peripherals that would mark the candy kids, but also wear the spikes and straps common of gravers. Some cyber kids, like candy kids, give hugs/candy/toys/etc. to people for no apparent reason. UV-reactant hair extensions, often made of plastic, rubber and/or yarn, are very common to both female and male cybers.
E-tard A primarily pejorative or derogatory term used to refer to ravers under the obvious or apparent influence of illegal drugs, most commonly ecstasy, but may also apply to people affected by acid, 5-Meo-DIPT and/or GHB. The term is actually a play on the word "retard," where the "E" (short name for ecstasy in many regions) replaces the "re." E-tards usually dress in the style of Candy Kids and can often be seen sucking a pacifier to calm the teeth-grinding side effect of ecstasy use. They may also prefer to settle far away from the music in calmer and more soothing areas known as "roll piles" (also known as "cuddle puddles," or "chill rooms") while under the effect of the drugs.
Goaheads or psytrancers, a subculture that grew out of raves that is centered around parties which primarily play Goa trance (outdoor parties are usually preferred among Goaheads). These kind of ravers are generally more "hippy"-like in dress and philosophy, and sometimes prefer to distance themselves from the "rave" scene, avoiding the term "rave" when referencing their parties and culture, even though there is some crossover in philosophy, music, and origins of the subculture. The psytrance scene tends to be especially cosmopolitan, with many major multi-day festivals being located in foreign countries with no local psy-trance scene (e.g. India, specifically Goa, the namesake of the genre, even though very few locals have an interest in the music which bears the name of their province) and even when there is a local interest in the scene there tends to be a disproportionately international crowd. This scene is larger than other rave sub-scenes in some countries such as Israel, Brazil, South Africa, Japan and Scandinavian countries, although there are smaller scenes in many other countries.
The following are loosely defined stereotypes generated by the U.S. rave community. They are generalized, inconclusive, and are not necessarily complete or current.
Club Kids - the self proclaimed "original" ravers and nightlife circuit attenders, predominantly a major urban center (New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, etc.) culture type. Most club kids came from the early gay and house music scenes, many are transgender or crossdress. The most famous examples of "club kids" would likely be Michael Alig, the convicted murderer and subject of the 2003 movie Party Monster, or RuPaul, one of the world's most famous drag queen.
Candy raver, Candykid or Kandikid - often wears brightly colored and child-like fashions such as day-glo wide-leg pants (aka phat pants), black light-reactive or glow-in-the-dark bracelets/necklaces, fur pets and t-shirts featuring cartoon characters. Candy ravers or candykids wear homemade bracelets and necklaces made of plastic, glass, or felt beads or candy. They are often found exchanging or giving out small gifts. These small gifts will usually be hugs, toys, glowsticks, CDs, necklaces, bracelets, and/or candy.
Junglist - refers to a sub-culture of the rave scene defined by drum and bass and jungle music. Many Junglists detest mainstream rave music and prefer darker and deeper vibes. Many junglists differentiate themselves from 'ravers' owing to the public/mass media connotations of the word. Many junglists dress in a more militant or urban fashion: many wear either hip hop influenced clothing or camouflage / military influenced clothing. Junglists are generally seen as more jaded, angry, and aggressive than other ravers but that’s not always the case. This term died out in the UK circa 1996, and its continued use amongst certain Americans generates a degree of amusement amongst the British contingent. In addition, UK fans of drum and bass / jungle are only to happy to term events 'raves' and describe themselves as, if not 'ravers', then most certainly 'going raving', 'going to a rave'. Camouflage is definitely a fashion 'no-no' in UK drum and bass clubs / raves, as is any military clothing.
Dark raver or Graver - the raving equivalent of a goth. Gravers tend to wear darker clothing and makeup and frequent events called dark raves. Like Junglists they tend to enjoy darker music and atmosphere. There is some overlap between the dark rave scene and the industrial and EBM scene. "Traditional" goths occasionally hold distaste for gravers, as they prefer dark electronic music, or "electrosludge" as detractors have termed it, over the more traditional gothic rock. Some go as far to say that bands popular with gravers are causing decay in the goth subculture by flooding scenes with more easily produced music.
Cyber kids - Sometimes considered a hacker, but in the rave scene they are somewhat of a mix of a candy kid and a graver. They will often wear the baggy pants with straps and accessories common to the graver, but they choose the tight or loose fitting colorful shirts of the candy kids. Unlike most gravers they do not think themselves too good to dance, but in contrast they indulge in the feeling of the music and dance to their heart's content. They generally wear some "candy" and/or bead-based jewelry, but not an abundance noteworthy of the candy kids. They tend to choose colors more somber than the candy kids, but brighter and more lively than the gravers do. Some carry a stuffed toy and other peripherals that would mark the candy kids, but also wear the spikes and straps common of gravers. Some cyber kids, like candy kids, give hugs/candy/toys/etc. to people for no apparent reason. UV-reactant hair extensions, often made of plastic, rubber and/or yarn, are very common to both female and male cybers.
E-tard A primarily pejorative or derogatory term used to refer to ravers under the obvious or apparent influence of illegal drugs, most commonly ecstasy, but may also apply to people affected by acid, 5-Meo-DIPT and/or GHB. The term is actually a play on the word "retard," where the "E" (short name for ecstasy in many regions) replaces the "re." E-tards usually dress in the style of Candy Kids and can often be seen sucking a pacifier to calm the teeth-grinding side effect of ecstasy use. They may also prefer to settle far away from the music in calmer and more soothing areas known as "roll piles" (also known as "cuddle puddles," or "chill rooms") while under the effect of the drugs.
Goaheads or psytrancers, a subculture that grew out of raves that is centered around parties which primarily play Goa trance (outdoor parties are usually preferred among Goaheads). These kind of ravers are generally more "hippy"-like in dress and philosophy, and sometimes prefer to distance themselves from the "rave" scene, avoiding the term "rave" when referencing their parties and culture, even though there is some crossover in philosophy, music, and origins of the subculture. The psytrance scene tends to be especially cosmopolitan, with many major multi-day festivals being located in foreign countries with no local psy-trance scene (e.g. India, specifically Goa, the namesake of the genre, even though very few locals have an interest in the music which bears the name of their province) and even when there is a local interest in the scene there tends to be a disproportionately international crowd. This scene is larger than other rave sub-scenes in some countries such as Israel, Brazil, South Africa, Japan and Scandinavian countries, although there are smaller scenes in many other countries.