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#REDIRECT ] |
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:''See ] for other uses of the term Emo.'' |
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{{redirect category shell|{{R undis}}}} |
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"'''Emo'''" is a slang term used to describe a wide range of fashion styles and attitudes somewhat affiliated with ] and its related scenes. |
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==History== |
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=== Origins === |
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{{main|Emo (music)}} |
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For more than a decade, the term "emo" was used almost exclusively to describe the genre of music that spawned from the ] ] and all of the bands inspired by it. However, during the late 1990s, as emo music began to emerge from the underground into popular consciousness, the term began to be used as a reference for more than just the music. |
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=== 1990s === |
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With the advent of the late 90s indie emo scene, some sense of commonality began to emerge. For example, it became increasingly common to see males wearing the "nerd" style of dress popularized by bands like ], including thick black glasses, straight-legged khaki pants, and v-neck sweaters, accessorized with a chain wallet. While the style was not particularly prevalent, people aware of the scene began associating those common styles with the emo bands of the period, and began describing the wearers as "dressing emo". |
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While it contained some of the elements of passion and emotion that earned the moniker "emo" in the first place, the indie emo of the 90s was often seen as simply an offshoot of indie rock. Some rock scenes saw indie emo as "hardcore music for nerds", where it was okay to play loud and fast, but without the more "macho" elements sometimes found in hard rock. While it was a marginal viewpoint at the time, it began the trend of people using the word "emo" as a term of derision. |
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=== 2000s === |
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Bands like ] began to popularize a more dramatic and personal style of "emo", which contained lyrics that had a far greater appeal amongst teenagers experiencing life and love for the first time. As the lyrical content shifted and as the sound began to enter the mainstream, the term "emo" started to be used more often to describe what was perceived by those outside the scene as the overwrought melodrama of the music. Popular comments such as "don't be so emo" and "cheer up, emo kid" drove home the belief among deriders that fans of emo music took themselves too seriously and were simply looking for drama where it didn't exist. |
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As major labels began pushing more bands under the "emo" umbrella, varying styles of music and dress began to be lumped in as well. The style of bands like ], including their use of makeup (particularly black eyeliner) and longish hair covering the face, began to be associated with "emo". |
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Though the original emo scenes were not exclusionary, the modern "emo" scene has developed into a surprisingly "gay friendly" scene, particularly among gay teenagers seeking some kind of commonality. As such, the term "emo" has shifted amongst those who are disquieted by anything remotely considered "gay", with "emo" now being used in place of otherwise popular gay slurs. |
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While use of the term "emo" to describe the dress and attitudes of some fans of emo music, it should be noted that use of "emo" as a musical genre and "emo" as a slang term are largely separate. |
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==Social Impact and Characteristics== |
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The widespread success of blog sites such as ] and ] have had a significant social impact on the emo movement by modern youth. The melancholy and suicidal attitudes often expressed in the words written in blogs of emo youths and in the lyrics of songs of certain emo artists can have negative effects on their friends and fans (often identifying as emo themselves). While the attitudes of specific emo people or artists certainly do not represent all of the emo community, and the effects of the blogs' or lyrics' content on youths are debatable, youths often adopt the tempting self-pity persona while not having conventionally accepted reason for killing themselves. Often these personas lead to anti-social behavior such as an anti-conformist attitude towards the conventional population, rejection of authority, and suicidal thoughts. While the majority of emo readers and listeners are able to distinguish melancholy blogs from lessons in social conduct, an evident pseudo-suicide and melancholy seeking sub-culture has risen amongst North American youth. It is possibly because of this stereotype of emo youths as highly melancholy and angst-filled that those not in the emo scene often deride those seen to be emo with such sayings as "Cheer up, emo kid." Such sayings also reflect the belief that emo youths express self-pity and suicidal thoughts for apparently trivial matters such as being disciplined by parents. Nowadays emo blogs on ] and ] often contain rants or complaints about such matters. |
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===Emo Fashion=== |
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Contemporary emo fashion includes the wearing of tight jeans, black clothing, ] shoes and used T-shirts with random prints (usually found in thrift stores). Emo youths will often wear thick, black-rimmed, plastic glasses (even with no prescription) and greasy black hair that sometimes covers at least three fifths of the face at an angle. Piercings and tattoos are also popular, especially labret piercings, stretched earlobes and tattoos of quotes that reflect the angst-filled outlook on life which is part of the emo attitude. |
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===Emo Attitude=== |
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Melancholy remembrances of past relationships/mistakes in life. |
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====Bisexuality==== |
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Because emo culture often puts an emphasis on anti-masculinity -- preferring that people will feel free to express sensitivity and angst -- its members often reflect a bisexual-friendly mindset. Select people outside of the movement, often criticise "emos" of faking bisexuality to fit into the trend. |
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==Postion in American Culture== |
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Emo is the newest musical-cultural movement. Following the recent insular musical-cultural movements of ], the ] ] of the 60s, and ] of the 90's. |
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==References== |
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*http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=emo "emo" (slang) as defined by UrbanDictionary.com |
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*http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=6d8134fbbe964d76f864b3b9682dcb19 Self proclaimed emo teenager Posts Suicide Note on Myspace.com |
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*http://www.brokenfrontier.com/lowdown/details.php?id=176 An interview with the author of "Emo Boy." |
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== External links == |
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* A humorous ] about being emo; explains much of emo criticism. |
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* The Emo Guide To Life in video form. |
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* |
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* Urbandictionary.com's gallery of Emo. |
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* The Emo Guide to dressing. |
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] |
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Jupiter (unnecessary parenthetical qualifier)