Is "Emo" Still an Identifiable Culture?

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Back in the 80s and 90s, there was a culture that most people called "Emo". People who embraced that culture seemed to conform to a certain stereotype.



Does the Emo culture still exist, or did they all grow up?

I always thought it was only a 2000s and 2010s thing. I never hear “emo” anymore, and I think the name was changed to “scene,” unless they’re two different things that are similar to each other.

It usually seems to have something to do with anime now, like that’s a part of being an emo/scene person. It’s still around, but it’s changed a little bit from what I can tell. Instead of black hair, sometimes it’s bright, unnatural colours. One side of the head might be shaved when the other side is long.

https://www.wikihow.com/Know-the-Differ ... -and-Scene

Thanks. That was interesting. The emo descriptions remind me of someone I know on another forum.

Neither are really visible here. Many people wear some hairstyle or clothing elements of either subculture but the only fully blown Emos I have seen on a street was when I was in Russia in 2008.

They exist in my generation.
More often we call them edge lords though.

They existed back in the 80s as fans of "Emotional Hardcore" punk rock. Back then, they looked like anyone else. I wonder what the origin of the stereotype is? Why did they take on the stereotype of a kid with black eyeliner, wearing skinny jeans and a band tee-shirt, crying in the corner and slitting his wrists while listening to Dashboard Confessional?

The most "Emo" I ever got was listening to "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

Oh well ... whatever ... never mind ...

My daughter identifies as a Chemogunk - a Chav Emo Goth Punk

But Chavs should be tanned and Emo/Goths should be pale. Hard to weave it together.

Yeah she's a bit of a contradiction just like her old man , I think this was about 5 years ago , I'll message her now to see if she's changed.

I'd say emo was throughout the 2000s,the pop punk music and the style. I don't think it really exists now.

the phantom of depression moves from the body of Emo to the body of Trap..

Apropos of nothing.

Oh do not call that emo! That was my generation and it was called Grunge. Lol. Actually im a couple of years too young for that. I was into Britpop as a teen (Oasis, Suede, Pulp, Blur, Gene, Mansun, Ash etc. ) I only first heard the word Emo around 2005.

I think the black eyeliner, swooped hair stereotype came out when emo kids were posting photos of themselves like that on MySpace in the 00s.

Edit - I've just noticed I have an extremely 80s emo signature

Maybe I'll change it to Lloyd Cole, would that be more or less emo...

Last edited by hurtloam on 10 May 2019, 4:27 pm, edited 2 times in total.

A lady I worked with (mature 40-ish, not exactly a 'kid') introduced me to the term "emo" like ten years ago.

It was a music style she was into. She explained that there was "emo", and then there was "screamo". It meant basically hard rock with 'vocals with lotsa of emotion". I guess "screamo" is "emo" taken to the next decibel level. Lol!

I told her that when I wanna hear vocals with a lots of raw emotion I prefer to listen to Aretha, Teddy Pendergrass, Isaac Hayes, BBKing, or some other classic soul. Lol!

Hadnt heard her, nor anyone else, utter the word 'emo' again for years. But then a few weeks ago I over heard that same lady ask a young Black coworker what he was listening to on his iPhone. He said "it's the Lord's music" ( probably Kirk Franklin, or some other current gospel). The lady said that what was leaking through his ear buds "sounds like emo".

And it probably did. Gospel is an ingredient of classic soul, and it does have loud emotional vocals. when muffled through someone else's head phones a gospel singer might well sound like a screaming thin voiced White boy.

Yeah. Kurt Cobain was Grunge. 1994. I never heard the term Emo until circa 2005.