Emo Stuff. Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, And Goth.

Question: What does "emo" mean? what do they look like? how old are these emo people?

(Posted by: Jessica on 2009-06-30 03:09:15)

Posted by: Midieval Fantasy on 2009-07-01, 13:02:28

This is striaght from two Emo sites that i looked up when i got tired of people calling me emo and wanted to know the difference between Emo and Goth so i could tell others the diffrence : The term "Emo " is used as counterculture; it is an abreviation of the word "emotional ". Emo it's defining not only an attitude, but also a fashion that are coming from emocore (emo music). Emocore is a combination between hardcore and punk music which was very popular in Washington DC in the late 80's. The emo culture continued to develop between '90 and '00, reaching the height of its popularity today. Emo kids are sad creatures of the dark. They are characterized by their dress sense and also how in touch they are with certain emotions (i.e. the negative ones). Typically emos wear lots of black and will most likely have dyed hair (mainly black or sometimes colourful streaks) and write music, lyrics, or poems about the trials and tribulations of their torturous lives. Basically emos are sort of like goths...but with a lot less darkness and a lot more Harry Potter. Spotting an emo kid online is very easy as most have their username surrounded by Xs like so: xXxTinySadBrokenKittyxXx. Usually this would indicate that the user is Straight Edge (abstains from drug and alcohol). However in the emo community, things have different meanings. Emo is not only a classification or a type of music it's also taken over the way one expresses themself by dressing. It includes the tighter fiting pants to the dyed-black or dark hair with it covering your face. The longer hair in front with the spikes in the back is also a more Emo- or emotional look to dressing. Emo meaning being comfortable with oneself. Its a more direct way of altering the feelings one has without words, just emotion. Some say music is not a type of music. That it is more of a fashion and a way of feeling, hence the emotional. Just recently people have been considering emo to be a genre or music.. Taking back Sunday is one of the many bands people consider to be emo. Not all emo people are cry babies or sucidial. Many emo kids come from families which are having serious issues whether it being money issues or what have you In recent years the media has linked the Emo scene closely with issues of cutting and self-harm, but in reality when you step back and look self-harming objectively, there is no medical or cultural link that connects it to any one social group. Self-harming stems from some serious mental illnesses, namely borderline personality disorder, and is also carried out by people who are suffering, or who have suffered from significant trauma or emotional upset. When you look at the medical reasons behind cutting and self-harming, it is impossible to suggest it affects any one group of individuals, and so claiming that somehow a fundamental part of the Emo culture is very misleading. As for age, i do not think that there is a set age limit. Some can stay that way their entire life, while for others it is a passing fad or a just a hard point in their life that they went through for whatever reason and eventually got over it and chose to change. Being a subculture there is no way to tell the lifespan of one individual within that community. though i have rarely seen emos myself, i have yet to see many pictures of emos that look to be over thirty. I could, however be horrificly wrong in that acessement. one just never now. I would take a venture to say that a good number of them seem to be in their teenager years through their young adulthood, not to say there are some that are much older, but those are ones that are most prominent and dare i say...showy in their solitude? anyway, many are out their, in all sizes and ages. they are here to stay and people are better off accepting it and learning about it than rejecting it and staying ignorant, which always leads to troubling endings... Anyway i hope that is helped to answer your questions. Good luck to you and your quest for knowldge. "To thine own self be true " Edit : Samatha is completely correct in her knowledge that emo actually is short for emocore and not emotional. it is pretty contriverial, but the luv-emo page says as much somewhere on its site. i think it really just depends on who you ask as to what it is short for as the emocorner says it is short for emotional. But thank you Samanta for mentioning that, i had forgtten i had read that once.

Posted by: alyse2232 on 2009-06-30, 03:12:44

Its short for emotional but here is a definition urbandictionary.com/ define.php?term= emo

Posted by: Anonymous on 2009-06-30, 03:12:50

Here you go, catch: encyclopediadramatica.com/ Emo

Posted by: Glenn B on 2009-06-30, 03:12:53

Http:/ / en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Emo

Posted by: Godsmast on 2009-06-30, 03:12:55

I think emo is (To me) Like Very Sad, Depressed, Likes Black stuff(because its not rly anything) And cuts thereself.. Thats what i think (Not rly a good opinion)

Posted by: Jeromy C on 2009-06-30, 03:13:12

It's a group of angsty teens striving to be different. They assume their life sucks more than others and acts out by purposely cutting their wrists. They tend to wear black make-up and complain about their lives to others constantly. It's a phase some kids go through in high school but quickly grow out of.

Posted by: Izzy-bell on 2009-06-30, 03:13:28

Its emotional people that dress in black and are sad all the time...some of them cut themselfs and they wear chains and big boot!! they can be as young or old as they want.

Posted by: Lois O on 2009-06-30, 03:14:17

Stands for emotional. where a lot of black, kinda moody looking, teenagers

Posted by: Clarity on 2009-06-30, 03:15:05

Emo stands for emotional, they mostly wear the color black and skinny jeans, and they're eye make-up is so dark and thick it makes them look like heroin addicts and we all know only Courtney Love can pull off that look, and they straighten their hair so much it fries and look terrible and make it look all messy and poofy which makes their hair look even more terrible...Emo kids are what most teenagers seem to be evolving into, either that or scene kids, they think they're different but they really aren't at all and they also cut themselves.

Posted by: Hero on 2009-06-30, 03:15:24

Emo - emotional. The stereotype is that they'll cut their wrists and cry about everything, but that's just peoples igorance really. Most 'emo' people I know have only been that way for a short while and then later regretted the way they spoke, dressed etc. Typical music is stuff like MCR or A Day to Remember or even Dashboard Confessionals. I feel it's just a stage in someones life when they've a lot of personality. Most 'emo' people go on to be 'scene'. I find people who actually label themselves quite sad, and if someone else is labelling them it is also sad. So genereally avoid labels, just be yourself (:

Posted by: Jr on 2009-06-30, 03:15:25

Most are teenagers and emo means emo-tional it is music and now considerd a stlyle for sum reson and it is very overused in children these days like its suddenly cool to cry and hurt yourself peole just want to be deppressd so bad now

Posted by: Beckkk :) on 2009-06-30, 03:16:57

Emo means emotional i reckon they're all attention seekers.. They reckon their life is horrible and worse than everyone elses so they try to commit suicide and stuff but Im sure there's people in the world who have worse lives. They dress up in black to look different.. And they can be any age.. but ive only seen teenage emos.. :)

Posted by: Vanilla Chai Tea [Gettin Married on 2009-06-30, 03:28:12

In my experience, "emos " are a bunch of 13 year old kids trying to be different by all wearing the same dark clothes, trying to "fit in " a group.

Posted by: amibaox on 2009-06-30, 05:42:17

LOLOLOLOLOL.4 THIS HAS TO BE THE FUNNIEST QUESTION i have ever seen. LMAO. emo is short for emotional . this is a typical emo person : vaycanina.com/ resimler/ standart/ 06052007172722emo_boys_rock--large-msg-1152717544.jpg yes, they are quite the lookers at time :) its just a stupid stereotype, not an actual rule!

Posted by: Samantha L on 2009-06-30, 14:39:30

R u serious? do u live under a rock? Emo is short for emo core, dont let anybody tell you its short for emotional cuz its not. They are ussually teenagers, i havnt seen any emo kid over the age of 23. They dress in skinny jeans and ussually dark colors, but i have seen alot of emo kids dress in rainbow. And the ussually wear converse & vans etc. Its actually got a whole fashion thing to it, unlike goth does. But stereotypically these kids cut themselves, smoke pot, and listen to screamo music......but not every emo kid cuts. And they have great hair XD

Posted by: brionnaBANG! on 2009-07-01, 18:18:53

Emo is short for emotional but is a subculture defined by emotional [sad] rock music by bands like Taking Back Sunday. They will usually wear teeshirts with bands or cartoons on them, tight jeans, studded belts, and converse. They usually wear mostly dark colors/ gray with touches of bright colors, unlike hypercolorful scene kids. The hair is the main thing about being emo. It consists of sidebangs, possibly dyed with colored strips or coontails. It is usually darkly colors or bleached out blond. Emo kids are usually 12-20ish.

Posted by: XxCemetery_DriveXx on 2009-07-02, 19:34:12

Are you serious? Have you been living under a rock? "emo " means Emotive Hardcore or Emocore NOT emotional. Anyone who tries to tell you it means emotional are totally ignorant towards the subculture. It started out as a music genre in the mid 80's & evolved from the Hardcore Punk scene. The music is techically dead now,it techically died in the 90's. Bands like Rites of Spring, Sunny Day Real Estate, The Smiths, Dashboard Confessional, Jimmy Eat World(before the song 'The Middle') or Weezer(their 90's albums). Ignorant people think that bands like Panic! at the Disco, Fallout Boy, My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday or The Used are part of this genre but they aren't, they're just alternative rock bands. From the music it evolved into fashion & a life style. Ignorant people have formed a stereotypical view of 'emos' which is far from true. They think they are attention seekers(which I admit some are but NOT all),they self harm(which again NOT all do this. If they do then they may be experiencing problems which others wont know about),dress in black(well so does the punk & gothic subcultures but you don't really give them shit now do you) or have dark makeup(so does the gothic subculture but again you don't seem to give them as much shit) Now onto what 'emos' look like. People often get confused between 'emos' & 'scenes'. 'Scenes' basically are girly & superficial who love the 'emo' fashion. i667.photobucket.com/ albums/ vv32/ ashleh_ish_EMO/ cute-emo-scene-girl-225x300.jpg (scene girl) i655.photobucket.com/ albums/ uu276/ Cheebra/ Alex_evans.png (scene boy) emobucket.com/ displayimage-27.html (emo girl) emobucket.com/ displayimage-402.html (emo boy) Now for how old they are,it varies. Some can like the 'emo' fashion for as long as they like while others grow out of it. I say it would be between 11 or 12 - 20's though.

Posted by: *Cool Beans* on 2009-07-03, 21:19:15

Emo people are teenagers. They are: * emotional * moody * depressed * wear black all the time * enjoy sad poetry * like gross cartoons (Grim Adventures, Chowder, Flapjack) * wrist-cutters * wear black, red and purple make-up (even the boys) * Shop at Hot Topic * enjoy Screamo, punk rock and goth music * complicated * unsocial There's the stereotype! (Above) I really do not like emo people because they are convinced that their lives are horrible and attempt suicide. If they have enough money to buy all that clothing and make-up then, how horrible could their lives be?