What is Emo?

Emo is a fad, a musical form, a fashion sense, a subculture and a lifestyle.  The name comes from the musical genre called emotive hardcore. The term Emo itself is usually seen as being short for "emotional."  The people in this lifestyle are usually in their early teens through the early twenties.  The are most easily identified by their fashion, consisting of black clothes, straight black hair, usually covering one eye, black framed glasses, tight, usually dark clothing, makeup is common, but not required, in both sexes, and gender roles seem somewhat blurred, and great deal of androgyny being indicated.  Emo music often speaks of emotional pain, self-injury, suicide, hopelessness, and death.  Writing poetry is often a common trait among emos.  The poetry often touches on the same themes as the music.  There are, of course, variations, as there are in any fad, but the main themes remain.

Why should I care about this "emo thing"

• The emo fad seems to be a bit different in several very important ways.  The emo subculture, in its glorification of self-injury, seems to have caused an epidemic of self-injury.  Self-injury is the intentional cutting, burning, or otherwise harming oneself without the intent of suicide.  Self-injury is usually done under the guise of releasing feelings, or to feel anything at all.  I have a page on self-injury to further describe this problem and how it relates to the emo subculture.

• Another concern is the increase in the teen suicide rate recently announced by the centers for disease control.  Please consult the section on suicide for more information on that issue.

• Other insights into the emo fad are to be seen by examining the poetry that people in the fad publish.  There is a section on this as well. 

• Also at issue, is the glorification of suicide in emo music.  Please visit the music section of this site for lyrics and information. 

• Please take some time to familiarize yourself with the emo subculture.  As mentioned earlier, my point is that the emo fad is different than the others that proceeded it because kids in this subculture are scarring themselves, and in some cases, dying.
  

• Finally, look at our section on what can I do?  You will  find suggestions that concerned parents, teachers, doctors, therapists and school administrators can use to help children avoid or overcome the apparent destructive influences of this subculture. 
  

• A new section is the Tragic Examples Page.  This lists the names and stories of kids that were involved in "emo," and suicided. 
  

• Another new section is a rebuttal to people that have criticized this site.
  

• A newer section is the More Evidence page.  It features pictures and icons that emos have posted on line.
  

• Also, there is a new page of what the emo kids are saying about the facts discussed here.