How do you feel about emo...things, I suppose. I've heard a lot of distaste from members who were called 'emo', so I'm assuming there's some hostility towards it, but why? And do you like (without being it obviously) the emo subculture, think it's okay, or hate it? And why do you feel this way?

Haha, this sounds like an essay question on a test about subcultures.

**Sorry if this is in the wrong section, or it's been posted before. I wasn't sure if this belonged in "gothic" or "general discussion"

I think we already have a bunch of thread about emo...but this is my two cents (taken from another thread):

Okay first off, though I am not an emo fan, I do not like the stereotypes against them more than I like them against us. Emo are no more likely to hurt themselves or be 'woe is me' than any other community or culture. This bullshit about them preforming self-harm is just that-bullshit. They don't all do it. It is one thing to talk about it- another to say it as if you actually believed it.

Emo, like Goth, is a music culture. I do not believe it is a subculture though, It is a counter-culture (If I remember correctly).

According to Wiki:

A Counter-culture is against the common culture, and can be a subculture.

A Subculture is group of people that is different from most people.

Emos listen to a type of music often called emocore, which is where they get their name. Emo is not actually short for emotional. They can be a bit depressive (but not all are), and are also very creative and expressive in their own individual ways depending on the person.



What sets emo an goth apart other than aesthetics, which is in and of itself pretty different- though it can merge together well if done right. Emo is actually quite dark in and of itself, though I always found it interesting to see how they incorporate colors. Like Goths there are MANY TYPES OF EMOS base on how they dress or act. They do not all look the same. Like Goth, they really can be quite dark. There are also Gothic Emos. I know, I know. A total contradiction you would think, but hell there are also such things as Christian Wiccans so anything is possible. Emo can actually be hard to tell apart from Goth sometimes- even I've had problems telling them apart in Jacksonville a time or two (they all turned out to be emo when I got closer to them And yes, Jacksonville has lots of Emos but hardly any actual Goths ).


So what is the difference (other than the mostly obvious styles- which really can be hard to see a difference sometimes, depending on the person and the outfit). The answer to this is quite simple: The music. They are a music subculture- so are we. They listen to Emocore, we Listen to Gothic Rock (etc...). The styles of music are vastly different in my opinion.

And contrary to popular belief MY Chemical Romance (and I believe Jimmy Eat World?) is NOT an emo band. An Emo band would be a group (from Florida. I learned of them from a woman who owns the Goth shop here that knows them all very personally and were in an alternative magazine I picked up from there) like Blood On The Dance Floor- or at least this (that the group BOTDF is emo) is what I am told and read in magazines. I listened to them on youtube- never again. *cringe*. Seriously different musical styles.

Granted things change. Some Goths no longer believe it is about the music and some Emos no longer believe it is about their music either. I think this could be where some of the fighting comes in. You take away the music and in some ways they are pretty damn similar. It all comes down to knowing your roots and not letting ignorance of those roots get the best of you.

If you want to learn more THIS is the best site I have ever found that seems to cover the TRUTH about emo. Sorry if this post seems cruel by the way. I'm not not a fan of stereotypes. As I said, it is one thing to jest, another to sound serious about said belief.

-Midi
Who fights the 'emo vs. goth' ignorance with actual facts.

Adding: I do not hate emos anymore than I hate anyone else- which is not at all. What I do hate is the stereotypes. It is one thing to make fun of it and joke (which even is not that great- though I have done it) but to believe it and treat people like shit because of it is wrong- plain and simple.

Honestly? I feel nothing for those tagged as "emo" nor do I care about their subculture... I've never met any and have never been mistaken for one.

I have enough problems in learning all there is to know about the goth subculture, without confusing myself with another one (especially one that doesn't concern me )

I tend to know a lot about Emo mainly because

1. I like to learn about what people 'sometimes' think I am

2. My city's main alternative culture is Emo. I've seen plenty of emos, rarely-if ever- have a seen a Goth.

So yeah...I like knowing the differences and being about to be both tolerance and factual as a result.

Understandable, hun... there seem to be none around here (unless they are schoolkids and I don't hang around anywhere near them these days)... and apart from one other guy, I've never seen another goth, either

Here's my two cents. I may tease, I'm really kinda passive of the Emo thing, I don't really hate it, I tend to tease non-maliciously, but I don't really "hate" it. I'm certainly no fan of it either, however.


It's just one of those things that I was never really drawn to enough to want to be part of.

For the most part, I don't really care myself. I won't be able to hold a musical conversation with them as our subcultures differ vastly in that respect, and I don't like their music very much. Of course, that doesn't mean we can't talk about other things (if we're in a situation where for some reason we're talking) right?

Well...usually no. This is where I tend to get irritated with largely all of the "Emos" I have met. Perhaps it's just the ones I've encountered, but I don't personally count talking about one's problems good discussion. I'm a very private person, so naturally I don't think the conversation has any place or relevance at all. I don't think I'm going to get to know someone by listening to them ramble on about whatever ails them physically or emotionally.

But I don't know too much about them either. Maybe I'm just a grouch

More likely though, is that a lot of then offend what I hold for polite standards of talking to a stranger. Still, that doesn't mean I won't give someone the benefit of the doubt.

pretty much this. This having been said, i do have an emo mate who loves to post rather soppy depressing statuses not sure if thats just him though

My opinion on this: I get along fine with anyone who isn't a prick - emo or otherwise. The only people that I don't care for are those who are annoying and obnoxious.

One person has called me an emo and another person keeps thinking I'm a guido because my hair's spiky. I just laugh these off mainly because their good but uninformed people, and if I busted a nerve every time someone called me something different, well... I'd have gone postal a long time ago.

Emos, furries, goths, steampunks, hippies, trekkies, whatever...

This sums it up.

-- Nephele

and here I thought it would be a link to some sigh that said we'd all go to hell...

Pretty much my opinion on the subject too. I don't like people who are idiots regardless of subculture.

You mean... We're not ALREADY in hell?

All is well, all is swell,
With every freak and infidel --
For equality, there's no parallel
In glorious, glorious, glorious hell!

-- Nephele (freaky, cheeky me, waving my pitchfork)

I have meet a few emos there alright some really cool I think there a sub culture as well?

I have been asked a few times if I were I simply say no im goth big difference and that's it no biggy. Also there a lot of emos here were I live.

They annoy me. Hoping I can get a get-out-of-jail-free card here because I'm in high school where I tread through a cataclysm of ghetto kids and scene kids. Every. Day.
Actually, now that I think about it, it's scene kids I hate, so I'll leave my post at that since I find it belligerent to go on this semi-unrelated tirade about them on this thread.
That is, unless I get another pass.