Emo

Emo is a genre of music which has been around since the 1980s or so and started with Emotive Hardcore or something.

Apart from a) in relevance to fans from that time period, or b) the musical history perhaps found in Kerrang! magazine or Wikipedia, the term "emo" is no longer widely used to describe this.

In definition the word "emo" is mostly heard on the streets, especially in "Great" Britain to define:

a) a style of music involving Dashboard Confessional or My Chemical Romance
-- and sometimes used prejudicedly by others who term anything containing a guitar and singing together as "emo" music (despite that what music is "emo" or not has become yet more blurred with the introduction of High School Musical which is supposed to be some mainstream form of pop or hiphop music but has been latched onto by "emos" as has it by "chavs")

b) a style of fashion which can include black or neon coloured skinny jeans, Vans or Converse trainers, black eyeliner and sometimes lipstick, black dyed hair, and fitted band-logo t-shirts/cardigans etc/band-logo hoodies, or any combination of these

c) a term used cheerfully by people who are involved with one or both of the above, to describe themselves, others and it

d) a derogatory term used disapprovingly by people who do not consider themselves or their style of music/dress "emo", perhaps because they are disgusted that others categorize things they like as "emo" and they personally do not know enough about the definition of "emo" to realise that this could be wholly or partly true, so they acquire a prejudice

In truth, people should stop being so offended about the use of the term "emo" because at the end of the day it's like when black people used to be referred to as "nigger" and besides that they still find this offensive but many happily refer to themselves as "nigger".

On that basis, it should be understood that if somebody does NOT refer to themselves, their style of dress, or their band or bands they like, as "emo", they will not appreciate somebody calling them as such - as also stood in the 1990s with "grunge" and has done with "goth" and "punk".

If somebody DOES refer to themselves as "emo", they are emo and proud because they say so. It is not something like sexuality that people generally hide from; usually teenagers are happy to express what they like.

BASICALLY SOMEBODY IS NOT ACTUALLY EMO UNLESS THEY SAY SO, WHATEVER EVIDENCE OTHERS MIGHT PROVIDE THAT THEY FALL INTO THIS CATEGORY.

So note to people who have found the other above definitions of "emo" offensive - just quit worrying about it because people ARE going to call you "emo" for those above reasons, and if you call yourself "emo" then you have to prepare for people to carry on like that. It means they are small-minded and don't know what it connotates to.

I know that sucks, but it's the sad truth. The gift of free speech in places such as Urban Dictionary is a brilliant thing; the fact that people use the anonymy of the internet to say abusive things from a safe distance holed up in their boring homes, when it proves they have nothing to do, is an unhappy truth in itself, but being offended by any of that just means that they have got what they hoped for - and proves their point about emo stereotypes.

If someone bullies "emos" about being "emo" then that shows what an idiot the person is. If the "emo" cries about it and gets all messed-up then the bully wins.

Hope that helps a lil. :)

"My Chemical Romance is an emo band"
(example of opinion)

"Kerrang! magazine is only read by emos"
(example of small-mindedness)

"That kid is an emo"
(example of stereotype)

"That kid SAYS he is an emo"
(example of justification, which is needed before somebody makes a comment like "That kid is an emo")

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