Tickle Me Emo: A Parent’s Introduction to the Emo Culture

The last couple decades have produced a rise in a culture that is commonly referred to as “emo.” Parents who pay attention to their teens and their lives may have come across this term briefly, but may not understand what the term entails. Here is a brief introduction to the emo culture for concerned parents.

The term “emo” refers mainly to an attitude associated with a musical culture that is highly popular among many teens today. “Emo” is short for “emotional,” but strong feelings of sadness, depression, and melodrama are the emotions that the term is used to describe. It might be helpful to think of it as a sub-cultural trend, much like the grunge phase of the mid-1990s and the glam-rock phase during the late 1980s. Bands like Dashboard Confessional and Death Cab for Cutie epitomize the emotionally unstable view of the emo genre by focusing on lyrics that describe the trials of life and love.

But emo is more than a musical genre. The teens who subscribe to the emo genre of music and its ideals generally follow an emo fashion style, too. A good way to describe this fashion trend is “goth lite,” as it typically follows the same ideal. This sub-culture of teens tends to appear well-worn while wearing dark makeup and black eyeliner. Males sport thick-rimmed black glasses, regardless of their need for prescriptive lenses. Some members of this sub-culture also wear wristbands. Piercing parts of the body, namely the facial area, is also a trend among many of these teens. They not only pierce their ears, but they have expanded to piercing their nose, eyebrow, lip, and labret (the section between the bottom lip and the chin).

There is little danger associated with the emo culture. However, there are cases of many of these teens occasionally inflicting harm on their own bodies. Many times, this need is satisfied by “cutting” - using a razor blade to make several cuts in one’s skin. This is usually done on a part of the body that will not cause permanent damage to the teen (i.e., the upper arm, upper leg) and is done as a “release” for frustrations and sadness. While a modest number of teens appear to take part in this trend, many of them adhere to the fashion ideals alone. The sub-culture called “emo” does not make teens this way, but rather attracts those who already have strong feelings of depression, hopelessness, and emotional instability. For them, emo is a way to label themselves to fit in with a community of those like them while maintaining their individuality.

If your child has become involved in the Emo culture, there is little cause for concern. In fact, you may want to be encouraged because it indicates that you are raising a child who is contemplative and who realized that life is larger than just their own problems. They realize that love and beauty are important and that social status is not everything. Be proud of the fact that you are raising kids who can think for themselves and who are willing to express that fact.

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