What is Emo?

For those that deny this is a potential problem:

There have been many comments on the original website regarding stereotyping and generalizing.  I will point this out again (and it is written multiple times on this site).  Not all “emo” kids cut, and not all kids that cut are “emo.”  It has been my experience, however, that a large percentage of “emo” kids do cut, and it appears that this is a higher percentage than the general population.  Again, there has been no research conducted in this matter.  We only have anecdotal reports to rely on here.  However, as the friends of the original site discovered, hundreds of other professionals have stated the same thing.  They were able to communicate with professionals all over the US.  They received hundreds of responses stating the same thing.  Emos are cutting and attempting suicides in numbers that have never been previously seen. 

As for defining what or who is “emo,” there is a wide array of opinions.  Some say that emo is simply a musical genre, and nothing more.  However, many of these same fans state that emo as a musical genre is "dead," and has been for some time.  For the purposes of this site, we are dealing with the current "incarnation" of emo.  This, according to many people that we have had contact with, is more of a lifestyle or subculture.  I must state that it is the kids that define “emo" as “emotional.”  It was the kids that told us that they were “emo.”  It is the kids that tell us of the cutting and “show off” their scars and cuts.  This site would not be here at all if were not for kids telling my staff and I about emo, we would never have researched it, let alone put up these sites.   That is one fact that the detractors cannot accept.  They simply deny it.  They will say that all the images here are made by us, or were altered.  They will say that the kids that say that they’re emo aren’t “really emo.”  They will claim that we’re stereotyping, when their own sites have content about cutting and suicide.  These are all things that were said on the forum for the last site.  Failing that, they result to insults and threats.  However, denials, insults and threats will do little, as there are so many emo kids that cut, there are few that do not know any.  Too many people know.  Too many people have seen. 

Not every kid that enters this subculture will self injure or attempt suicide.  It has never been suggested on this site that they all do.  It also not a oversimplification of saying “it’s the music.”  It’s not that at all.  Music is just one of many aspects of “emo” culture.  We do not consider music to be the focal point if the current emo.  That's why there is no mention of music or specific bands on this site.  As we have recently learned, the real focus should be with what the "emo kids" are posting on line, and what they are observed doing in real life.  The style and music are really inconsequential.  Base on what is posted on line,  the emo subculture seems to be extremely negativistic. When one looks at everything that is emo, the websites, the forums,  the pictures, and the poetry, one gets a rather bleak outlook on the entire subculture.  It’s what the kids are saying, not what we are inventing.  Look at this site.  Look at what we posted from emo websites.  That is what will make our point.  That’s what several of us think that the emo kids really hate.  We are using their their art and words to make our points.  They make the art, they publish their words, and we use that to show what they are really doing. 

To explain this further, ever spend a lot of time around many people that were negative?  It brings you down, doesn’t it?  Conversely, spending time around people that are upbeat can make you feel better.  It happens to all of us to some degree.  For most adults, we can recognize the influences around us and mentally prepare ourselves for too much negativity.  Even then, it can be difficult.  What about kids?  Their brains aren’t fully developed.  They don’t really “know themselves.”  Are they prepared for negativity?  Not really, they are concerned with “fitting in” and defining themselves.  That’s what teens do.  They join groups and want to be accepted.  What if they join a group that is all about negative thinking and self-injury and suicide?  Will this influence them?  The answer is a resounding yes!  We have seen many cases where a child will have little to no difficulties until they became involved in "emo."  After that, they did cut, and did attempt suicide.  That is another fact that the detractors simply dismiss and deny.  Again, the problem with these denials is that too many of us (professionals, kids, and parents) have seen that happen first hand.  The detractors seem to think that it is simply a matter of dismissing the personal experiences of others.  Too many of us have seen this happen for that argument to be effective, let alone truthful.  Summing it up; if kids immerse themselves in a subculture that at the very least condones self injury as a means to deal with life issues, should we be surprised when a large number of them self injure?

Also along the lines of social influences, it is now acceptable to pressure advertisers, modeling agencies, and the media to stop glorifying pencil thin females.    It is acceptable to state that this may be linked to increased cases of Anorexia and Bulimia.  Some nations have even passed legislation regulating these to help prevent the rise in cases of eating disorders.  Is this the primary cause of these disorders?  Not entirely, but they do have a commonly acknowledged role.   Remember "Joe Camel" from the 90's?  Remember cigarette and alcohol advertising?  It was perfectly fine to point out that these were adverse influences.  Again, this is a commonly stated opinion.   Advertising and culture are  linked to these social phenomena, but apparently not in the case of “emo?” How is "emo" different than any of the above-mentioned influences?  Can we say that other things that suggest negative behavior are “bad,” but emo is somehow immune? 

We have also seen that there are many kids and adults that have struggled with self injury.  We have heard from some that are rather upset with the fact that the current emo culture seems to trivialize their problem.  We have discussed this at length, and the consensues is that the current emo seems to make self injury seem like an attention seeking behavior, when it is not.  With self injury becoming a stereotypical behavior beacuse of emo, people that suffer from this problem feel more and more alientated.   This might interfere with people seeking help, which would be most unfortunate. 

We are aware that for the most part, we are dealing with children.  They are defending  their style.  This is expected.  It is the fact that there are so many harming themselves that is at issue here. Otherwise, emo would just be the latest in a long line of teen trends.  

A good point to make here is that influences often affect people without their direct knowledge.  Teens are especially prone to this since they are still developing their identity.   Basically, most people that are being negatively influenced are unaware of it!  It's amazing to me that there have been many times in which a person has posted on the forum for the original site site a link about how "emo" is not about cutting, and the site they mention has information about cutting!  One person posted about me stereotyping emos and there were posts on their own forum about their own cutting!  Many of the critics of this site are doing the very things that we warn about here, yet they themselves seem oblivious to the fact that there is a connection in their behaviors!  This is very clearly denial!  

In the end, How many kids have to self injure, or even die, before this will be acknowledged?