I originally posted this on the bbs, and decided to post this in my blog for more people to see:
"To hopefully put a stop to this sudden and retarded epidemic of emo bashing/emo uprising, we'll go through the facts and misconceptions on both sides to hopefully make everyone shut the fuck up about this shit. Emos are upset people are hating and stereotyping them, other people are confused, upset, and occasionally frightened by this sometimes annoying fad. Not to mention quite hateful.
Okay, now, you're probably wondering, "what is emo?" well:
"short for "emotional hardcore", was also used to describe the emotional performances of bands in the Washington DC scene and some of the offshoot regional scenes such as Rites of Spring, Embrace, One Last Wish,"
So we can confirm that emo was originally an offshoot to hardcore punk. Now we know where this musical style comes from. I actually took the liberty of listening to the above mentioned rites of spring, they're actually not a half bad band.
Which leads us the our next connundrum:
if emo originated from hardcore punk, how can bands like my chemical romance, who seem to be more closer to pop punk, be categorized as emo. Well, believe it or not, the only ties these later bands really have is to the scene, not the original musical style, which has since no longer existed as it once was.
Misconceptions:
emos cut their wrists.
Believe it or not, but claims and jokes about suicide and depression have been slapped on to practically every outcast/counter culture trend and fad. Goths were originally accused of being suicidal and worshipping satan, punks were accused of causing gang and street violence. The same is true of this fad, I believe.
However, it is not unreasonable to assume that depression and suicidal tendencies(lol), are not uncommon in these particular trends, especially considering most of these people are outcasts and join these trends for a place of belonging, to be a part with people who share their interests in music and fassion, and who are otherwise, less popular outside of these groups.
Perhaps the person is lonely, and picked on all the time. However, it is not entirely valid to assume that all members of such trends are suicidal, simply because of a few stereotypes. After all, african americans don't all eat chicken and watermelon.
Now, as to why some people may dislike emos:
Fassion:
emo's often borrow fassion styles from other genres with similar roots, such as goth or punk. Tight jeans, and black t-shirts. Dawning a mostly black outfit, obviously borrowed from goth, and colorful hair and face makeup, taken from punk rock.
However, there are some additions that tend to make people question the emo's sexuality. Particularly the fact that they wear tight pants, mix in bright and colorful colors with the black, such as pink.(I even once saw one with the exact same pink belt my sister has) even sometimes going as far as to borrow clothing from the female gender.
I actually saw a guy at round table with a girl sweater vest, shorts, and what looked to be black panty hose?(or some kind of tight black stretchy pants underneath. At first I mistook him for a short haired female, however, it soon became apparent that he was indeed a male.
The hair:
emos often wear their hair long, however, rarely do they let it grow down to the shoulders.(that's for metalheads! :))Cutting one side shorter, so as to have one long bang is also common. This bang is often worn over one eye.(most commonly, tho not exclusively, their left eye)
This is probably why most people dislike them. Now, there are the plain looking ones, sure, but many of the more female looking ones, it's obvious to see where all this hatred comes from. It's no surprise that the people who particularly hate on emos, are mostly metalheads, and mostly overtly heterosexual males.
Obviously, we heterosexual men are sickened by such sites, as it doesn't fit into our view of what manly is.(and I'm just as guilty for thinking this way) I mean, sweater vests and long bangs, is that manly? I think not.
There is also more gender confusion. For example, the band from first to last, which is an all male band, has had two of it's members french kiss on stage. However, the members themselves claim to all be straight, and even the fans of the band(who are obviously mostly emos), believe the same exact thing.
I am sorry emos, but you must understand, that is fucking confusing. To us macho men(pun intended), seeing two men kiss automatically=gay. No questions asked. It's one thing to kiss a man on the forehead, or even barely on the lips after being excited for winning the lottery or something, but to french kiss a man. A french kiss is a very intimate, very sexual type of kiss.
Now, it's not a problem if you're gay. I have nothing against homosexuals(in fact, my uncle is one himself) and wearing makeup doesn't automatically make you gay.(if it did, king tutankamen would have married a man, instead of his sister,lol) But when it comes to the aforementioned(pink belts, girl pants, and kissing on stage), it is very suggestive of such. VERY.
So, now I think we've taken care of all of this emo bullshit. Hopefully this has educated people on both sides, non-emos and emos alike and will keep future arguments, and retarded threads from sprouting up in the near future.(and god knows we've all gotten sick of them.)"
