Subculture
What does Emo mean?
A scene that came out of emotional hardcore: a fringe, a diary out loud, pop-punk and a school fame for too much feeling.
Definition
Emo starts as emocore, a branch of 80s hardcore, and explodes in the 2000s as a mall look: hair in the face, a bracelet, My Chemical Romance on the backpack. The word became an insult for a boy who cries and, later, nostalgia. It is not goth. It is not only sadness. It is a scene with a discography and its own bullying.
Origin
English emotional hardcore, United States.
History
From 80s underground to Hot Topic and the TikTok revival.
How it emerged
Hardcore needed a diminutive for the band that spoke of feeling without becoming a ballad.
Usage examples
Emo is not a mood diagnosis.
The fringe came back; the scene was never only the fringe.
Translations
- pt emo
- en emo
- es emo
Synonyms
- emocore
- scene
- emotional pop-punk
Related terms
Questions
What is emo?
A musical and aesthetic scene born of emotional hardcore and popularised in the 2000s.
Is it goth?
No. Both wear black; the musical genealogy is different.
Does it still exist?
As a local scene and as a revival. The word also stayed as a school insult.