Emo Songs, Music and News

Archive for July, 2010

Emo can be considered a very controversial subculture. That is why over the years there have been quite a lot of different reactions to emo, whether it involves the style, the music, the stereotypes, and the culture itself.

For example, did you know that there has been a law proposed in the Russian Duma (the Federal Assembly of Russia’s lower house) that aims to regulate web sites about the emo subculture, as well as to prohibit the emo style in schools as well as in government facilities. The rationale here is that officials fear the subculture promotes negative behavior—being anti-social, being depressed, or even promoting suicidal tendencies.

Among the biggest backlashes that emo has faced is that it allegedly glamorizes self-inflicted pain and suicide. From music lyrics to the MySpace profile pictures of self-proclaimed emos, there is a lot of depictions of this sort of thing. That is why there have been many concerned with the kind of attitudes and sensibilities promoted by the subculture.

In general, there seem to be many who have negative perspectives toward emos and what they represent. This is especially true when it comes to emo imagery. An example is the predominance of black in visuals relating to the emo culture, images that are also sometimes infused with red for blood.  There are also other graphic images that show bloody wrists, self-mutilation, and objects like teddy bears hanging themselves.

Today, we have the kinds of stereotypes that link such imagery to the people who tag themselves with the emo label. When some people see a guy with side-swept bangs, they go, “Oh, he’s definitely an emo. Probably slashes his wrists in the bathroom at night.” In a way, this can be a negative perception about people, especially those people who simply emulate emo fashion instead of emo sensibilities.

Of course, supporters of the subculture will be quick to defend it. Many really are not into slashing their wrists, nor do they have suicidal tendencies. Many simply gravitate towards emo because of how it is geared towards a particular type of expression. Many are drawn into the subculture because of its treatment of emotional devastation, a necessary release for many advocates of emo.

Aside from those issues on subculture, there have also been other issues that are related to emo’s apparent gender bias, especially when it comes to the emo music scene. Emo music has generally featured the pangs of a male with a bone to pick against a woman. While it can be argued that both genders appreciate the songs regardless of the subject, many contest that there have been many emo songs with anti-woman sentiments in them.

Clearly, there is a wide variety of reactions to the subculture we call emo. It takes a lot of hits regardless of what aspect we look at—the appearance, the style, the music, and the actions commonly associated to the culture. There is an undeniable social stigma attached with the label, and it will continue to be controversial for many years to come.

What about you? What do you think about these reactions to the emo way of life? Are they justified, or is there a lack of understanding surrounding emo? Comment away, and be heard.