What does it mean to be Emo?
605607
Emo is short for emotional.  Now, in the society today, it has turned into a high school stereotype such as jocks, nerds, geeks, goths, and groups like that.  If someone were to be stereotyped as emo, they would generally keep to themselves, be more timid than others, and not really want to do anything about it.  The majority of kids who fit this stereotype generally like to listen to music.  They feel it helps them escape the stresses of reality.  Music has essentially become their anti-drug.  Most kids have jumped into this fad thinking it's cool for guys to wear girl pants and wear black and such, but hey, if they want to express themselves like that, more power to them.  Everyone, to an extent, is "emo," considering it is derived from the word emotional, and if you're not emotional, you're not human.  \n\nLooks:  \n\n"Emo" girls tend to have shorter hair with sweeping bangs that cover one eye.  \n\nGuys tend to wear tighter jeans with the same hair cut.\n\nPiercings on the face are usually a big thing.  Same with wearing t-shirts of bands.
642679
Emo. Short for emotional. Emo. A genre of punk rock. Emo. A dress code of tiny t-shirts and horn-rimmed glasses. Type the word "emo" into your average search engine and you'll get over three million results that will encompass nearly that many different opinions of what emo actually is. The general approach to the term is a lot like the approach to pornography, "I can't tell you exactly what it is, but I'll know it when I see (or hear) it." \nThe history of emo is somewhat less ambiguous than its current meaning. "Emo" music developed out of the D.C. punk scene in the '80s. In its original incarnation, emo was short for emocore, or emotional-hardcore. The name was applied to hardcore punk rock bands who distinguished themselves from their peers by adding an emotional component to their music, dealing with sadness and love and angst in their lyrics. The music was also characterized by particularly dramatic vocals which, at best, left the audience in an emotionally charged state, crying or screaming. These days, emo has been popularized and sent into the mainstream through bands like Dashboard Confessional, Taking Back Sunday and Saves the Day. \n\nEmo music has even inspired its own subcultural style. Take your average Rites of Spring fan and you get someone who looks a lot like Weezer's Rivers Cuomo--nerdy glasses, vintage tees, cuffed jeans, Converse sneakers and slightly shrunken tops. Black hair and straight bangs, tight hoodies and thrift shop attire are also associated with emo. And while emo devotees are notoriously upfront about their feelings, instead of wearing their hearts on their sleeves, they tend to favor ironic slogans and band logos. \n\nLately, labeling someone as "emo" is something of a put-down, a stand-in for "overly emotional" or "melodramatic." The implication is that they are excessively moody and angsty, prone to crying jags and plagued by a love of bad poetry. Hot Topic even issued a patch that read, "cheer up, emo kid!" But for those who call themselves emo, the term means something more pure. At its core, emo is all about being upfront with your emotions. Or, as one "expert" defined it, "emo is like being Goth, but much less dark, much more Harry Potter." -- marni\n\n\nhopefully this helps,\nCepriana
382382
I thought emocore was short for "emotional hardcore" the music from the NY NJ area during the 80's that has soft passages and queer lyrics(very gay stuff) between bludgeoning guitar riffs. This emocore was probably just shortened down to the popular crappy music known as Emo. Just remember to wear your sister's black nutthugger jeans, and comb your silly hair down over your chin!!!
623011
Its stupid---thats all it is. Emo is bunch of losers, trying to act like they have "issues" when really they are just so bored and they make up a bunch of bull. \nBut HECK YEA! LONG LIVE HEAVY METAL! YOU RAWK!\nkRiStA
1024416
1. u could be emo \n2. ur depressed about somethin u should probably see a doctor
755568
I have no problems with emos.  Music and style are inter-related especially for those in their teens early 20's and emos are just a part of ongoing trends.  In the sixties you had the Mods and hippies who most probably did not get along either.  I say be who ya wanna be and do what ya wanna do and as long as you are not doing any harm to yourself or other people then have fun!
1187697
Emo(tional).  Get it?
393145
guy \n\nthat emo thing - \nhttp://www.dobi.nu/emo/\nhttp://www.fourfa.com/\n\nemo - short for "emotional
83936
I keep hearing about Emo's. What the hell is an Emo? Since when is a kid who is all 'wah-wah-I-hate-my-life-' a new trend?
987059
Hawthorne Heights is concidered very 'emo' because of that.\nBut I really don't think 'emo' really means anything. Emo stands for emotional. Everybody has emotions. What makes people who like to classify them as having emotions different than everyone else?
1013244
Everyone in this question has absolutely no idea what they are talking about. I'm not going to go into too much detail, but emo does not mean emotional. Emo is not Fall Out Boy, Good Charlotte, Simple Plan, Hawthorne Heights, Dashboard Confessional, etc. They are pop bands nothing more. You don't listen to emo, and I'm willing to bet that you never have. Emo is style of hardcore music that is short for emotive hardcore. It originated in Washington D.C. It is widely regarded that the bands Rites of Spring, Embrace, One Last Wish, and few others started it in the mid 80's. Rites of Spring being one of the best and most well known. They took their music in a more personal direction with a far greater sense of experimentation. Emo bands aren't on major record labels either. Emo is anti-corporate. It's what defined the bands, and it's what still defines those bands today. You will never find an emo band on Vagrant, Geffen, Drive-Thru, etc. Those bands aren't emo, and never will be.\n\nIf you want real emo check out:\n\nYaphet Kotto\nPolicy Of Three\nPortraits Of Past\nHeroin\nAntioch Arrow\nGlass And Ashes\nPlanes Mistaken For Stars\nOrdination Of Aaron\nCurrent\nSaetia\nHot Cross\nCircle Takes The Square\nA Day In Black And White\nFour Hundred Years\nSinaloa\nThey And The Children\nHow To Beat A Dead Horse\nAmpere\nAppleseed Cast\nRites of Spring\netc.\n\nIf you actually take the time to listen to these bands, you will see that it is the vocals and music that makes a band emo, not lyrics. And band such as Fall Out Boy, Dashboard Confessional, and Hawthorne Heights, do not have those musical and vocal characteristics.\n\nP.S. Emo has nothing to do with hairstyle.
622600
emo used to be just a type of music. and emo beliefs aren't different. emo kids are said to be more emotional but emo isn't even short for emotional if you actually know what it means. and emo isn't necessarily dashboard confessional or hawthorne heights. it wasn't when the term first originated.\n\ncharacteristics: side bangs, band shirts, guys in girl pants, often associated with being bi or gay or being a cutter\n\nemo teens just are another stereotype\nyes, maybe they are in touch with their emotions but it's not exactly what it was supposed to be.\nemo kids are generally more understanding of different things... such as homosexuality, different races, etc.\nit's just another way of expression
1123168
Emo guys cry so much, because they are psychologically disturbed. A quote from an emo kid This is why  they cry...\n"You made me cry. Now I will go and weep and write mean things about you in my journal. Then I will listen to the song called "Welcome to my life" by a beautiful band called Simple Plan. You are mean people, watch out, emo will rule this world. And Gunta, what if someone lights the candle? will your ass burn or will you fly like the eagle. Are the toxic gases in your ass flammable? I will pray that you people have a heart. *Runs to his corner* n emo kid "" \nThey are hella stupid, and they should have gotten their ass whooped by their parents when they were kids. They have a pussy and its irrversable.
819334
emo?\n\nearly morning over eater\nevil mothers orphan\nevery mans organ\nexploring messy orifices\neven male oddballs\nemotional martini olives\n\n\nOK its late i am being punchy...but what does EMO stand\n for????\n\ni do like emotional martini olives and i don't mind the occasional every mans organ....but damn those early morning over eaters...damn them all to hell!!
1036758
I feel old too... I didn't know what it meant until I read Entertainment Weekly last week--at least I think it was EW--it said the definition of emo was "Seth Cohen's striped sweater".  Because I am old (apparently) I barely know who Seth Cohen is... my guess would be sensitive and kind preppy/punk... but again that's an "old person" guess.
1185573
Most people in this question has absolutely no idea what they are talking about. I'm not going to go into too much more detail, but emo does not mean emotional. Emo is not Fall Out Boy, Good Charlotte, Simple Plan, Hawthorne Heights, Dashboard Confessional, etc. They are pop bands nothing more. You don't listen to emo, and I'm willing to bet that you never have. Emo is style of hardcore music that is short for emotive hardcore. It originated in Washington D.C. It is widely regarded that the bands Rites of Spring, Embrace, One Last Wish, and few others started it in the mid 80's. Rites of Spring being one of the best and most well known. They took their music in a more personal direction with a far greater sense of experimentation. Emo bands aren't on major record labels either. Emo is anti-corporate. It's what defined the bands, and it's what still defines those bands today. You will never find an emo band on Vagrant, Geffen, Drive-Thru, etc. Those bands aren't emo, and never will be.\n\nIf you want real emo check out:\n\nYaphet Kotto\nPolicy Of Three\nPortraits Of Past\nHeroin\nAntioch Arrow\nGlass And Ashes\nPlanes Mistaken For Stars\nOrdination Of Aaron\nCurrent\nSaetia\nHot Cross\nCircle Takes The Square\nA Day In Black And White\nFour Hundred Years\nSinaloa\nThey And The Children\nHow To Beat A Dead Horse\nAmpere\nAppleseed Cast\nRites of Spring\netc.\n\nIf you actually take the time to listen to these bands, you will see that it is the vocals and music that makes a band emo, not lyrics. And band such as Fall Out Boy, Dashboard Confessional, and Hawthorne Heights, do not have those musical and vocal characteristics.\n\nEmo is NOT a style of dress.
468304
I think emo is just a pathetic fad.  Emo kids aren't truly sad, they just want attention.  Emo is fake.