Hi. Originally I came here to ask for guidance about my 11-soon-to-be 12 year old daughter coming out to me as bisexual. This forum has been great with advice and I am so thankful. One question that makes me feel stupid. Even after googling, I still do not understand what "EMO" means. I hear my daughter use the term and I really should understand what she's talking about. Thanks for any info.
Hey there, welcome! That is so awesome that you took that extra step to support your daughter it just means emotional. It comes with a whole culture of people and a type of music, sort of like goths and metalheads. Usually people say I feel really emo when they're saying they feel moody, depressed or emotional.
Thanks. What type of music? Maybe I am EMO? I do love Sarah McLaughlin.: ) This has been a hard week since she confided in me. Fortunately for both of us (in some ways) sexual orientation has never been an issue with me. My much older brother is gay and I have always viewed orientation as a spectrum, even as I child. Not worried about me. Worried about other people's reaction and treatment of her. But EMO, color me confused and ignorant. Maybe I should google more?
Emo is just a teen fashion/trend. Dress in a certain way, listen to certain music etc. Nothing to worry about.
Like the user above me said, it can mean depressed, sad, and all those other negative feelings. Usually, emos are associated with suicide and cutting too. This is where I go on about my absolute distaste of the word and especially the people who are associated with the word but maybe another day.
Oh no. Its associated with cutting? That's obviously a bad thing. She's never referred to herself as that but jeez.
There is some association with that, but you have extreme people everywhere! It really is just a group of people that dress and listen to a certain type of music. As there are ideas that metalheads worship satan, you have the extremes in all groups. I would say cutting is a problem in youth culture in general though, especially when young people feel like they aren't being listened to or that their feelings are not being validated. I was a telephone youth counsellor for awhile, so I experienced it firsthand a few times. If your daughter is happy though, it's nothing to worry about.
My daughter happy? Funny you should mention that. Not so sure. Her BFFs dropped her at the end of the school year and the more I think about it the more I think it is because of her gay-rights posts on Instagram. Just my surmise. She is understandably lonely. But the thing we have going for us is that we have an open line of communication and she knows her father and I love her. Kind of sadly, she has asked me more than once since she came out if I still love her. I hate that she has to ask but I know she has to hear it. Maybe I need to say it a lot now.
Oh no, that is heartbreaking :/. Must be really hard on you to hear her ask you for reassurance. Sounds like she's really gone through a lot.
I love having parents on here because it shows that you must care about your children very much to seek advice. I'm supporting you regardless
Here's an example of emo music. Like others have said, it's a subculture that's stereotyped as depressed, sensitive, angst-ridden. Others might use it to informally describe a person who is being particularly melancholy, "All emo." All-in-all, I actually think some styles and followers are cute (high school me would never accept this). I think it's dying out these days, and/or branching out into different styles and subcultures.
[YOUTUBE]j-O6x2nF768[/YOUTUBE]More emo music! Yeah, emo subculture =/= cutting. I'd probably also go and say that you don't have to be into emo fashion to be into emo music and vice-versa. In terms of the music genre itself, this is the definition that Wikipedia gives: "Emo /ˈiːmoʊ/ is a style of rock music characterized by expressive, often confessional, lyrics." That's pretty much it. Unless you see her embracing a sort-of punk-inspired fashion trend, I would assume that's what she means.
Whoah whoah whoah Everyone is partially correct, but emos aren't all about being sad, they're about the honest expression of emotion. They deal with emotions differently than others; usually taking them more seriously, or feeling them more intensely than normal people. This is why emos are known to be artistic one way or another. They're real with what they create. Today's youth turned the term 'emo' into someone that is always depressed and dresses in black clothing, usually with a huge bang covering one of their eyes. That's not what an emo is! Anywho,I'm glad you found what you were looking for.
god I must be the oldest emo on EC ( feeling quite old now) anyhow I dont see the negative aspects of being emo I see it as caring about the future the state the worlds in and wanting to do something about it in a positive way . I think its a positive thing that you are on EC .I would ask your daughter why shes into emo I think you might be surprised.
