So what exactly is an emo? Not exactly an easy word to define as it means different things to different people. Personally, an emo is someone who dresses according to the emo fashion. By this I mean the studded wristbands, belts and the practically painted on black jeans. Those very black jeans that make the spectator’s mind boggle as to how exactly anyone could squeeze themselves in them. However, an emo does not inspire images of a self-mutilating teen in my head, but is sadly not the case in many others. Perhaps a distinction should be made at this point, between an emo fashion-ist and a self-harmer. The emo dressing teen is one who adores the colour black and wears enough black eyeliner to put Marilyn Manson to shame, whereas a self-harmer is, well, someone who self-harms. Of course it is possible to be both, but that does not mean that everyone who wears a little more black than most people should be labelled as self-injuring.
In her article, Sands argues that the internet has become a breeding ground for ‘emos’ “celebrating self-harm,” on various web sites dedicated to the topic. This is true, to a certain extent. Although these websites do exist, it is ridiculous to imply that every so called emo boasts and competes with others about self inflicted injuries. Granted, there are some teens who do discuss their injuries with others on the internet, but Ms. Sands seems to have wrongly assumed that all teens whose wardrobe consists solely of black are self-harmers. This is best shown by a young girl who I recently spoke to about this particular subject. She shows all the classic characteristics of your stereotypical emo; the black straightened hair, the fringe covering one heavily mascara-ed eye, the absence of anything closely resembling colour, and of course those crucial converse. However, there are no knife scars marking her arms, and she appears quite content. She tells me she is happy and has never even considered self-harming. Her ‘emo’ dress sense seems to be more linked to fashion than depression. This would seem to contradict Sand’s ideas of the self-harming teens, that being that they are all emo. I am not suggesting that there are no people who dress according to the ‘emo’ fashion who do not self-harm, I am simply saying that it is unreasonable to assume that all self-harmers are emo. It seems the ‘emo fashion’ and self-injuring teenagers have unfortunately been mixed together, and caused uninformed journalists to launch attacks on both kinds of teens.
Sands also suggests that both the fashion and music industries directly encourage the emo culture. This could be said to be true when speaking of the fashion business, with clothing outlets such as ‘Hot Topic’ selling clothes with phrases such as “Cheer up emo kid” splayed across black t-shirts. However, it is perhaps wrong to imply that the fashion and music businesses support self-harm, which is what Sands implies in her article; “Emo bands (Green Day, My Chemical Romance)…encourage [self-injury].” The fashion industry does support the emo fashion but I have never seen any sign of encouragement for self injury.
As for the music industry, specifically the bands mentioned in Sarah Sands’ article, often speak out against teens self-harming, in particular, My Chemical Romance. Lead singer, Gerard Way was quoted as saying; “we do not promote self-harm, but we encourage kids to find other ways to get out their frustrations…” The band are often heard at concerts encouraging their audience members to talk to someone if they suffer from depression. One mother, who was so enraged by the article in question, wrote that these bands “provide a forum for teenagers to talk about their feelings, and also give a sense of belonging which is so often missing in everyday life for them.” Therefore, the fact that Sands would suggest that the music industry encourages self-injury is absurd, and it shows an unfortunate lack of research. Perhaps the mistake people make is that they are aware that the majority of these band’s fans dress according to the emo fashion, and they immediately assume that either they all self-harm, or that the bands encourage it.
In conclusion, there seems to be a large misunderstanding involving the term ‘emo’ and its meanings. To some it means an overly emotional person, to others a self-harming teenager dressed entirely in black. Some even see it as just a fashion. However, people generally associate emos as being self-injurers, which of course in some cases is true, but not all. Regrettably, Sarah Sands article has only helped to fuel this misinterpretation. On the one hand, there are websites dedicated to discussing self-injury, and yes, some teenagers do use these sites, however, it is incredibly discriminatory to imply that all ‘emos’ do so. Emo as a fashion has been promoted among clothes retailers, but that does not mean that the industry encourages teens to self-harm. The emo fashion and people who suffer from depression are two separate entities, yet they have become linked, forcing people to associate one with the other. A biased and unfounded attack on a group of teenagers, who more than likely resort to being, what most people would call an ‘emo’ in order to find an outlet for their aggravation, does not help matters. If these people really are self-harming, shouldn’t we be finding ways to help rather than backing them into a corner? Instead of launching unsupported assaults on the ‘outsiders,’ we should be attempting to give them the help and support they need. If their self-harming is really a cry for help, then we cannot turn our backs and ignore them when they need us most.
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