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"Emo" is a slang term used to describe a wide range of fashion styles and attitudes somewhat affiliated with emo music and its related scenes.
For more than a decade, the term "emo" was used almost exclusively to describe the genre of music that spawned from the 1980s DC scene and all of the bands inspired by it. However, during the late 1990s, as emo music began to emerge from the underground into popular consciousness, the term began to be used as a reference for more than just the music.
With the advent of the late 90s indie emo scene, some sense of commonality began to emerge. For example, it became increasingly common to see males wearing the "nerd" style of dress popularized by bands like Weezer, including thick black glasses, straight-legged khaki pants, and v-neck sweaters, accessorized with a chain wallet. While the style was not particularly prevalent, people aware of the scene began associating those common styles with the emo bands of the period, and began describing the wearers as "dressing emo".
While it contained some of the elements of passion and emotion that earned the monicker "emo" in the first place, the indie emo of the 90s was often seen as simply an offshoot of indie rock. Some rock scenes saw indie emo as "hardcore music for nerds", where it was okay to play loud and fast, but without the more "macho" elements sometimes found in hard rock, but most rock does resemble the "emo" look. While it was a marginal viewpoint at the time, it began the trend of people using the word "emo" as a term of derision.
Bands like Dashboard Confessional, and Korn began to popularize a more dramatic and personal style of "emo", which contained lyrics that had a far greater appeal amongst teenagers experiencing life and love for the first time. As the lyrical content shifted and as the sound began to enter the mainstream, the term "emo" started to be used more often to describe what was perceived by those outside the scene as the overwrought melodrama of the music. Popular comments such as "don't be so emo" and "cheer up, emo kid" drove home the belief among deriders that fans of emo music took themselves too seriously and were simply looking for drama where it didn't exist.
As major labels began pushing more bands under the "emo" umbrella, varying styles of music and dress began to be lumped in as well. The style of bands like My Chemical Romance,and Green Day including their use of makeup (particularly black eyeliner) and longish hair covering the face, began to be associated with "emo".
Though the original emo scenes were not exclusionary, the modern "emo" scene has developed into a surprisingly "gay friendly" scene, particularly among gay teenagers seeking some kind of commonality. As such, the term "emo" has shifted amongst those who are disquieted by anything remotely considered "gay", with "emo" now being used in place of otherwise popular gay slurs.
While use of the term "emo" to describe the dress and attitudes of some fans of emo music, it should be noted that use of "emo" as a musical genre and "emo" as a slang term are largely separate.
Korn isn/t emo.