Emo rock music

Emo is a subgenre of hardcore punk music. Since its inception, emo has come to describe several independent variations, linked loosely but with common ancestry. As such, use of the term has been the subject of much debate.

In its original incarnation, the term emo was used to describe the music of the mid-1980s Washington, DC scene and its associated bands. In later years, the term emocore, short for "emotional hardcore", was also used to describe the DC scene and some of the regional scenes that spawned from it. The term emo was derived from the fact that, on occasion, members of a band would become spontaneously and strongly emotional during performances. The most recognizable names of the period included Rites of Spring, Embrace, One Last Wish, Beefeater, Gray Matter, Fire Party, and, slightly later, Moss Icon. The first wave of emo began to fade after the breakups of most of the involved bands in the early 1990s.

Starting in the mid-1990s, the term emo began to reflect the indie scene that followed the influences of Fugazi, which itself was an offshoot of the first wave of emo. Bands including Sunny Day Real Estate and Texas Is the Reason put forth a more indie rock style of emo, more melodic and less chaotic in nature than its predecessor. The so-called "indie emo" scene survived until the late 1990s, as many of the bands either disbanded or shifted to mainstream styles.

As the remaining indie emo bands entered the mainstream, newer bands began to emulate the more mainstream style, creating a style of music that has now earned the moniker emo within popular culture. Whereas, even in the past, the term emo was used to identify a wide variety of bands, the breadth of bands listed under today's emo is even more vast, leaving the term "emo" as more of a loose identifier than as a specific genre of music.

As the music increased in popularity, emo became more and more a target of derision. As certain fashion trends and attitudes began to be associated with "emo", stereotypes emerged that created a specific target for criticism.

In the early years of the "third wave", the criticism was relatively light-hearted and self-effacing. In September of 2002, web developer Jason Oda put forth Emogame. The game poked fun at numerous emo stereotypes and musicians, but in a manner that could be appreciated by fans and detractors alike.

In ensuing years, the derision increased dramatically. Male fans of emo found themselves hit with homosexual slurs, largely a reflection of the style of dress popular within the "emo scene" and the displays of emotion common in the scene. Complaints pointed to the histrionic manner in which the emotions were often expressed, not necessarily to the emotions themselves.

In October of 2003, Punk Planet contributor Jessica Hopper levelled the charge that the "third wave" era of emo was sexist. Hopper argued that where bands such as Jawbox, Jawbreaker and Sunny Day Real Estate had characterised women in such a way that they were not "exclusively defined by their absence or lensed through romantic-spectre", contemporary bands approached relationship issues by "damning the girl on the other side ... its woman-induced misery has gone from being descriptive to being prescriptive". Regarding the position of women listening to emo, Hopper went on to note that the music had become "just another forum where women were locked in a stasis of outside observation, observing ourselves through the eyes of others".

Collective reaction to Hopper's article was mixed, and many dismissed the charge outright, noting that rock music as a genre had a long history of issues with sexism; the problem wasn't unique to emo music or directly related. By comparison to a genre like 1980s hair metal, in which popular songs (such as Warrant's "Cherry Pie") often objectified women, the perceived sexism in emo was more of an intellectual argument than something that could be specifically cited in the music.

Critics of modern emo also point to the increasingly generic nature of the music. As popular bands have attempted to flee the "emo" tag (some have adopted the "post-hardcore" tag), the remaining bands appear to fit the genre solely because of their similarity to other so-called "emo" bands. Critics note a slow homogenization of the genre, with newer bands adhering to a stereotypical style rather than redefining it, not unlike the waning years of grunge music in the 1990s.

At the same time, the persistent criticism and negative stereotypes have led to an increasing perception of modern emo as the new "guilty pleasure". Despite the criticism, the modern version of emo has maintained mainstream popularity. However, given the disfavor of the term "emo", the question of whether new bands will openly associate with "emo" leaves the future unclear.