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Humor"I'm an emo kid, nonconforming as can be..."
Anyone else remember that song from the early 2000s? I'm not going to link it because it has some slurs in it, but it's all I can think of when I see TIMs or the words "gender-nonconforming"
Dear Diary,
Mood: Apathetic
I couldn't get my hair to do that flippy thing I like, like that guy from that band...
I'm an emo kid, nonconforming as can be
You'd be nonconforming too if you looked just like me
I have paint on my nails and makeup on my face
I'm almost emo enough to start shaving my legs
I'm dark and sensitive with low self-esteem
The way I dress makes every day feel like Halloween
I have no real problems so I like to make-believe
I stole my sister's mascara, now I'm grounded for a week
I remember that song. What a classic. 🤣 And yes, I've thought many times that trans is just like emo in general or that song in particular, only it's actually harmful and damaging. Emo, unlike trans, was so far away from being dangerous that this was one of the main jokes made about them. 🤣
My life is spiraling downwards 😩
If only high-school-me knew that near-40s me will still be saying this daily 😂
In both cases, it's a pseudo-cultural brand marketed to the alienated and amoral as something they can mold themselves into as a substitute for personality.
Damn lol. Or. Hear me out. It's just a clothing style and this is was a joke video to make fun. I don't think an aesthetic is really the same as thinking you should be the opposite sex.
The common theme of needing to be nonconforming (by conforming...) is what makes me laugh
I was in high school when emo kids were a thing, some people took it WAY too seriously, it became their identity.
That i can agree with and I did find some of the obsession with non-conformity to the point that it's just conforming all over again amusing. I always had a more emo/goth style, even to this day into my 30s, but I also enjoyed poking fun at that aspect. Some people did indeed take it too seriously but I find adults, even if we still dress alternative, aren't insane about it like that. Because we know it's just a style lol.
Now I'm thinking back to my friend group, and how each of us adopted the personality vs the girl who just always was interested in darker stuff and simply enjoyed having a wider selection of clothes with the trend. It seems so obvious now looking back who would drop it and who wouldn't!
Seriously? It's exactly the same. Obviously, this song is making fun of it, but today's "gender non-conforming" kids are just the new emo kids - it is an aesthetic. I'm surrounded by them, and they are exactly like I was in the 90s. The only mystery is why their parents think it's something new.
This is different from (but useful to) the AGPs, by the way.
No, its not. It is certainly trendy like being emo was back in the day. But it is significantly more harmful than anything emo or goth culture introduced. Not to mention that those aesthetics came from music, not big pharma. 🙄 The previous commenter also claiming this:
alienated and amoral as something they can mold themselves into as a substitute for personality
about emo kids is judgemental af and just a downright nasty thing to say. Some people, including me, enjoy darker aesthetics. It doesn't make me "alienated" and it certainly doesn't make me "amoral" especially. Like amoral? Seriously? What in the Christian conservative is this nonsense? And why would it mean that they don't have a personality? Only people who dress "normal" enough have a personality? 🙄
Yeah, liking a darker aesthetic and certain music genres is part of their personality. It is NOT the same as believing you're the opposite sex and then trying to copy sexist stereotypes to a tee to pretend you were totally meant to be the opposite sex. That actually is needing a replacement for a personality when you don't have one.
And of course there were issues with things like cutting which was negative, im not going to deny that. But making a kid glom onto sexism and homophobia to the point that the pharmaceutical industry is involved, blocking puberty, giving kids cross sex hormones and invasive surgeries is indeed a metric ton worse than anything that ever came out of emo or goth subcultures.
Honestly, every time this topic comes up, I notice all the hyper judgemental women who are terrified of anything even mildly veering from the norm come out of the woodwork and i am definitely not on yalls side.
I genuinely meant this post to be light-hearted. I think you could extend the comparison here too, think about how many former emo kids dropped the aesthetic once it wasn't popular anymore (for me, that's all but one of my friends). Because only one person was actually interested in the aesthetic and not just the social contagion.
I know, my reply isn't to your actual post. I found this post funny and the emo kid song got stuck in my head afterward 😆 the response just really missed the mark for me.
In my old friend group, most of us kept the aesthetic, but we genuinely like it. Some people dropped it though and that's fine. I don't think there's anything wrong with experimenting with different styles. People's style changes and fashion and music change. It's normal.
Agreed! I reread the comment exchange and see what you were referring to. I also disagree about the "amoral" aspect. I think with any popular thing, anyone (especially in middle and high school) is going to at the very least check it out. And if you're not comfortable in your own skin, it's like a pass to be accepted by your peer. Also, things become popular for a reason, there's usually a small aspect that is universally relatable.
I still sing this all the time.
🎵Cuz emo is one step below transvestite🎵