Can Emo Kids Really Be Considered Counter-Culture when They Have Their Own Emoticon?

There was a time when the title "emo" was still yet unheard. Even now the word processor that I am using is telling me that emo is not a word, and that I need to check my spelling. However, rest assured that with nearly 72,000,000 hits on Google and 275,000 videos on YouTube, "emo" is no longer a hidden culture in America.

What is emo?
Emo began as a outgrowth of the punk rock culture of the 1980s, and quickly began a sharp distinction as "emotional hardcore" music, which was eventually shortened to "emo-core" in 1992, and then to "emo" in 1993. This genre of music held underground popularity for a time, but eventually pushed its way through into the mainstream.

What kids really mean when they call someone emo is that they fit into a sub-culture of society that associates itself with a style of dress, hair, and emotionality that has grown out of that specific musical culture.

Counter-cultural?
The emo culture that has grown up often identifies itself as counter-cultural. This typically means that they are reactionary against something that they have seen in culture that does not fit with what they want to be. Counter-culturalism usually manifests itself in extreme behavioral differences and radically different dress from that of their peers.

This becomes what defines them, and their difference is a badge of honor.

Emo is no longer "different"
The emo culture has, however, begun to become more accepted. Rather than being counter-cultural, they have become a sub-culture of mainstream society. Ask any kid on the street, and she will tell you very quickly what it means to be emo, who she knows that is emo, and why she is or is not emo.

For a group of people who used to thrive on being an underground portion of society, this might come as an unwanted side effect of society. They want to be different, but "different" is no longer different enough. Society knows them, laughs about them, and includes them with the mainstream. Even those who would call themselves emo these days are often not what one would call true emo. They embrace the nature of this style of dress and the social patterns that surround it, but don't really know the roots of the culture that has informed their current state.

Is that a bad thing?

Of course not. This trend is true of almost every counter-cultural group in American history. Rock music is the perfect example: it was rebellious, and now it is the norm. History testifies to the pattern of the counter-culture becoming vogue over and over again. Emo is just the next wave to push through, and it will accept its fate as a victim of changing culture just like everything else. Emoticons and all.