Deviant Blogging and the Importance of Language

The word emo, which is short for emotional, was once used to describe a person who would use self-mutilation or self-injury in order to release emotional pain, anger, or anxiety. According to the NYU Langone Medical Center’s website, the behavior was often related to a neurological or metabolic disorder such as Autism, Tourette syndrome, or Lesch-Nyhan syndrome (1). Psychiatric disorders such as borderline personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, antisocial personality disorders, substance abuse, and eating disorders have also been linked to this behavior (1). Symptoms may include (1):

• Cutting of skin with a sharp object (most common)
• Skin carving or burning
• Self-punching or scratching
• Needle sticking
• Head banging
• Eye pressing
• Finger, lips, or arm biting
• Pulling out one's hair
• Picking at one's skin

The assumptions made about someone who is emo have evolved over time. Becker's Outsiders describes how people are labeled mentally ill in order to explain certain rule-breaking behavior that society can't categorize (2). For those whose emo status derives from a psychiatric, neurological or metabolic disorder, it is seen as a secretive, shameful, or embarrassing condition. However, there seems to be a bit of exhibitionism about being emo now. Emos are more commonly associated as people who use self-mutilation or self-injury to express their need to rebel against authority, gain attention from peers, flirt with risk-taking, or to feel in control (1).

Emo is also now used to describe (or inaccurately describe) genres of music and literature, styles of clothing, hair and makeup, or general dispositions. The blog called “emo inside” (http://www.emoinside.com) provides photos and links that promote “emo fashion”. Being labeled emo can also be insulting. In an interview with NME, Singer Brendon Urie from the band Panic at the Disco rejects the emo label stating: 

“It’s ignorant! The stereotype is guys that are weak and have failing relationships write about how sad they are. If you listen to our songs, not one of them has that tone," he declared.“Emo is bullshit!" added Urie. "If people want to take it for the literal sense of the word, yes we’re an   emotional band, we put a lot of thought into what we do. People always try to stereotype us, but we don’t fit the emo stereotype”(3).

 The quiet, pale-faced teenage girl with black nail polish, black clothes and black eye makeup who writes “depressing” poetry or listens to “disturbing” music is considered emo, even if she doesn’t inflict pain upon herself on indulge in self-mutilation. So while some people are wrongfully categorized as emo for wearing certain styles of clothing, others purposefully alter their appearance so that they will be categorized as emo.

I believe the term is mostly used among teens as an insult, or as a label by parents and teachers who fear its connotations. This can have dangerous consequences; wrongfully labeled teens may feel ostracized and judged, and may end up developing the behaviors associated with being emo. Becker explains that the isolation or treatment given to a labeled deviant can in turn cause a self-fulfilling prophecy (4).This result has been seen in many news reports of teen suicides where the individual resorted to taking their lives because of the isolation and stress of being labeled, not because they were actually emo to begin with. With suicide listed as the third leading cause of death among young people age 15-24 by the American Academy of Pediatrics (5), one would hope that the threatening use of labels such as emo, either derived from realistic behaviors or perceived assumptions, would be more carefully scrutinized.

Works Cited:

1. NYU Langone Medical Center. Retrieved on February 18,2012 from: http://psych.med.nyu.edu

2. Becker, Howard S. Holstein 1993; www.sscf.ucsb.edu.  Retrieved on February 15, 2012 from: https://lms.wsu.edu/section/content/default.asp.

3. NME First For Music News. Retrieved on February 15, 2012 from: http://www.nme.com/news/panic-at-the-disco

4. 2. Becker, Howard S. Labeling Theory. Ch 7 of Readings in Deviant Behavior. Calhoun, Conyers and Thio. 2010. Pearson Education Inc., Boston, MA.

5. American Academy of Pediatrics. Division of Publications PO Box 747 Elk Grove Village, IL 60009-0747. Retrieved on February 15, 2012 from: http://www.aap.org