The things that differentiate subcultures from each other are things such as beliefs, lifestyles, interest in fashion, music and much more. A subculture is where many people that have the same interests can talk amongst each other about the things that they like and appreciate.
What is the difference between Goth and Emo?
A lot of people tend to get these two subcultures mixed up. Although both have similarities in certain things, the origin is different. The goth subculture was created in the early 1980s in the United Kingdom for people who didn’t typically “fit” in mainstream culture. It was all about the music, views and the dark aesthetic and architecture. Goths will typically have views on self value, creativity, non-judgmental, individuality, etc. Music that was considered goth in the 1980s were The cure, Bauhaus, The cult, and so many more bands that made an impact on the goth community. The first ever song to be considered goth was Bella Lugosi’s dead by Bauhaus. This subculture tends to follow a very welcoming and accepting community especially if you’re a baby bat. The term “baby bat” is referring to those who are new to the goth subculture and are exploring their ways of becoming who they are.
Goths have a very unique fashion, it had stemmed from punk aesthetics that were seen as rebellious to others. In the goth community you will see a variety of different looks or ways people will dress but sometimes you’ll see goths that wear white or pale foundation with a dark smokey or winged liner. Since the goth subculture is all about self-value, people will create their own looks to make them unique in their own way. Goth fashion is about going for the “dark” look, people will tend to wear black and different fabrics such as leather, lace, other things can be put into outfits like fishnets, tights or DIY their own clothing to make it more authentic. There are different types of Goth fashion because it doesn’t only have one influence. Traditional goth, romantic goth, pastel goth, cyber goth, and vampire goth are all different types of goths you may see in this subculture. The things you can do are endless since it’s about creativity and being uniquely yourself.
The Emo subculture is a group that revolves around music, self identity, and distinctive clothing/makeup looks. Although it mainly revolves around music, there is also a political side to it as well. Some of these views are having your own freedom, individuality, It mainly started to get popular in the 2000s. It is rooted from punk and hardcore punk music. Thus leading to a new genre of music called Emo, this music consists of hardcore, raw, aggressive, emotions. When people talk about the history of emo and how it came to be today, they usually talk about it in the 5 waves of emo each wave will represent a new generation of bands and sometimes fashion. Oftentimes people will have an argument about if certain bands should be considered “emo” or not and I believe that it all depends on how you would define emo. Some bands that I would consider emo to be are: rites of spring, arms like yours, farming Hanley, and so much more.
Mainly teenagers and young adults were and still are oriented around this subculture. As for the majority of subcultures, fashion is a big part of the emo subculture. A lot of inspiration when emo was first starting out was taken by the 1970s-80s. In the 2000s and today it is mostly seen as teased hair, dark color combinations, layered clothing and accessories.
Even though these two subcultures have their similarities, they’re two very different subcultures and both are unique in their own way. I can’t wait to see how these two subcultures grow in the future and to see what comes out of it.
