Emo

How Fans Defined a Subculture

This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Buy on Amazon Buy on BN.com Buy on Bookshop.org
*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app

1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date 15 Nov 2020 | Archive Date 15 Nov 2020
University of Iowa Press | University Of Iowa Press

Talking about this book? Use #Emo #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!


Description

For many, the word “emo” calls to mind angsty teenagers, shaggy black haircuts, and skinny jeans. A popular music phenomenon in the early 2000s, emo is short for “emotional hardcore,” and refers to both a music genre and a youth scene notable for its androgynous style. Judith May Fathallah pushes beyond the stereotypes and social stigma to explore how online fandom has shaped the definition of emo, with significant implications both for millennial constructs of gender and for contemporary fan studies.

First laying out the debate over what emo is, Fathallah walks superfans and newcomers through the culture surrounding thegenre’s major bands, including the emo holy trinity: My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, and Panic! At the Disco. Next she examines fans’ main mode of participation in the emo subculture—online communities such as LiveJournal, Tumblr, MySpace, and band websites. Taking a hard look at the gender politics that dominated those spaces, she unearths a subculture that simultaneously defines itself by its sensitivity and resistance to traditional forms of masculinity, yet ruthlessly enforces homophobic and sexist standards. Fathallah demonstrates fandom’s key role in defining emo as a concept and genre after 2001, with probing insight into its implications for gender constructions through popular music.

For many, the word “emo” calls to mind angsty teenagers, shaggy black haircuts, and skinny jeans. A popular music phenomenon in the early 2000s, emo is short for “emotional hardcore,” and refers to...


Advance Praise

“There has long been a need for this book: an exploration of the emo music scene and how it intersects with fandom. Judith Fathallah writes with nuance and much vivacity. I found this work to be highly engaging and an indispensable text for scholars and students interested in music and fandom.”—Lucy Bennett, coeditor, Seeing Fans: Representations of Fandom in Media and Popular Culture

Emo: How Fans Defined a Subculture offers a brilliant ‘trinity’ of analysis. It takes fandom’s productivity seriously, showing how fans have generated—and gendered—key discourses of emo; it ranges across the likes of Tumblr and Reddit to offer a multi-platform approach to fannish playfulness and gatekeeping; and it thinks about how the music press has ‘re-authorized’ fan interpretations. Always nuanced, always critical, Emo makes a superb contribution to fan studies, popular music studies, and gender studies alike.”—Matt Hills, University of Huddersfield

“There has long been a need for this book: an exploration of the emo music scene and how it intersects with fandom. Judith Fathallah writes with nuance and much vivacity. I found this work to be...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781609387242
PRICE $29.95 (USD)
PAGES 214

Available on NetGalley

NetGalley Shelf App (PDF)
Send to Kindle (PDF)

Average rating from 11 members


Featured Reviews

A problematic but beloved favorite genre -- this history is enjoyable, fun, and a serious blast through the musical past (and present at points). Thank you for this!

Was this review helpful?

EMO is not the light look back at the early aughts I thought it would be . Judith May Fathallah gives us a very academic and well researched examination of Emo culture. From what Emo actually means to the fragile masculinity around the phrase; this book goes DEEP!
I recommend this for more academic audiences. There was a gap in the market for well written history and analysis and this fits the bill for sure. As millennial and gen z audiences ages we need this type of historical account to keep the Emo kid spirit alive.

Was this review helpful?

This book took me back to my teenage years! What a great read for anyone who grew up with (or watched) the "emo" subculture.

Was this review helpful?

Readers who liked this book also liked: