How Different Audiences View Emo Music

Like many forms of pop culture, emo music and the emo style is interpreted in different lights depending on the audience. New styles of music have traditionally been thought of as a battle between young and old. Coates states “rock represents ‘oppositional’ culture in the pop imagination, a space rampant with sexuality, noise and unruliness that is best conjured up by the tryptic ‘sex, drugs and rock and roll’…this place is constructed as male and young. It is a place outside of the responsibilities of increased age.” Yet older generations are not the only audience that views emo music differently than its creators. Younger audiences criticize their peers who are associated with emo music and style

The less a person is aware of emerging forms of pop culture, the less familiar a person may be with that genre. This may cause them to be less acceptable to the styles associated with the new genre. This along with Coates vision that rock is in “a place outside of the responsibilities of increased age” leads one to see how one audience views emo music negatively. Satrapi’s autobiography Persepolis, based on her childhood growing up in Iran during the overthrow of the Shah, illustrates this through Marjane’s interaction with people older than her. In one chapter of this book, Marjane asked her parents to get her Iron Maiden and Kim Wilde posters. Marjane’s mother called Iron Maiden, an emerging rock band at the time, “four brutes.” Also in this chapter, Marjane bought tapes on the black market from older men who referred to the artists as “Esteve Vonder,” and “Jikael Mackson” ignorant of the artists’ correct names. On Marjane’s way home from, she was stopped by the women’s branch of the Guardians of the Revolution, a group who’s job was to arrest women who were improperly veiled. The women harassed Marjane, calling her sneakers “punk shoes”, and Michael Jackson a “symbol of decadence.” All these examples suggest that generally, older generations are out of touch with pop culture that has great affluence among younger generations

This idea that generation gaps exist in the understanding of pop culture is also evident in my previous post, “Emotional: Fad Can Turn Deadly.” This post is based on a news report from WDAZ in Grand Forks, North Dakota which warns parents about the dangerous new fad – Emo. The media attacks emo music and fashion because it does not conform to mainstream thought, a common occurrence stated by James Lull in his article Hegemony.

Understanding emo music and style also varies amongst peers of people coined “emo”. Since I did not feel like my own opinions, understandings, experience and or observations of what college-aged adults think of emo would hold much validity, I checked Yahoo! Answers, an interactive question/answer guide where users can post questions and expect some answers back from other users. (http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070421182717AAQLQTW) Yahoo informed me that the question at hand, “What is ‘emo’?” had been resolved with multiple answers. Most answers were limited to “short of emotional” but other people responded more subjectively with, “It means annoying person with a bad taste in music”, “those kids with their hair on their face, wearing black and singing that annoying song by my chemical romance”, “Emo (emotional) is another label...black clothes, sliced wrists, crazy eyeliner, great music....The only people who call THEMSELVES emo are snobby little rich kids who think their lives are so bad...”, “Emo - Short for emotional. Someone who is depressed, usually dress in black, have hair over the face and are moody. They tend to cut and or burn themselves as some sort of 'solution' to their problems that take too seriously”, while the best answer (as chosen by the asker) was “An 'Emotional' person. Stereotypically, they cut their wrists and wear all black and eyeliner. Basically, they're the new version of Goth.”

Assuming that the majority of these respondents are young adults (based solely on computer literacy associated with younger generations, due to growing up with computers everywhere) one can see the criticism against emo music. The respondents relate emo with a label for people who express emotions who are “moody, annoying, and depressed” and go as far as associating suicidal tendencies with emo people. Yet some of the respondents give neutral answers, while another does comment that emo is “great music.”

Audiences spanning over many generations view emo music and fashion in a variety of lights. This emotional genre of music is misunderstood due to its nonconformity to mainstream music and the counterhegemony involved with the emotional male artist. Younger audiences seem to be more aware of emerging forms of pop culture, such as emo music, while older audiences tend to view rock as oppositional to the comfortable mainstream norm.

Jess T's Response to Blog Buddy Work Questions

Where has your Blog buddy shown strong analytical work (be specific—is it a particular post, a type of analysis, a site for analysis that seemed to click more so than others, etc)?

Amanda has shown strong analytical work through her research of this topic, and with her posts describing the counter hegemonic trends taking place in the Emo music world, specifically, relating a type of music like Emo, to that of a more mainstream sound such as the Backstreet Boys, which not only makes a reader think on a deeper level about the lyrics in most songs, but also the way in which they are presented to the public, along with the way it is advertised and promoted.

How could your Blog buddy use this strength for the final Blog post and presentation?

Amanda is very good at incorporating the advertising and media aspect of our culture into her posts, with a seemingly strong foundation on its workings already. With the help of articles from our book, and her presentation should be chock full of interesting information as it is anyway. Go Amanda! Really great posts!

The Blog is on a topic that has been clearly evident in the Blog posts throughout the semester

Yes, Emo is clearly the topic, with the exception of the Girls Next Door Post.The Blog is on a topic that seems to interest my understanding of music, and emotion ridden teenage males.Blog buddy Amanda G and Amanda D (Freaking confusing!) My Blog buddy’s topic is one that has produced a good set of posts that were analytical and used gender as a primary category of analysis with a lot of supporting material from various class articles and personal experiences and research.

The posts make analytical arguments.

Yes, each post has a clear focus and is well supported with quotes

The posts are understandable and each post logically outlines and supports the argument presented.

Yes

The posts were clear, provided insight, evidence, and analysis to connect the topic with the assignment for each of the posts.

Yes

The sources cited in each post are relevant to the topic and help to aid the understanding of the argument and/or assisted in proving the argument.

yes

The quotes used illustrate a broad range of course readings throughout the semester.

The quotes were clear and succinct; additionally, the material was presented so that I could differentiate the ideas you presented in order to analyze the gender aspect of Emo music in a more complete and substantial fashion

Blog buddy’s ideas from that of the author cited.

Yes

I thought it was great when you reinforced the commonplace view that Emo boys are just whiny guys filled with too much emotion and don't know what to do with it. It made me feel like in not so clueless about the music world as i thought i was

I didn't really find anything confusing.

I wish you could focus (more) on/alter/edit/explain/expand on/etc these three things: Adding more stuff to your blog like images and/or animation, music, cool extras; Trying to dispel what is already though about Emo, rather than reinforcing what we already know about it (Do any other kinds of ppl sing/listen to emo music other than young males bursting at the seams with feelings?)

Blog Buddy Work with Jess T.

1. Where has your Blog buddy shown strong analytical work (be specific—is it a particular post, a type of analysis, a site for analysis that seemed to click more so than others, etc)?

2. How could your Blog buddy use this strength for the final Blog post and presentation?

3. Think about the following statements in relation to your Blog buddy’s Blog and then provide feedback on each area (constructive praise/criticism):

The Blog is on a topic that has been clearly evident in the Blog posts throughout the semester

The Blog is on a topic that seems to interest my Blog buddy

My Blog buddy’s topic is one that has produced a good set of posts that were analytical used gender as a primary category of analysis

The posts make analytical arguments. The posts are understandable and each post logically outlines and supports the argument presented. The posts were clear, provided insight, evidence, and analysis to connect the topic with the assignment for each of the posts

The sources cited in each post are relevant to the topic and help to aid the understanding of the argument and/or assisted in proving the argument.

The quotes used illustrate a broad range of course readings throughout the semester.

The quotes were clear and succinct; additionally, the material was presented so that I could differentiate the Blog buddy’s ideas from that of the author cited.

4. Finally, complete the following:

I thought it was great when you...

I found it confusing when you…

You’re really great at…

I wish you could focus (more) on/alter/edit/explain/expand on/etc these three things…
(Basically, when you read the Blog posts, what do you wish your buddy had done differently, more of, etc?)

Dangers of Being Emo News Broadcast

"Emotional: Fad Can Turn Deadly"

On February 23, 2007 a news station in Grand Forks, North Dakota aired a report addressing a “dangerous” new fad in the areas high schools – “emo” – a “fashion that has turned deadly.” In this interview, two female students and a male sheriff are interviewed to express their own opinion and experience with this fad. Pictures of teen aged boys dressed in what was described as “emo” attire were flashed periodically through the report as a woman’s voice dictated and described common actions and behaviors associated with being emo. Is the media’s interpretation of this new fashion/lifestyle based upon a highly emotional musical genre correct? James Lull article Hegemony describes what is commonly witnessed in newscasts, “When genuinely divergent views appear on mainstream media, the information is frequently shown in an unfavorable light or is modified and co-opted to surrender to the embrace of mainstream thought… the mass media help create an impression that even society’s roughest edges ultimately must conform to the conventional contours of dominant ideologies.” Emo music and emo “culture” is relatively new to the United States. Originating in the early 1980’s in Washington DC as an emotional genre of music, it has developed into a fashion and a personality far from mainstream.

I originally thought this newscast was a spoof on emo music. The newscasters and the sheriff seem almost too concerned about the health and safety of “emos” – high school teens highly involved in the emo culture. I searched for the North Dakota news station’s website (www.wdaz.com) and noticed that the newscasters in the video report are actually real newscasters, and the sheriff who commented on emo music is a sheriff in Eddy County North Dakota. Sheriff Brandon Maygra explains “we have some kids that are acting out to where they’re doing a lot of self cutting, self mutilation – there’s no psychological problem with the young children, it’s just for the fashion. The more they cut, the more pills, the more they talk about suicide, the cooler they are.” Maygra also states “it’s not what you say gothic, but close to it. There’s no boots, there’s no chains, stuff like that but it’s all black hair, hair that covers half your face – covers one eye. The point of that is to only see the world in half view… The look of the fashion is not the bad thing - it’s the difference between looking it and acting it – the acting of the fashion is where the more depressed look, the more points you earn - there’s a point system with this fashion, an emo scale is what they call it…” Emo music is clearly divergent from mainstream music– in the way artists dress, present themselves, act and also in the context of their music. The music itself is more emotional than popular music. This music with stronger emotions and words, especially from male artists presents a counterhegemonic idea, one capable of startling parents through use of strong stereotypes, as shown in this news report. By describing ones fashion – black clothes, black hair – and pairing it with potentially dangerous behavior, the media successfully shines emo music into an unfavorable light.

Gender can also be analyzed in this newscast. The newscaster is a woman, playing the role of mother, concerned with the wellbeing of American youth. Norma Coates states in Moms Don’t Rock, “rock represents ‘oppositional’ culture in the pop imagination, a space rampant with sexuality, noise and unruliness that is best conjured up by the tryptic ‘sex, drugs and rock and roll’…this place is constructed as male and young… Mothers…can serve as the primary object to the masculine rebellion performed in rock, but they undermine rock if they show it in themselves.” The newscaster clearly objects the emo-rock fashion. Also, all images of “violent” emos are teenaged boys, while only female students were interviewed for their opinion about what being emo actually means. Sophomore Tracey Webber says “I see it as people who are expressing their pain through their actions whether it be cutting, writing lyrics, music – it’s their expression and I don’t think we understand it because we don’t have that pain we don’t have those imbalances.” Chelsey Wentz of Central High School describes emo people as, “a group of people that are very emotional for emotional and so like I know that some of them cut themselves and wear tight clothes” as loud emo music bellows in the background. None of the high school girls were labeled as “emo” in the news report, even though Webber was dressed in black clothing with black hair covering her face, precisely how Maygra described emo fashion. Emo music even played loudly while Wentz was interviewed. This validates Coates view that in order to be affiliated with rock, you must be male and young.

News is essentially a form of obtaining ideally unbiased information, but this is clearly not always the case. This North Dakota television station is clearly attacking emo music, solely because it does not conform to mainstream American music. Yet, is the media taking this fashion out of proportion, or are they just warning parents of dangers which their children (mainly sons) may encounter? It also becomes evident in this newscast that the station does not associate emo culture with women, agreeing with Coates view that rock music is tightly connected to being male and young.

Music and Advertising

Photographic images of musical artists are in essence, a form of advertisement for that artist’s music, which inturn shape the way people act and dress. As long as an artist can be visually recognized, the viewer associates the picture with the artist’s music. Like most forms of successful advertisement, a viewer will associate with the ad and feel compelled to make it part of his or her life. As Sut Jhally explains in his article Imaged-Based Culture: Advertising and Pop Culture, “some commentators have even described advertising as part of a new religious system in which people construct their identities though the commodity form, and in which commodities are part of a supernatural magical world where anything is possible with the purchase of a product. The commodity as displayed in advertising plays a mixture of psychological social and physical roles in its relations with people. The object world interacts with the human world at the most basic and fundamental of levels. Performing seemingly magical feats of enchantment and transformation, bringing instant happiness and gratification, capturing the forces of nature, and acting as a passport to hitherto untraveled domains and group relationships.” When music is analyzed as a form of advertisement, it becomes clear why the styles and views of artists become emulated by their audiences.

Works cited:
Jhally, Sut. “Image-Based Culture: Advertising and Popular Culture.” Gender, Race, and Class in the Media. Ed. Gail Dines. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage, 2003.

Analyzing Gender in Emo Music

This blog examines the somewhat new genre of music which has emerged from rock/hardcore punk/indie rock music in the mid 1980’s in Washington DC – Emo musics. I aim to analyze characteristics of Emo music such as common themes in the lyrics, stylistic similarities, as well as personality traits, fashions and actions of the musicians themselves and the band as a whole, and relate them to gender and hegemonic norms. I was introduced to this topic because it is highly criticized and satirized (for example, the “Tickle Me Emo” skit from MadTV below). Much criticism results from the high emotional content in Emo music (short for “emotional”) and the belief that most Emo musicians are members of the upper-middle class who put up a melodramatic façade to evoke sympathy, gain followers and sell albums.

Beside the criticism that Emo music may be a solely corporate endeavor to sell emotions to teens thru their iPods, the fact that this emotion-laden music does exist and that it counters hegemonic norms is enough to deem Emo music as a form of pop culture worth analyzing in the aspect of gender. As Phil W. Petrie explains in his article “Real Men Don’t Cry… And Other “Uncool” Myths,” “one of the roles men play is that of the rational being devoid of strong emotions. Profound feelings, it is thought, will interfere with the male task, whether that means making it at the nine-to-five or making it at war. Objective decisions must be made without distracting emotions, which women are thought to be prone to – even by some other women. For many persons, being a man is synonymous with being emotionless – cool.” Men abide by the hegemonic norm of being strong and emotionless, unlike women, whose hegemonic norm is to be emotionally obsessed about everything. Emo music, a genre dominated by males, counters this hegemonic norm by expressing emotions of the songwriter/singer. Take the example of the lyrics to The Get Up Kids “Red Letter Day”

You're got some nerve
I never knew what with the world we gave
Away in front of you
I see it all much clearer now
You're just a phase
I’ve gotten over anyhow
It's overI'm not giving in again
We're loyal like brothers, just us versus all the others
I trusted misleading promises worth repeating
How could you do this to me?
Red letter day that I learn I'm sure you get what you deserve
I see it all much clearer since I'm far past the point
Of this if it's a lie i don't want to be the one who signed
I'm not the one who falls down
It's over now
If you want to try... try and forget it
It's over
I'm gone

Clearly, this song is filled with strong emotions from lies and deception of a close friend. “Loyal like brothers” one betrayed another’s trust with the betrayed friend crying “it’s over now, if you want to try… try and forget it, it’s over, I’m gone.” For added contrast, take a look at the lyrics another music group popular during the same late 90’s time period, the Backstreet Boys. The message in “Don’t Want You Back” is the same- betraying one’s trust- yet, it is presented in different manner.

You hit me faster than a shark attack
You saw my picture on the Backstreet's Back, alright
And you were more than just a pretty face
But how you fooled me, I'm still amazed babe
But I should have known that I would be
Another victim of your sexuality
But now we're done and over with
Don't, don't want you back

Don't want you back
Cuz you're no good for me, I know
That's all I can say
Don't want you back
Forgive my honesty but you gotta go
I don't want you back

You started going out with so-called friends
But I was blind and so I lost all common sense
But there were things that made me realize, realize
Like all the hundred no, thousand lies

Baby, don't bother telling me your reasons why
Just let us sing this story 'bout you and I
Don't want you back
That's all I know (don't want you back, don't want you back)
All I can say
Don't want you back
You know you gotta go

Although not clearly stated, it seems that the singers love interest cheated on him with another man, “You started going out with so-called friends, but I was blind and so I lost all common sense, but there were thing that made me realize, realize, like all the hundred no, thousand, lies” betraying his trust for her, enough to make him say “don’t want you back, that’s all I know, all I can say, don’t want you back, you know you gotta go.” And that is all he can say -less emotions, more fluff and catchy lyrics and rhymes. Six additional lines of lyrics create a storyline in this Backstreet Boys song, while less seems to be more- more emotion, more feeling - all through the use of stronger language in the Get Up Kids’ song.


Rosalind Wiseman states another hegemonic male norm by stating “boys still feel that they have to laugh when their feelings are hurt, be always ready with a quick retort, act sooth and confident with girls, be blatantly and obviously heterosexual, and never appear to be sensitive and therefore ‘whipped.’ They can’t be weak and can never be a mama’s boy… I was shocked at how often they called each other ‘fag’ for expressing feeling or even admitting they had dealings in the first place… many boys don’t fell they can talk to even their closest friends when they’re upset.” Emo musicians counter this norm by showing emotion and by expressing themselves when hurt using music as a medium.

Emo music, although generally thought of as a genre of music made of and catering to a group of crying kids too depressed to live, actually counters hegemonic norms of males in society. Men are generally thought of as tough and emotionless, while Emo musicians express their emotions vividly. Counter-hegemonic or not, the emotional nature of emo music has attracted a wide following of men in their teens and twenties in the past few decades, and continues to be an ever-growing genre in music and pop culture.

Tickle Me Emo/Elmo - MAD TV

Tickle Me Emo, made possible by Depress-A-Me Street.

"But left to hang like yarn and twine, Dangling before my eyes" by Justwalk

"The song "Haligh, Haligh, A Lie, Haligh" by Bright Eyes is dangerously easy to listen on repeat, with its emotional and honest lyrics, the flowing rhythms and melodies, and the way the ending wraps so well back to the front.

I like to catergorise songs into the visual image a song conjures when listened. A large set of my favorite songs remind me of the night. This particular song paints a quiet and starry night, and the guy is thinking about dumping the girl who had cheated on him.

'I remember everything,
The words we spoke on freezing South Street,
And all those mornings watching you get ready for school.
You combed your hair inside that mirror,
The one you painted blue and glued with jewelry tears.
Something about those bright colors,
Would always make you feel better.'

The guy knows the girl so well, and yet the girl cheated. Understandably the guy was a bit upset. In fact, since this song is emo, the guy is epically upset. Which explains the touching lyrics. I really like the way emo music is so male dominated, so whenever a song was written about a failing relationship, it is the girl's fault. If emo music is any guide, girls are either an unarchievable goal, or a bundle of pain waiting to happen."

My responce to Justwalk's post...

"I don’t know if I can really help you with any New Years Resolutions, seeing that it is March, but I can admit that I’ve been listening to “Haligh, Haligh, a Lie, Haligh” for the past thirty minutes… maybe I’ve learned to drown it out. Maybe it’s growing on me. Either way, my final excuse will be that it is currently 1am.

I’ll admit it. I’m not an avid listener of Emo music, nor am I really a fan of it – at all, but I do believe it is a male dominated genre based on whining and crying of some sort or another. For whatever reason, I am greatly intrigued about why Emo musicians always seem to be so upset. I think you may have pinpointed it. Girls make Emo guys miserable. But can’t they just get over it? Look at the demographics of members of Bright Eyes. White. Middle class. American. Why are they so distressed? They seem to be making good money. Plus, the guitarist Daniel McCarthy graduated from Brown. That’s not much to cry about."

wedding bells for Heff

and Hugh and Holly are getting married...? or so says the New York Post

Analyzing the Concepts of Masculinity and Femininity as found in "The Girls Next Door"

“Come on, come on in my house. I’m gunna give you candy… come on, come on in my house. I’m gunna give you everything…” These first few lines, hidden amongst a light a cheery melody, all too accurately depict just what the next thirty-some minutes of my life consisted of. Eighty-year-old Playboy magazine editor-in-chief lures multiple beautiful women a third, if not a quarter, of his age into his mansion to roam free in whatever scantly clad clothing they choose. This clearly obeys the standards of the ideal feminine subject in media. Yet, The Girls Next Door dives quite a bit deeper into the world of gender and pop culture than what one might have initially presumed.

First, let’s take a look at Holly, Hugh Hefner’s “number one” girlfriend. After watching the first two episodes of The Girls Next Door, I discover that Holly and Heff “do everything normal boyfriends and girlfriends do.” Although Holly does not act overly jealous or uncomfortable with Heff having other girlfriends, she wishes that one day he will kick out all the other girls and life alone with her. As a girlfriend, Holly is accepting and supportive of Heff and plays more of the responsible wife role and finally feels like Heff is proud of her when he gives her the chance to pose in Playboy.

Like Holly, Bridget exemplifies the concept of femininity, yet her femininity takes a more adolescent approach unlike the wife-like role of Holly. Bridget dreamed of being in Playboy since first view of her father’s magazines at the age of five. Periodically throughout the second episode, pictures of a young Bridget playing dress-up and modeling are displayed on the television screen. Bridget proclaims she has not yet lost hope of this childhood dream as she sheds tears in her light pink room decorated with Hello Kitty stuffed animals, a vision that suggests to the viewer that Bridget has not yet grown up. She admits that she is intimidated, jealous, and envious of all the women who pose in Playboy and goes as far as saying she is not beautiful enough to be featured in Playboy. As Jean Kilbourne states in The More You Subtract, the More You Add: Cutting Girls Down to Size “the anxiety of nonrecognition (‘I don’t fit in’) faced by the majority of spectators is more often translated into identifications (‘I want to be like that’) and attempts at self-alteration than into rage.” Bridget feels as though she does not fit into the “Playboy model” category. Her self-alteration is noted in subsequent episodes (notability one episode where she decides to eat “healthier” by only consuming carrot sticks as a meal to prep her waistline for a strip tease in honor of Heff’s 80th birthday). Finally, her “rage” can be noted in the simple, yet comical approach of revenge on the future younger playmates. Bridget admits to “testing” the girls by suggesting everyone participate in a round of shots when she is at a club with Holly, Kendra, Heff, and potential Playboy models. Bridget knows that the dedicated models will decline the drink, while the not-so-dedicated model will quickly become caught-up in the glamour of being a Playboy model, which will ultimately result in her being too hung-over to perform well at her photo shoot the next morning.

And then there is Kendra, the “tomboy” of the trio, who is shown skipping around in pink pants dribbling and subsequently tripping over a basketball. Kendra is unlike both Holly and Bridget and expresses a more masculine side in addition to her Playboy femininity. She is frequently shown working out and playing sports as exercise, while Holly admits her only forms of exercise are walking the dogs and having sex. Kendra frequently wears a jersey bearing the name of a sports team, while Holly and Bridget are shown wearing tight purple and pink shirts. In these aspects, the media defines masculinity as ones ability to partake in basically any act of physical exertion, and ones affinity for wearing licensed sports apparel.

Regardless of their individual personalities, the blatantly obvious parallel exists among these three women and their environment displayed so clearly by the media. All are set loose in a mansion to abide and obey all Laws of Heff, much like animals are set to roam around a zoo, only to be controlled by the guy with the food and tranquilizer darts. Both the zoo-keeper and Heffner supply food and shelter, and basic intimacy. To make this depiction even more realistic, add in the five plus dogs and cats running about the mansion (who are fed off of plates, and also put on diets).

However, one cannot be taken too far aback by this so-called reality. Laurie Oullette quotes Barbara Ehrenrich in Inventing the Cosmo Girl: Class Identity and Girl-Style American Dreams, “While Playboy is often associated with the mainstreaming of soft-core pornography, it also promoted a ‘Dale Carnegie-style credo of male success’ rooted in free enterprise, a strong work ethic and materialistic consumption. The only difference between conventional success mythology and Hugh Hefner’s message was that men were not encouraged to share their money, says Ehrenreich. Wives and single women were depicted as shrews and ‘gold-diggers,’ while bachelors were advised to pursue sex on a casual basis to avoid getting snared in a ‘long term contract.” This is essentially what Hugh Heffner founded his fortune on, and what continues to do today – “pursue sex on a casual basis.” Although he presents himself as a caring figure to all the girls, he has not abandoned the ideal of what his fortune was founded on; the ideal of casual sex with no commitment. Holly, Bridget and Kendra are essentially disposable, as where Heff’s prior girlfriends.

Yet, it seems as though there is a complexity behind Hefner hidden amongst normative masculinity defined through his wealth and power. Hefner is an able provider of security to the girls. Possibly even more than that, as Kendra sincerely stated, “he saved my life.”


Works Cited:

Kilbourne, Jean. “The More You Subtract, The More You Add: Cutting Girls Down to Size.” Gender, Race, and Class in the Media. Ed. Gail Dines. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage, 2003.

Ouellette, Laurie. “Inventing the Cosmo Girl: Class Identity and Girl-Style American Dreams.” Gender, Race, and Class in the Media. Ed. Gail Dines. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage, 2003.

Interesting links about emo music

Here are some similar sights i found relating to my topic (which should probably go under further clarification...)

1. http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=music&message.id=217778#M217778 - explains history of emo music and why it shouldnt be associated with some popular artists which most classify as emo
2. http://www.misterpoll.com/4280161305.html - a short quiz on emo-ness
3. http://bluwave9.blogspot.com/2007/01/emo-culture.html - analysis of the emo culture - and even why it exists
4. http://www.giantmag.com/2007/02/music/demigods-and-demons/ - Article with interview by Fall Out Boy: lead singer states "Emo is just a short word for emotional. Shouldn't all music be emotional?"
5. http://whileistillremember.blogspot.com/2007/01/but-left-to-hang-like-yarn-and-twine.html - addresses emo music as a male dominated genre