To make the suggestion that there is a link between Emo and self harm is to me a totally ridiculous notion. 'Emo' is essentially a genre of rock music; a sub-genre of Hardcore Punk in fact. Self harm on the other hand is the method of self injury which can sometimes be an indication of depression or other psychological problems. Self harmer's are not explicitly people that listen to 'Emo' music, so why then should it be seen that there is a link between self harm and Emo?

As well as a form of music, 'Emo' can also be seen as a youth subculture. 'Emo' as a youth subculture is much like any other; there is a stereotyped image of what an 'Emo' person will look like and the music they will listen to. People that are part of the 'Emo' scene are stereotyped as having straightened dyed black long floppy fringes brushed to one side, tight 'drainpipe' jeans, studded belts, and t-shirts baring the names of favourite bands. Music listened to is often stereotyped as bands such as Jimmy Eat World, Alexisonfire, Taking Back Sunday, and Funeral For A Friend. Note I have used the term 'stereotyped' on both of these occasions as clearly not everyone that is 'Emo' will look this way and listen to this sort of music. If some therefore see that self harm is associated with this stereotyped 'Emo' character, it is worth noting that this is merely a stereotype and we can not view all people of this sort in such a way.

If stereotypes were always viewed in a sense of truth then it would be seen for example that all French people love eating snails, all 'Chavs' are Burberry touting thieves, and that all English people drink tea and eat buttered scones. This of course is not true, so it should also not be seen as true that there is a link between self harm and Emo.

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