Street Spirit
No emo = no homo?
BY Sarah Liss April 09, 2008 15:04
Picking on the little whiny guy is generally accepted to be the natural pecking order. So it’s no surprise that emo kids — they of the lanky hair, tear-smeared eyeliner and angst-ridden laments — are easy targets. As “Cheer up emo kid” t-shirts attest, ragging on emo is au courant.
But there’s a difference between playful mockery and full-on hate crimes. And recent events in Mexico, where, on March 7, an 800-strong army of thuggish kids stormed a plaza in the city of Querétaro in search of emo kids to use as punching bags, with attackers reportedly condemning the effeminacy of emo fans, it’s hard to ignore the homophobic undercurrent motivating these riots.
It’s tempting to distance emo subculture in oh-so-progressive T.O. from its Mexican counterpart, but check out any of the numerous local anti-emo groups on Facebook, and you’ll find angry digs at the femmey self-presentation of emo boys. (“Why do emo boys insist on wearing skinny jeans?” “Did you ask your mom to give you that gay ass bowl cut?”)
Kenny Bridges, of Brampton-bred emo/punk squad Moneen, hasn’t witnessed any overtly anti-emo aggression at his band’s shows, but he’s familiar with the massive popularity of emo in Mexico — he says Moneen was floored by the number of kids who knew all the words to their songs during their Mexican mini-tour — and seems shocked by the recent riots.
“Mexico’s the last place I’d imagine this stuff happening,” he sighs. “The kids there reminded me of what the Brampton and St. Catharines scenes were like when we first started out. “ But Bridges also notes that with the current trendiness of mainstr-emo bands, “You’ve gotta figure this kind of bullying must be happening in schools, ‘cause there are so many kids who are totally into it and dressing that way.”
All of which emphasizes the need for programs like the Toronto police force’s new campaign to encourage youth to report incidents of homophobic violence. The education- and awareness-based program is in development, pending approval from the Toronto District School Board.
Obviously, “emo” and “queer” aren’t synonymous, but Constable Tom Decker, who heads up the new campaign, thinks it could be a precautionary step in helping Toronto avoid copycat attacks.
“There’s not a single root cause for homophobia and transphobia, but it stems from heterosexism and sexism in general,” he insists. “The less a person conforms to sexist standards, the more he will be grouped into a homosexual camp.”
Decker says kids on the non-normative side of the spectrum are reluctant to report bullying episodes for fear of being victimized again.
“Society has also taught these kids that this is just what everyone does, that bullying happens, so they become complacent and feel as though they just have to accept it.”
While Bridges can see the benefit of such campaigns, his outlook is slightly more cynical.
“I was small and kinda weird in high school, and I got picked on a lot,” he says. “I wasn’t a fighter but I didn’t back down. That said, I don’t know if I would’ve reported bullying, because I would’ve been worried about retribution. And I just figured you’re always gonna have the kids who get picked on and always gonna have the kids who’d be assholes.”
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