Every clique has a cliché. Preps are or love cheerleaders, jocks are all strong, goths wear only black, and people that are emo are always sad. Yes, some of them are true but for the most part, stereotypes are grossly exaggerated.

The book Everybody Hurts: An Essential Guide to Emo Culture by Leslie Simon and Trevor Kelley describes, in detail, why emo kids act the way they do.  Somewhere in the 1990's a new word was introduced into the English language: Emo. Right at the beginning, Everybody Hurts defines what an emo is and what their value systems are.

Emo actually started out as a genre of music and from there developed into a way of life and "more than anything it's a state of mind." 

For all the stereotypers that think preps are the only people that care about fashion...you are Wrong!  Emo fans have to be very knowledgeable about fashion. The book outlines all the ins and outs, about what and what not to wear. It tells us that band t-shirts are okay on both guys and girls and what Converse shoes are the best kind to wear. I also know now that wearing rings is not acceptable... at all, for anybody. The book also gives you a huge list of places where emo fans get their gear.

Movies are popular in any clique. Emo kids have a love of movies just like anybody else. Everybody Hurts offers a DVD guide of confirmed emo movies. For instance, Cruel Intentions, Amelie, The Notebook, and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy are not movies that I would have considered emo, but when you at it the way Simon and Kelly do...well it can start to make sense.

A topic that is not considered often is the eating habits of emo fans. You would think that they ate that same thing everybody else ate. Well, some do but most are either strict vegetarians or even stricter vegans. The book also gives a few tips to emo eateries. Unfortunately, most of them are located in New York, Chicago, or California.  Alas, all of us must grow up one day, and adults do not play a big part in the emo world. "For the most part, emo is about young, brokenhearted fans," quotes Simon and Kelley.

Simon and Kelly have determined that the age of twenty is when emoness starts breaking up. They have included an age scale that says by the age of twenty-nine your emo years are probably expired.  There are many more factors that are involved when it comes to being emo. The internet, television, and literature are immensely important, but you need to read the book to find out the details.