Videos by e-girls and e-boys tend to be flirtatious and, many times, overtly sexual.[6][7]Eye-rolling and protruding tongues (a facial expression known as ahegao, imitating
climaxing) are common.[8]
According to Business Insider, the terms are not gender-specific, instead referring to two separate styles of fashion, stating that "While the e-boy is a vulnerable 'softboi' and embraces skate culture, the e-girl is cute and seemingly innocent".[9]
Origins
The terms "e-girl" and "e-boy" are derived from "electronic boy" and "electronic girl" due to their association with the internet.[10] "E-girl" was first used in the late-2000s as a
pejorative against women perceived to be seeking out male attention online. According to an article by
Business Insider, the earliest example of e-girls were found on
Tumblr,[9] with
Vice Media stating the subculture evolved out of the earlier
emo and
scene cultures.[11]Vox writer Rebecca Jennings instead referred to the Tumblr aesthetic as a precursor of the subculture, as it lacked the cutesy aspect that would come to define e-girl hair and makeup.[12]
By the late-2010s, e-boys had split from this original all female culture, embracing elements of emo, mallgoth, and scene culture.[16] The popularity and eventual death of emo rapper
Lil Peep also influenced the beginnings of the subculture,[17] with the New York Post describing him as "the patron musical saint of e-land".[18] E-boys also make use of "soft-boy aesthetics" through presenting themselves as sensitive and vulnerable. According to the Brown Daily Herald this is due to a transformation of ideal male attractiveness from being traditionally masculine to embracing introvertedness, shyness, emotional vulnerability and
androgyny.[19]
Mainstream popularity
The subculture gained mainstream attention in 2018, following the worldwide release of
TikTok. According to an article in i-D, the subculture's emergence on the app challenged the polished and edited photos of influencers and
VSCO girls common on
Instagram, due to TikTok lacking the features to do so.[20] An article by
CNN stated that "If VSCO girls are the sunshine-basking hippies of 2020, e-girls are the opposite".[21] The subculture first began to gain mainstream attention in 2019.[9]MEL Magazine attributed the subculture's popularity to the increased interest of
K-Pop groups like
BTS,
Exo and
Got7 in the Western mainstream, due to the two's similar style of dress and hair.[22] A trend soon began on TikTok and other social media platforms, where people would upload videos "transforming" into an e-boy or e-girl, according to
Vox Media, this is how the culture "entered the mainstream lexicon".[12][23] In the summer of 2019,
Belle Delphine's emerging online prominence helped bring attention to the e-girl subculture; Business Insider described Delphine as "a symbol of the first wave of e-girl".[24] The July 2019
murder of Bianca Devins also brought attention to e-girls due to Devins' participation in the subculture.[25]
The subculture continued to grow in prominence through 2020, with Vogue publishing an article featuring
Doja Cat discussing e-girl makeup,[26] and "e-girl style" being in the top 10 trending fashion terms on
Google in the year.[27] Additionally, a number of mainstream celebrities began to adopt the bleached stripes hairstyle associated with e-girls, including American socialite
Kylie Jenner[28] and Kosovar-English singer
Dua Lipa.[29] In July, high fashion designer
Hedi Slimane released a preview of a collection called "the Dancing Kid" for
Celine, influenced by the fashion of e-boys. In a July 29 article from GQ, fashion critic
Rachel Tashjian referenced this as a sign that "TikTok is now driving fashion".[30]Corpse Husband's song "
E-Girls Are Ruining My Life!", which was released in September, gained large amounts of attention on TikTok,[31] eventually charting in the
UK Singles Chart for three weeks.[32] In late 2020 and early 2021, a number of high fashion designers, namely Ludovic de Saint Sernin and
Celine, began designing collections inspired by e-boy fashion.[33][34][35] Both InStyle and
Paper magazine credited e-boys and e-girls as important to the rise in popularity and resurgence of
pop punk in the 2020s.[36][37]
Fashion
The subculture's fashion is inspired by a number of prior subcultures, fashion trends and forms of entertainment, including
mall goth,[38][39]1990s–
2000s fashion,
skater culture,
anime,[5]Japanese street fashion,[4]cosplay,[40]K-pop,[41]BDSM,[6]emo,
scene,[10]hip hop,[42] and
rave.[43]Dazed described the aesthetic as "A little bit bondage, a little bit baby".[15] Outfits commonly consist of baggy,
thrifted clothes.[6] In particular, some e-girls wear mesh shirts,[6] plaid skirts, oversized t-shirts, crop tops, platform shoes,
chokers and beanies,[44] while e-boys wear oversized sweaters[45] or monochrome clothes and band merchandise[46] layered over long sleeve striped shirts,[7] and
polo necks.[47] Chain necklaces, wallet chains[42][46] and
dangle earrings[48][49] are also frequently worn. E-boys often wear
curtained hair,[50][51] whereas e-girls hair is dyed neon colors,[6][52] often pink or blue,[10] or is bleached blonde in the front.[44] Some tie their hair into pigtails.[10] Hair dyed two different colours down the centre (known as "split-dye hair") is common amongst both sexes.[9]
Both boys and girls may wear heavy makeup, in particular pink
blush on the cheeks and nose, imitating
anime.[53][8] Fake
freckles[53] unkempt
nail polish,[54] and winged
eye liner[6] are common. YouTuber
Jenna Marbles made a video imitating an e-girl's makeup style, calling it a mix between "
Harajuku, emo, and igari makeup",[52] the latter of which is a Japanese makeup style imitative of a
hangover.[55] Some e-girls draw over their
philtrum using lipstick to make their lips look rounder.[56] One notable element of e-girl makeup is under-eye stamps, often in a heart shape,[43][57] a trend that has been influenced by
Marina Diamandis.[58] Discussion of mental health is also common.[15]
Music
E-boys and e-girls are associated with "Sad Boy" music,[59][60] a broadly defined grouping of musicians, who similarly write music influenced by sadness and
mental illness, that often overlaps with
emo rap.[61] The term has been criticized by artists such as
James Blake, due to its portrayal of mental illness, which he considers "unhealthy and problematic".[62]
In the 2020s, it became common for participants of the subculture to listen to artists associated with the
2020s pop punk revival.[37]
^Gupta, Gaya (February 14, 2020).
"the era of e-boys". The Brown Daily Herald. Archived from
the original on April 8, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2020.