E-kid

An e-girl with typical fashion, makeup and gestures

E-kids,[1] split by binary gender as e-girls and e-boys, are a youth subculture of Gen Z that emerged in the late 2010s,[2] notably popularized by the video-sharing application TikTok.[3] It is an evolution of emo, scene and mall goth fashion combined with Japanese and Korean street fashion.[4][5]

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]

  1. ^ Madsen, Anders Christian (March 2021). "Dolce & Gabbana: Fall 2021 Ready-To-Wear". Vogue. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  2. ^ Uh, Kyung Jin (October 30, 2020). "Digital persona in E-girl and E-boy fashion images". The Research Journal of the Costume Culture. 28 (5): 692–704. doi:10.29049/rjcc.2020.28.5.692. ISSN 1226-0401. S2CID 229207298.
  3. ^ Bassil, Ryan (July 26, 2019). "Introducing: The E-Boy". Vice. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference heatworld was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Jennings, Rebecca (August 1, 2019). "E-girls and e-boys, the irony-laced subculture that doesn't exist in real life". Vox. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :43 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Business Insider was invoked but never defined (see the help page).