An e-girl is a youth subculture that emerged in the late 2010s and was notably popularized by the video-sharing app TikTok. The term "e-girl" is derived from "electronic girl" due to its association with the internet. According to Business Insider, the earliest example of e-girls were found on Tumblr, with Vice Media stating the subculture evolved out of the earlier emo and scene cultures. The prototypical e-girl is really more of an idea — an aesthetic rather than a person. The style is heavily influenced by Asian culture, specifically anime and K-pop. Some key characteristics of e-girls include:
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Fashion: E-girls are typically categorized by winged eyeliner, vibrant hair colors, and clothing that is an evolution of emo, scene, and mall goth fashion combined.
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Online Presence: To be an e-girl is to exist on a screen, mediated. You know an e-girl by her Twitch presence or the poses she makes on her Instagram, not by what she wears to school.
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Gender: The terms "e-girl" and "e-boy" are not gender-specific, instead referring to two separate styles of fashion.
Overall, e-girls are a subculture derived from social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
