E-kid

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.

[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".

According to an article by Business Insider, the earliest examples 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.

[5] i-D referred to Avril Lavigne as "the original e-girl" due to her polished take on alternative fashion, contrast to mainstream norms of the time and affinity for Japanese kawaii 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".

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.

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.

[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.

[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.