What Is an E-Girl
and E-Boy?
Everything You Need to Know About the Instagram/TikTok Trend
There’s a new trend of girls (and boys) getting attention for their style, aesthetic, and online presence. E-girls are a subculture derived from social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram and are typically categorized by winged eyeliner, vibrant and heavy eyeshadow, and a child-like aesthetic often associated with anime and cosplay.
The main difference between e-girl and e-boy influencers and other, more conventional influencers is that the e-girl and e-boy culture lends itself more to the bedroom. And no, not really in a sexual way—but rather, in a solitary way.
Whereas some influencers get paid to go on vacations, take pictures (and make posts) in the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, or link all of their individual outfit details on the Like It To Know It App, e-girls and e-boys work from their rooms. And aren’t necessarily making money; they’re just posting uploads that focus on their hair, makeup, outfits, and overall, lifestyle. Often, these posts feature heavy editing such as overlays of glitter, hearts, Hello Kitty, spiderwebs, text overlays, and more.
At its core, e-girls and e-boys amass digital fame for simply, being themselves. Whether that involves pink hair, green eyeshadow with a wing to the gods, or big AF hair clips.
What is an e-girl?
As with most terms we don’t understand in this day and age, we looked up “e-girl” on UrbanDictionary.com.
The website defines an e-girl as, “a species of emo usually found on TikTok but commonly spends time on Tumblr.
Can be found wearing pink eyeshadow with a large wing, little hearts under the eyes, and a blushed nose. Normally wearing some type of shirt from Urban Outfitters over a long-sleeve striped shirt. Commonly found doing the me!me!me! dance but has probably never seen it before.”
Raise your hand if you’re confused right about now. That’s okay; we’ll back up a bit. The “e” in e-girl and e-boy stands for electronic, as in e-mail—electronic mail—e-meet—meeting someone electronically—etc. Because e-girls and e-boys kind of exist only online in many ways, they’re referred to as electronic personas.
What is an e-boy?
Similar to an e-girl, an expert from UrbanDictionary.com definition describes e-boys as, “A boy who has black painted nails, skates, wears black clothes and chains and beanies, and they sometimes have their hair parted down the middle, and their usually rlly pale.
They got striped long-sleeves or checkered sweaters under their T-shirts. They listen to music you ‘probably haven’t heard of’ AKA Lil Peep.
They complain about not having a [goth] gf and seem to only exist on the internet (mostly Instagram and TikTok nowadays).”
Essentially, an e-boy seems to be a similar subculture of emo/punk boys. Like e-girls, e-boys “only exist on the internet,” in that they blog, post, and stream from their bedrooms, which is where most of their pictures are set as well.
How do you achieve
the e-girl aesthetic?
Understanding the e-girl aesthetic is a big part of understanding the e-girl culture at all. The e-girl aesthetic is typically characterized by winged eyeliner, heavy eye makeup, a childlike quality, and often, colored hair.
Photo-editing also seems to be a crucial part of e-girl and e-boy posts, as most Instagram pictures are often overlayed with glitter, emojis, text, or other e-girl-approved images.
Clothes often have that childlike or school-girl quality to them—a-line skirts, plaid, knee-highs, fishnet stockings, etc.
When it comes to hair, “carefree hair” is often a look e-girls go for, but you might also frequently notice pigtails, colored extensions, and vibrantly-colored dyed hair when poking around the accounts of e-girls.
Face makeup—and not just eyeliner or eyshadow—is also common amongst e-girls. Often e-girls will use eyeliner to create designs like flowers, hearts, or other images on their cheeks, forehead, or other parts of the face.
When it comes to hair, “carefree hair” is often a look e-girls go for, but you might also frequently notice pigtails, colored extensions, and vibrantly-colored dyed hair when poking around the accounts of e-girls.
Face makeup—and not just eyeliner or eyshadow—is also common amongst e-girls. Often e-girls will use eyeliner to create designs like flowers, hearts, or other images on their cheeks, forehead, or other parts of the face.