What is an E-Girl? Where does the phrase come from? Is this an insult?

It can be. An E-Girl or E-Boy (since this phenomenon is not gendered specific) is essentially a member of a recent Internet subculture. This may be a new idea for many people, especially those who are not particularly Internet savvy, but Internet subcultures are not new at all. This mainly gained importance during the death of Vine (RIP) and the birth of TikTok. This look comes from a mixture of Tumblr culture, video game culture, and film culture. But who inspires these looks?

10 Sabrina Spellman

Sabrina Spellman, whether it’s her incarnation in the 90s or her recent appearances in The Scary Adventures of Sabrina , has been in the public consciousness for a long time. And why should it not be? The idea of ​​a teenage witch is something that fascinates tons of people, which was helped by American Horror Story: Coven .

There is less insistence that witchcraft is bad and scary in society, and more accepting opinions are adopted. There is an increase in Wicca and other forms of New Age spirituality, and it’s certainly at stake in the E-Girl scene.

9 Ramona Flowers

Edgar Wright directed a great movie called Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World in 2010. He did well at the box office, was hipster underground to hipster music, and had a visual style influenced by incredible video games. While awkward but adorable Michael Cera made people swoon across the country,

Ramona Flowers had the same effect. She had colored hair, didn’t really care what someone thought of what she was doing, and had a whole bag of fittings that Scott had to deal with. While some people accuse this character of being a trope often called “a dreamy girl with a maniacal elf”, Scott’s fatal flaw was that he thought she was one. She was not an incomplete, ideal, and perfect woman, and treated her as if she were causing him trouble.

8 Crow

Teen Titans Raven is a mix of a few other archetypal images from this list. She is witch, sullen, dark, and completely her own person. While some accuse the E-Girl scene of focusing only on compliance, Raven being an influence provides a fair amount of reaction against that. She walks to the rhythm of her own drum, has purple hair, and does not need a man to complete it.

7 Princess Peach

Princess Peach from the Super Mario Brothers franchise may seem strange at first, but the E-Girl culture and the game culture go hand in hand. Who are you thinking about the number one video game woman? Most likely Princess Peach. With her sweet and cute aesthetic and her presence in the modern spirit of popular culture for over 30 years now, it is not surprising that tons of E-Girls are inspired by her great Victorian dresses, her bright blue eyes and generous attitude.

The only real problem here occurs when you consider that she is almost always represented as a damsel in distress, but plays against her in Super Smash Bros and you will see the opposite.

6 D.Va

Certainly part of the gamer part of the E-Girl subculture, D.VA from Overwatch is a huge influence. She wears a futuristic costume, drives a giant robot and gets things done. While Overwatch isn’t incredibly heavy for it, it’s really heavy for style. Its merch, its cosplays, they are everywhere.

D.VA itself is a reference to the popular anime Neon Genesis Evangelion , which recently got Netflix dubbing. It probably contributed a lot to the popularity of the show, but the Blizzard team that made Overwatch knew how much worship the show had.

5 Harley Quinn

Harley Quinn was originally from the Batman franchise, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been everywhere lately. Cosplays, Halloween costumes and movies have represented her a lot. She was a huge part of the movie Suicide Squad and in the next movie DC Birds of Prey . Although she may have started in some kind of rocky territory as a female character, suffering from Joker-induced Stockholm Syndrome, she recently became a much more entrenched character, emerged from the clutches of the Joker and enjoys ‘a healthy and successful relationship with Poison Lierre.

4 Sailor Moon

Sailor Moon is the most quintessential anime girl out there. It was a resounding success in the 90s, and it had serious resistance, with the recent release of Sailor Moon: Crystal . She is also an extremely popular presence in the cosplay community. Why not love a character who essentially launched the sub-genre of the anime Magical Girl on his own?

With her cute look and her general attitude, she is a force to be reckoned with. The creator of the anime, Naoko Takeuchi, is also married to Yoshihiro Togashi, creator of Yu Yu Hakusho . It is certainly a powerful anime couple, such a thing exists.

3 Disney Princesses

It’s not a single character as much as a group of them, but, with a set of characters as diverse in personality and appearance, can you blame the E-Girls for hanging onto it ? You mainly have Ariel from The Little Mermaid, Jasmine from Aladdin, Merida from Courageous, Tianna from The Princess and the Frog … There are so many choices, and that’s probably why people are constantly cosplaying these characters. They each have their personality, their struggles and are well-made female characters. Not to mention the success of Frozen which has a sequel in preparation!

2 Sakura

Although Sakura is sometimes forgotten, she is still a very important part of the anime community. Lots of people have found a surrogate mother in her since she had a crush on the adorable incubator Sasuke and she is probably also the most recognizable anime character with pink hair, an essential wig color to have if you are going enter the E-Girl cosplay scene.

1 Wool

While Lain of Experiences in the Lain series was not the most popular character or even the most popular anime, his bear pajamas are iconic and he was cosplayed in a ton. Not to mention that she is actually a literal E-Girl. Oops, spoilers!