how do you label emo? (and other subcultures)

To be honest, the emo label, like a lot of labels, are so nuanced that it's hard to tell if you're truly "emo" or not. The real trick is to just not gaf really but still be respectful yknow. Just don't be annoying and do your research !! I'm not too bothered on labels rn, I only really find them helpful if I'm trying to find people like me or if somebody just asks what I'm into in terms of music and stuff. 

A personal take that I have is that a lot of subcultures rely on history and community. I feel like a lot of people miss out the gothic literature side of the goth subculture when gothic literature is behind A LOT of things in goth culture. In this same way, I feel like certain attitudes and habits cling onto different subcultures. For example; using certain slang if you're scene (xD, rawr, :3, abbreviations) which ties into the history of how early phones where hard to text on and so lots of people (not just scene kids) would abbreviate their words.

Like I said though, just don't think too hard about it and enjoy what you want to enjoy. Online discourse is all ONLINE at the end of the day so ... do whatever as long as you're not being deliberately stupid about it. (I'm thinking specifically about those conservative goths I've seen) shudders ..