What The Heck is a My Chemical Romance?

My Chemical Romance is a rock/emo/punk band. They burst onto the New Jersey punk scene in early 2002, quickly gaining a local following and soon after worldwide popularity. The band was formed in response to the divided cultural climate of post-9/11 America with the explicit goal of building a space to support marginalized and underrepresented communities. After four studio albums, My Chemical Romance disbanded on March 22, 2013, with no public intent to return.

 Despite this, their fan base continued to grow in their absence. They announced their return in 2019, originally only planning on a three night residency at the Shrine Amphitheater in Los Angeles, but later announcing a world tour. My Chemical Romance returned at a time of great political and cultural conflict and change, reiterating their goal of creating space for marginalized communities to express themselves and show solidarity with each other. 

Throughout their years as a band, both active and inactive, all members have shown support specifically to the LGBTQ+ community through public statements and fundraisers. Gerard Way himself identifies as gender-nonconforming, and has expressed his gender identity through on-stage outfits and makeup. 

What About It?

MCR played a show in Mexico City in 2022 at the Corona Capital music festival. During the show, through a variety of decisions in set and costume design, as well as the agency Way takes over the music, they define themselves as a queer band, not just technically and politically, but conceptually.

 By subverting the genre of festival performance, they effectively “queer” themselves – “queering” as a verb is defined by a subversion of expectation or norms. In my research paper, I intend to show through the analysis of costume and set design, as well as the verbal content of the performance that My Chemical Romance is an inherently queer band and that their return shows a resurgence of queer culture in the face of anti-queer legislation.

Who Cares?

Well, no one, really. There is, however, a wider scholarly discussion on gender expression in the punk and emo subcultures that is applicable to my research. Some sources argue that emo is a progressive space for exploring gender expression free from judgment from the subculture (though no one denies that outside criticism is inevitable). Others argue that the emotional sensitivity in emo and punk lyricism is only a thin veil for the misogyny and toxic masculinity typical in mainstream music, and that gender-nonconforming artists face criticism from their own fan base more often than not. I intend to discuss the idea that My Chemical Romance itself has created a micro-subculture within punk and emo that intends to cultivate community and acceptance by “leading by example”.

Please Care About My Research

The cultural implications of My Chemical Romance as a band are significant and stretch through three decades of musical and political history. Like most pop culture, their presence in the public eye acts as a signifier for moments in culture. They hold a unique position as a band that has been active for 15 years across 3 decades with wild political and cultural upset. By studying their impact in the queer community, we can learn about wider cultural movements.