Softbois Are Dead, Long Live E-Boys
T Singapore: The New York Times Style Magazine|February 2021
Masculinity on social media has a new face, and it is decked out in mascara, black nail polish and neon-coloured hair. In touch with their emotions and unafraid to talk about mental health and sexuality, e-boys are the latest evolution of the much-talked-about ‘softboi’. But despite their vaunted, new age masculinity, critics say that e-boys are not without issues of their own.
Hillary Kang
Softbois Are Dead, Long Live E-Boys

A group of lean white boys dressed in ripped black jeans mean-mug in front of an iPhone, in turn running their hands, some tipped with black nail polish, through their heavily dyed hair and throwing bloodless hand signs. Between the writhing, they lip sync to a trap song by Savage Ga$p, an artist whose most popular song on Spotify with over 80 million streams is the adroitly named “E-girls are ruining my life!” The video has been played over three million times and has close to half a million likes on TikTok.

Separately, TikTok legend and certified e-boy Noen Eubanks posits, in a video to his 11 million followers: “Weird things girls find attractive: The eye roll thing, choking, chain biting, veins.” He demonstrates each point, then asks the camera, smiling: “Did it work?”

Once a subculture that existed merely within the confines of snappy video clips uploaded onto the frenzied platform that is TikTok, e-boys have since entered the mainstream. In 2019, e-boys were among the most popular Google searches of the year, according to the platform’s annual Year in Search report.

They also dominate screens and runways alike. Givenchy’s Fall ’21 collection — replete with leather outerwear, pastel shades and metallic accents — was dubbed as an “e-boy wet dream” by one journalist. Eubanks himself was tapped by Hedi Slimane to be the new face of Celine in late 2019.

The aesthetic of an e-boy is decidedly androgynous: think fringes that coquettishly come down past the eyes and baggy sweaters — the black-and-white stripe pattern being the most frequently parodied — all paired with svelte midriffs that they aren’t afraid to bare.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة February 2021 من T Singapore: The New York Times Style Magazine.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة February 2021 من T Singapore: The New York Times Style Magazine.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من T SINGAPORE: THE NEW YORK TIMES STYLE MAGAZINE مشاهدة الكل
Look At Us
T Singapore: The New York Times Style Magazine

Look At Us

As public memorials face a public reckoning, there’s still too little thought paid to how women are represented — as bodies and as selves.

time-read
6 mins  |
March 2021
Two New Jewellery Collections Find Their Inspiration In The Human Anatomy
T Singapore: The New York Times Style Magazine

Two New Jewellery Collections Find Their Inspiration In The Human Anatomy

Two new jewellery collections find their inspiration in the human anatomy.

time-read
2 mins  |
March 2021
She For She
T Singapore: The New York Times Style Magazine

She For She

We speak to three women in Singapore who are trying to improve the lives of women — and all other gender identities — through their work.

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 2021
T Singapore: The New York Times Style Magazine

Over The Rainbow

How the bright colours and lively prints created by illustrator Donald Robertson brought the latest Weekend Max Mara Flutterflies capsule collection to life.

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2021
What Is Love?
T Singapore: The New York Times Style Magazine

What Is Love?

The artist Hank Willis Thomas discusses his partnership with the Japanese fashion label Sacai and the idea of fashion in the context of the art world.

time-read
4 mins  |
March 2021
The Luxury Hotel For New Mums
T Singapore: The New York Times Style Magazine

The Luxury Hotel For New Mums

Singapore’s first luxury confinement facility, Kai Suites, aims to provide much more than plush beds and 24-hour infant care: It wants to help mothers with their mental and emotional wellbeing as well.

time-read
7 mins  |
March 2021
Who Gets To Eat?
T Singapore: The New York Times Style Magazine

Who Gets To Eat?

As recent food movements have focused on buying local or organic, a deeper and different conversation is happening among America’s food activists: one that demands not just better meals for everyone but a dismantling of the structures that have failed to nourish us all along.

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 2021
Reimagining The Future Of Fashion
T Singapore: The New York Times Style Magazine

Reimagining The Future Of Fashion

What do women want from their clothes and accessories, and does luxury still have a place in this post-pandemic era? The iconic designer Alber Elbaz thinks he has the answers with his new label, AZ Factory.

time-read
10 mins  |
March 2021
A Holiday At Home
T Singapore: The New York Times Style Magazine

A Holiday At Home

Once seen as the less exciting alternative to an exotic destination holiday, the staycation takes on new importance.

time-read
6 mins  |
March 2021
T Singapore: The New York Times Style Magazine

All Dressed Up, Nowhere To Go

Chinese supermodel He Sui talks about the unseen pressures of being an international star, being a trailblazer for East Asian models in the fashion world, and why, at the end of the day, she is content with being known as just a regular girl from Wenzhou.

time-read
7 mins  |
March 2021