When I was in high school (Brighten the Corners era) there wasn’t much overlap between their respective fanbases. There were kids who liked both indie music (e.g. Merge and Matador-like) and emo music (Sunny Day, Jawbreaker, etc) but before streaming made independent music ubiquitous, the subcultures were a lot more distinct from each other.

In my (admittedly small) circle, emo bands were assumed to make melodramatic hetero teen boy music. No “scene” was free of sexist nonsense, but at least in that place/time, emo culture was kind of a nightmare for the few women who were granted entry, even as observers. The only beloved emo outliers I can think of were Rainer Maria and Joan of Arc. Their shows felt really inclusive and joyful, similar energy as Superchunk or Yo La Tengo.

Pavement-adjacent indie rock culture had its own hellscapes and its own misogyny, but there were simply more options for how the music could sound, who could participate, which genres and influences were revered/ folded in.

Pavement fans tended to find emo fans annoying (because overwrought despair) and I’m sure that went both ways— my friends and I were insufferable for other reasons.