Shoegazing (also known as shoegaze) is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s and reached peak popularity in the early 1990s. The style is typified by significant use of guitar distortion, feedback, obscured vocals and the blurring of component musical parts into indistinguishable "walls of sound". The term "shoegazing" was initially devised by the British music press as a gibe meant to ridicule the stage presence of a wave of groups who stood still during live performances in a detached, introspective, non-confrontational state, often with their heads down; the heavy use of effects pedals also contributed to the image of performers looking down at their feet during concerts. The term was often used contemporaneously with "dream pop."