It is well known that fangirls tend to have a notoriously bad reputation, but guess what? Maybe it’s time you started listening to her! So, from one fangirl to another, here is my take on fangirl culture.
As she sits in her poster filled bedroom, wearing merch, blasting music through her headphones, whilst saving pictures on Pinterest, reposting on her Instagram story, and tweeting a million things about her fav. She’s creating hype on her fan account, taking part in social media marketing before she even knew what that was!
She’ll know all the updates before you, she is the backbone of the music industry, so stop being judgemental and treating her as the media’s favourite punchbag and start to listen!
Let's take a look at some definitions of fangirls:
(Of a female fan) Behave in an obsessive or over excited way.
A female fan, obsessed with something (or someone) to a frightening or sickening degree. Often considered ditzy, annoying and shallow.
All paint fangirls as crazy, insane, hysterical as a whole. In this article I will be using the term fangirl to refer to anyone that is that bit more of a fan than the average person.
The History of the Fangirl
The first case of the ‘fan-girl’ was seen by the craze caused by Elvis Presley. “The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll”‘s fans would be encouraged to organise and form clubs. This could be said to be an early sign of what we would now call fandoms; an overall umbrella term of community of fans for a specific topic.
As shown in the recent Elvis film, which also helped convert many new fans, it highlighted the fans behaviours towards “The King” and how quickly they fell in love with him. What drew young people in to being his fans was his touch of a rebellious attitude, fuelling their teenage angst phase in their lives; moving in his sexually suggestive manner that was in direct violation of the purity values imposed at the time.
In more recent times we have seen people in a state described above is for the boyband, One Direction. The five piece British and Irish boyband stole the hearts of people all over the world, leading to their colossal success. The commonly named ‘Directioners’ were the media’s then favourite punchbag; young teenage (mostly girl) fans, as well as a young successful boyband.
When band member, Zayn Malik left the band, fans were in shock and understandably upset. This was just another easy shot the media was able to openly take at their fans. With some headlines reading “Watch One Directions fan’s hysterical reaction as Zayn Malik leaves the band”.
Double Standard
Now imagine you have brought tickets to see your favourite band or artist in concert: you count down the days, plan your outfit, travel to the venue. Yet when you get there, you are told you are not allowed to sing, scream the lyrics to the songs that you love so much. Why?! Oh, because you'll come across as crazy, insane, hysterical!
The idea that singing songs at a concert, surely what you’re are meant to do, is somehow too much! However, millions of people go to see football every year and scream, some even screaming rude hateful words. Yet, that is seen as normal, and almost expected and accepted norm. Not crazy, insane, hysterical. Obviously!
In general, the different connotations between the term Fan compared to Fangirl, is drastically different. Fans are seen as civilised and supportive. Yet, Fangirls are seen as crazy, insane, hysterical. This can be compared to the different uses we see with the term boss and girl boss.
The term girl boss although being both mainstream and a “joke” does not invalidate the negative connotations that come with it. For example, if a woman gets to a senior position they do not want to be seen as the 'female doctor’ for example, they just want to be the ‘doctor’ without their gender being put first. Although the comparison to fangirls is on a different level, why are they labelled as ‘fangirls’ and not purely just ‘fans’.
How the world looks at young female enthusiasm
Name me one thing that young girls are allowed to be passionate about without being made fun of, or seen as it crazy, insane, hysterical. That’s right you can’t! Makeup - “You try too hard.” Football - “You’re trying to be one of the boys!” Music - “Ew you’re so obsessed.”
The negative root linked to fangirls originated from the “I’m not like other girls” trend, this stems from girls pretending to hate what is popular as if they were seeking for validation, and didn’t want to be labelled as a fangirl. Crazy, Insane, Hysterical.
This issue rises from the traditional media’s point of view of anything a teenage girl can do is lame, unimportant, or “just a phase”. Yet even so, they are most likely TEENAGERS they deserve the right to go through phases and figure out what they like without judgement!
The reason fangirls love being fangirls, is they make a group in which they can learn how to love something unapologetically. Surely, just as football fans have a team for life.
Fangirls are the backbone of the Music Industry.
When you are scrolling through TikTok or Instagram and you see posts about a musician or actor, who made those edits was it a million dollar record label? Or was it the teenage girl sat in her room, who learnt how to edit? Nine times out of ten it's going to be the fangirl.
Many people say that fan made merch is often better than the official merch sold by the artist.
The fact fan girls are the backbone of the music industry is not a new idea. When The Beatles started to get big, who was it camping outside their shows and spreading the word about them; the fangirls. We saw this also happen with One Direction as it was the fans who believed in them, even after them only coming third on the X-Factor. It was the fans who continually streamed their first single ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ to ensure its success.
This is could also be said with Taylor Swift, as it was her incredibly loyal fans that were the ones who carried her until she got the recognition, she deserved from mainstream media with her album 1989. Even though she was already getting attention in the country charts, however hadn’t fully broken in to the mainstream yet. The constant "No use Taylor's version!" when a creator uses the older recording of the song, after the singers feud with her old record label.
Not to mention Fangirls are the deciders of what’s big, commonly they can predict who is going to get big. They pretty much build pop culture. Fangirls if they like an artist will be the one calling, tweeting radio stations to get radio plays. Making content for free about an artist or band they are passionate about.
One time it has been unavoidably true that fans, are the backbone of the music industry is the story behind the band, The 1975’s ‘i like it when you sleep for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it’ album. The 1975 were massive on the site, Tumblr in the early 2010’s and used the site as a way to listen to their fans in between them putting music out. The obsession with everything being black and white, and that still from the ‘Robbers’ music video, was from the band's debut album, ‘The 1975’.
However, lead singer Matty Healy has said that after the colour dodge of that era, it was the fans on Tumblr which started to colour photos with a pink haze. This is one of the reasons behind the similar cover art, on ‘I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it’, in pink and white, compared to the black and white on the debut.
To put this idea in context and not it coming from just another fangirl, Harry Styles once said that “How can you say young girls don’t get it? They are our future. Our future doctors, lawyers, mothers, presidents, they kind of keep the world going. Teenage-girl-fans – they don’t lie. If they like you, they’re there. They don’t act, ‘too cool’. They like you, and they tell you.”
In conclusion to my take on the fangirl culture. More people need to respect the merch wearing, poster collecting, edit making fangirl. They are the backbone of the music industry, and definitely not crazy, insane, hysterical.
By CAITLIN
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