A 'fandom' is described in the Oxford dictionary as: "the state or condition of being a fan of someone or something" or "the fans of a particular person, team, fictional series, etc. regarded collectively as a community or subculture." Some popular fandoms include Potterheads, Directioners and Beliebers. Fandoms are by no means a new phenomenon. In the sixties, the term ‘Beatlemania’ was coined to describe the massive popularity of The Beatles. In the late nineties, following the announcement that the Spice Girls were taking a hiatus, boybands like NYSYNC and Backstreet Boys were dominating pop charts. That was until 16-year-old Britney Spears burst onto the scene with her debut single …Baby, One More Time. A Total Request Live host said this about Spears: “Not since Madonna has a female artist so heavily permeated po]p culture.” I would argue that celebrities like Britney Spears are one of a kind. We will likely never see a musical artist with the same global impact on pop music. The nineties and early noughties were a different time, the internet didn’t have the wide reach that it has now, there were no subreddits, no YouTube comment sections, no Twitter threads, email was just beginning to take off. Britney appealed to young people because she herself was a young person. She was a record label’s dream because she was so marketable. She appealed to not only Western but also global audiences, and her impact was felt worldwide. She had her own line of dolls, there were Britney calendars, stationery, a Britney concert tour toy bus, and even an inflatable chair.
In 2010, Justin Bieber released his single Baby, which was met with mixed reactions. Annoyance, hatred, but also adoration from his rapidly growing, largely female fanbase, the Beliebers. Bieber hasn't strayed far from controversy over the years. In 2013 he was criticised for writing this in the guestbook at the Anne Frank Museum: "Truly inspiring to be able to come here. Anne was a great girl. Hopefully she would have been a belieber." Other Twitter users poked fun at the idea that some of Bieber's fans might be jealous of Anne Frank, without realising that she was a victim of The Holocaust and had in fact died in 1945. People online have joked that Hayley Bieber is the most successful fangirl of all time, as she was a Belieber, and is now married to Justin.
At one point, One Direction were the biggest boyband in the world. They made history as the first British band to have a debut album reach number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Directioners were devastated when it was announced in 2015 that Zayn Malik had left the band.
I spoke with a friend of mine about her experience growing up as a 1D fan.
When and how did you become a 1D fan?
"I became a fan alongside their journey on the X-Factor in 2010, as they were definitely marketed to gain that 12-16 year old audience at the time. When they came out with What Makes You Beautiful after that, I'd already become invested into their journey so it was easy to be a fan of a new upcoming band!"
What did you like about them? And did you have a favourite member?
"I liked that they were teen guys and I was a teen girl, so I was definitely the target audience! Their songs and style were really cool at that time. I think the fact their opening single being a song about reminding girls how beautiful they are was a big help in them gaining a huge fandom too. They also had different personalities and silly jokes which made people have a favourite! I remember Liam was my favourite, because I liked his hair at the time, but I didn’t mind Harry either because his hair was nice too, he just seemed too cheeky for 13-year-old me"
How did you feel when Zayn left? What impact do you think his departure had on 1D fans?
"I was dipping in and out of being a fan when I was finishing school or at university, wanting to try and feel more grown up, but I remember that day so clearly. I remember Twitter and Tumblr just being crazy with people crying and being really deep, people having conspiracy theories, justifications and just a lot of heightened emotions.
I recently saw a tweet that asked “What was your generation’s 9/11?” And someone quoted it by just saying “March 25 2015”, which is the day Zayn left. It had a huge cultural impact and one of the first to be spread online. I’m not sure a band has had that much impact in a long time.
Some Twitter reactions to Zayn leaving
What did you think when Harry Styles said this when accepting his Grammy: “This doesn’t happen to people like me very often and this is so, so nice. Thank you very much”
"I saw this on Twitter and saw the side of it where he’s a wealthy, attractive white man so I can see how it comes across really tone deaf. A lot of people suggest - and I could partially believe - that since he’s just a boy from Manchester he’s still in disbelief that these things he’s looked up to for so long are happening to him. But I think Harry needs to realise how long he’s been doing this and how his privilege has played into his fortune and work ethic, and think before he says things which can cause such controversy. I do think a drawback of fandom is that often people think the best of their idol, when actually there should be a place for critical thought. That being said, there’s a lot of critical thought about even the most menial things some celebrities do, so I’d say fandoms are overall a strange place to be a part of because it’s a microcosm of a society where one person/group is considered worthy."
My Thoughts
One Direction's impact is pretty spectacular. They started out on the UK X Factor and finished in third place. Whether you're a fan or not, you can recognise that they made their mark. There have been a few success stories of contestants from the X Factor, Little Mix being another example, but One Direction were undoubtedly the most successful. I didn't listen to 1D, but I always thought they were talented, and remained remarkably humble. From what I've seen, the members of the band have all developed their own musical styles and have been able to express themselves creatively. It's not important to focus on the member of a group who has enjoyed the most success, but it's always going to be a talking point. Louis Tomlinson said this about Harry in a 2022 interview with NME: "It’s not surprising to me that Harry’s the most commercially successful because he really fits the mould of a modern star.” People often joke about "the Beyoncé of the group" which can be harmful. Memes have spawned from this concept, comparing bandmates to one another, including their stage presence, singing ability, dance ability. I think it's important for people to realise comparisons like these aren't always healthy or constructive. With regards to Harry's Grammy speech, on the one hand yes he is a conventionally attractive white man and therefore benefits from certain privileges, but when you consider that he auditioned for a British reality show as a soloist, was then put into a group with four other people, and they went on to be a global success, it's not something that is easily achievable.
The Free Britney Movement: Fans Working to Create Social Change
In early 2019, the hosts of a podcast called Britney's Gram (dedicated to discussing Britney Spears' Instagram posts) received an anonymous phone call. The caller claimed he used to be a paralegal for an attorney who worked with Britney Spears' conservatorship, and that Spears had involuntarily entered a mental health facility. In late 2018 Spears had ended her popular Vegas residency, and was in rehearsals for a new residency called Domination. She had been in a court ordered conservatorship since 2008, which most Britney fans were aware of, but it wasn't something that was well-known to non-fans. The conservatorship restricted many areas of her life. She wasn't allowed to get married or have children without permission. She couldn’t manage her own money and wasn’t allowed to choose who she could work with. The conservator of her estate (her father Jamie Spears) controlled every aspect of her life.
The Free Britney movement had already existed for years, but it really took off between 2020 and 2021. The spike in engagement could be in part due to the fact it was during the COVID-19 pandemic which gave people more time to act like internet sleuths. Fans spread the word on social media and attended protests. They were dismissed by many and called “conspiracy theorists” by Jamie Spears himself. The New York Times made an impactful documentary about Britney Spears' journey from debuting as a teenager, and being the victim of misogynistic criticism from the media and public. Personally, I think having a credible news source reporting on the movement gave it a lot of credibility, and it became a huge talking point in the media. This was the attention it needed to get it off the ground, but this created a pattern where more and more documentaries about Britney were popping up, which began to feel exploitative. Spears herself has said on Instagram that she didn't like the documentaries, and that they made her feel humiliated. It's understandable, having the most traumatic, life-altering moments of your life revisited so many years later, and it then being dissected on social media would have an impact on anyone's wellbeing.
In summer 2021, for the first time ever, Spears publicly spoke about her experience being in the conservatorship for thirteen years. Being a fan of Britney myself, I saw the early 2019 post about her taking a hiatus. At the time, the stay at the mental health facility was being reported on as a positive thing, in an age where prioritising your mental health, and practicing self-care is (rightfully) encouraged. However, this wasn't the reality She revealed that she had been forced to stay at, and pay for the stay at the mental health facility, and was put on lithium. During the conservatorship, she had been forced to get an intrauterine device to prevent her from getting pregnant, despite the fact she wanted to get married to her long-term boyfriend and start a family. I give credit to the fans for making so much noise about the situation. It took a long time for it to reach the public sphere. It shows the impact fan bases can have.
Spears still receives criticism for the way that she acts on Instagram, her posts are often flooded with comments making fun of her, and saying that she should still be in the conservatorship due to her behaviour, despite the fact she hasn’t done any harm to anyone. Whether someone has mental health issues or not, it will never be acceptable to dismantle their basic human rights and take away their ability to make their own decisions.
The Rise of K-pop
There are some dedicated fanbases out there, but I would argue that no one is quite on the level of K-pop fans. With any fandom, there are going to be problematic people, but K-pop fans often get unwarranted criticism. Many singers and bands have their own merchandise, but K-pop merchandise is on another level. Different groups have their own unique lightstick which is used by fans at concerts. Photocards (small photos of idols) are also popular.
K-pop fans, particularly female K-pop fans, are often written off as hysterical, crazy fangirls for supporting their favourite band. Personally, I think to tar everyone with the same brush is narrow-minded. There are of course fans who overstep boundaries all the time, but as unfortunate as it is, this can be seen with many fanbases. In 2021, James Corden got backlash from BTS' fanbase Armys, for making this joke on his show:
The United Nations General Assembly kicked off this morning in New York City and it started with some pretty unusual visitors, BTS...Historic moment. It actually marks the first time 15-year-old girls everywhere found themselves wishing that they were secretary general of the United Nations António Guterres.
One fan pointed out that BTS aren't exactly "unusual visitors" as they are in fact UN ambassadors. Many found it odd and insulting to make a joke about BTS when they had been on The Late Late Show so many times, and had always treated Corden with respect. Corden himself had also spoken many times about how great he thought BTS were, and he even asopted the nickname 'Papa Mochi'. I think the issue with the joke was, it demeaned BTS, but also generalised their fans.
On the surface, it might not seem that deep, but it led to a bigger conversation about how young girls are often dismissed as insane fangirls, when in fact Armys (and members of other fanbases) are intelligent and socially aware. When BTS donated $1 million to Black Lives Matter in 2020, their fans matched the donation. BTS returned to the show in late 2021 and leader of the group Namjoon addressed it in a light-hearted way: "You've been in some hot water with Armys, are you alright?". Halsey, friend and collaborator of BTS had this to say about Armys:
Armys are rightfully protective over BTS because this is a band that was obviously taken advantage of by the music industry because of the power their fanbase holds.
BTS "clearing the air" with James Corden
When Does Stan Culture Become a Problem?
Fandoms can be a force for bad and good. If members of a fandom feel that someone or something has wronged the person or people that they love and feel connected to, it can create a lot of backlash. Fan fiction is a big part of many fandoms, some of it can be problematic, intrusive, and even impact on people's real lives. On the podcast Violating Community Guidelines, host Brittany Broski described how a Harry Styles fan fiction published on Wattpad became an actual movie franchise called After. There have been ethical debates about whether fan fiction should be written about real-life people.
There is a difference between a fan and a stalker, the distinction is important to make. We have however seen many cases of obsessed fans getting overly attached to celebrities, and the fatal impact it can have. Actress Rebecca Schaeffer was killed by an obsessed fan. The singer Selena was murdered by Yolanda Saldívar, who managed her fan club. Saldívar had been accused of embezzling money after fans reported that they hadn't received merchandise they had paid for.
Overall, I think being a fan of someone or something can be a really positive thing. Fandoms are essentially communities of people sharing their love for something. However, it's important to realise that celebrities are just people too, with flaws, and we shouldn't put them on a pedestal. Enjoying someone's music, or enjoying the image that they project isn't inherently unhealthy or bad, as long as it doesn't consume your whole life.
Thank you to the interviewee for answering my questions! Appreciate your time 🤗
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