Dilemma of Fans

Fandom culture* is a remarkable phenomenon in today’s world. Moreover, there is no stopping in the growth of this culture as more new and current fandoms continue to strive.

As every culture has its positives and negatives, one misconception is prevalent which is naming female fans as such as screaming teenage girls and fanatic fangirls. This naming can be seen mostly for favorite boy group, for example, One Direction and BTS.

Let’s look at the life of artist fans. They support their favorite artist music by listening to them, sharing about it on social media. Fans create fan accounts on social media to express their support freely and engage with other fans. Fans of the full age range, they share about explore the meaning of the song, how it affects them and how it helps them in life. Fan life is an escape from day to day life.

Before we talk about the term, screaming fangirls, let's talk about the right word to use for it. We tend to cheer for something or someone we like; often done in a selective group. We tend to scream, shout to cheer for them. So when we put it this way that fans are cheering for them loudly, didn't seem wrong. However, why name it screaming fangirls? What is wrong with that? Isn’t screaming is a way of showing that a person is cheering for their favorites?

The question asked here is “Why target fangirls? What is wrong with a female being a fan of something or someone? Is that mean that the male population not interested in anything in this world?” The answer to that is no. Male fans are out there screaming louder for their favorite sports team, and it was never looked down upon like the fangirls. It’s nothing to do with whom the females like or prefer.

“So a male showing interest in a sports team is considered to be something to be part of, but if it’s female showing interest in artists especially male artists they are just screaming for their looks?” is what believed by everyone.

“And to value an artist talent who have fangirls, there must be a male population approval so it the music will be considered to be of worth. Why can’t a female like and appreciate things without the males?”

Society normalized fan culture for males. One of the reasons that whatever females do, its deemed as inappropriate and they are discouraged not to do anything while the males can get away with their “support”.

Hoping the term fangirls will have a more positive meaning, such as girls just being a fan of someone rather than looking down upon them.

*Fandom culture: People come together because of their favorite things and interests whether it's their favorite sports team, artists, books television shows or movies.

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About the author

A writer who loves exploring the meaning of life enjoys learning new things.