Redefining Fangirl

The story starts with the 1940s divorce law novel Holy Deadlock. Author A. P. Herbert used the term fangirl to describe a young woman obsessed with musicians. Over the past 80 years, the public has morphed the term into one of mythmaking madness, hysterical screams, obsessive stalking, and unreciprocated love. In reality, there is a community of fans whose admiration for an artist means more to them than just a crazy party anecdote or photograph. To these fans, it means finding like-minded people and the soundtrack to life’s hardest realities.

Much of what people imagine when they hear the term fangirl is based on gender stereotypes. Sexism has caused women to be envisioned as docile homemakers who keep their emotions at bay and don’t express their opinions. Fangirls are the perfect embodiment of the sexist cliché for an unacceptable woman. Fangirls are loud, emotional, and free. In fact, many take pride in these attributes. The Beatles are a prime example of the empowerment of fangirls. At the height of the band’s success in the 60s, women faced harsh societal expectations. Going to a Beatles concert meant freedom to them, in more ways than just a night out of the house. During a broadcast interview from a 1964 Beatles concert, a journalist asks a group of young women if they are “going to put on dresses for the concert tonight.” The women respond, saying “No...we saw that the Beatles like casual clothing.” The interviewer also addresses that there are no boys in line with them. “They are jealous,” a woman remarks, an empowering sentiment during a time of female exclusion.

There are other industries, such as sports, that are heavily dominated by male fans. One could argue that these fans act rowdier than a fangirl ever would. When their favorite team loses a match, emotions intensely flare, often to a dangerous extreme. There have been reported cases of men vandalizing public property or even abusing romantic partners after their team lost. So why aren’t they criticized so harshly? There is only one difference between a woman wearing a pink boa to a Harry Styles concert and a man painting his face for a football game: simply, he is a man. In our society, it is more widely accepted that men behave poorly or express their emotions through anger. Therefore, if their team loses, why shouldn’t they be angry? On the other hand, if a woman cries because she emotionally connects to a song by her favorite artist, she is being overdramatic or too emotional.

One TikTok video by @calumhoodfanclub shows the genderization of fans perfectly. The video parallels an article from Hot Press titled “Why Sexism Drives the Shaming of Fangirls” to images of male sports fans. The Taylor Swift song “The Man” is playing behind it: “I’m so sick of running as fast as I can, wondering if I’d get there quicker if I were a man.” Comments on the video include “People will tear apart a young woman for anything they are passionate about. Every. Little. Thing,” and “The double standard this video shows is *chefs kiss* ” However, fan culture is not always fun-loving memes and adorable fan projects. There are sides of groups that are mean or even dangerous. The word “stan” is fairly new and has recently become more of a slang term used to emote love for something. It’s taken from an Eminem music video and combines the words “stalker” and “fan.”

Stans are the side of fandoms that well-meaning seasoned fans avoid at all costs. They have been known to make every little thing an issue and will often take things to an extreme, such as threatening to kill someone. Within the past two decades, social media has added new layers to fandoms. Myspace, Tumblr, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok are all essential parts of the fangirl revolution.

Everything I Need I Get from You is a novel written by a staff writer for The Atlantic Kaitlyn Tiffany about the culture of fangirls as one herself. In one portion of the novel, Tiffany discusses the critical impact that fangirls had on budding social media platforms in the early 2000s: “These applications debuted as blank slates, and the people who came to them filled them with culture.

They innovated the language and rhythm and aesthetics and norms of websites that they didn’t fully understand but saw instead as raw material.” With each new platform came new ways for fan communities to engage. From the nine-year-old Lady Gaga's Instagram page @ladygagavision to various YouTube reaction videos for Katy Perry’s album Teenage Dream. Tumblr was founded in 2007, and built on the idea of a short-form blog. The way in which posts were easy to reblog, and users could design their own homepage made it appealing to many fans. Taylor Swift fans, better known as “Swifties,” are a group that adopted Tumblr as a haven for the fandom. In 2015 during her 1989 era, Swift joined Tumblr and quickly became a wiz at interactions on the platform. Tumblr is regarded by Swifties as a space where Swift herself would develop bonds and inside jokes with her fans, often hand-picking certain users to meet at concerts.

So, how has fangirl been redefined? The term is less of a verb and more of a feeling today. It’s different for each and every fan and manifests itself in countless ways. The term is no longer exclusive. No matter your gender, age, or who you are fangirling over, the term can apply to you. Personally, I invite football fans to start using the term. Fangirls should be seen as nothing but positive. Why? Fangirls create community. Whether that be friendship bracelets at a concert or a tweet that made someone laugh on a bad day. You—the fan—have control of the definition. And if someone ever challenges that. . . just remember that a whole bunch of people have your back.

Your MagazineApril 30, 2023