2023-07-11 11:07:00
“Hysterical”, “obsessed” – these are not all adjectives that often describe the behavior of female fans. The most ardent fans began to be called groupies. As a rule, we are talking about fans of pop or rock bands who accompany their idols during the tour. For example, fans of the German rock band Rammstein.
I must say that female fan culture is usually not taken seriously in society, which could be observed already in the time of the Beatles. “Girls were fans of the Beatles, because they purely externally really liked the musicians, boys liked the Beatles because they played the piano or guitar well. There were such prejudices in society,” Victoria Kann, a professor at the University, says in an interview with DW East Anglia in Norwich. She studies youth identity issues and gender differences. At the heart of this stereotypical thinking is the opinion that “these young girls have no idea what is important in the world, and they are simply obsessed,” emphasizes Victoria Kann. The reason for this characterization lies in structural misogyny, which assumes that women are irrational compared to men. Many of these stereotypes persist to this day.
Is it embarrassing to be a fanboy?
Let’s take the most recent example. Korean pop (K-pop) is a musical genre that originated in South Korea and incorporates elements of western electropop, hip hop, dance music, and contemporary rhythm and blues. Having appeared as a musical genre, it has turned into a large-scale musical subculture with millions of fans and female fans around the world.
In this musical subculture, female fans feel undervalued. According to the Korea Times, South Korea has an additional word for female fans, “Bbasooni”, which means female fans blindly chasing their male idols. Such a derogatory designation is one of the reasons why many female fans hide the fact that they like Korean pop, according to the newspaper.
Vivienne Pistor has been a fan of K-pop for several yearsPhoto: privat
Vivien Pistor, 25, has been a fan of K-pop for several years now. She travels to concerts around the world and loves to buy CDs from her favorite band, Stray Kids. Vivien collects and shares photos and posters of various K-pop bands’ concerts. In the fan community, collecting often draws such criticism: “It’s like the time when collecting Pokemon cards was in vogue, not cool at all for K-pop fans.”
Comparison with football fans
Victoria Kann argues that the recognition and positive attitude towards fans largely depends on whether this group is predominantly male or female. Football fans are criticized but rarely ridiculed. Pop music fans can be compared to football fans: fans spend a lot of money on their favorite team or group. They shout and sing to cheer their idols in stadiums or on stage. And, in the end, they want to have a souvenir, whether it’s a T-shirt or an autographed photo. Fans show their enthusiasm with impressive performances – before the start of the match or before the performance of the favorite song of the musicians from the stage.
“The so-called female fanaticism is an expression of femininity, and it is not valued in society. Hence the ridicule,” expert Victoria Kann is sure. “But for young women, it’s often about showing off your femininity and experimenting,” she adds.
Marie Feller at the first K-pop festival in GermanyPhoto: privat
Out of fear of backlash, 20-year-old Marie Feller was hesitant to openly talk about her musical tastes. She often had to listen to stupid and even racist statements from her classmates about her K-pop idols.
“I used to be uncomfortable. I didn’t talk about it because I didn’t want to lose my friends,” she admits. Today, Marie is considering who to talk to about K-pop and who to not talk to.
Hysterical exclamations, fainting and what else?
“There’s more to a fan’s life than just listening to music,” says fellow Korean pop lover Vivien Pistor. She translates the lyrics of Korean songs into German and thus gets to know the language and culture of Korea.
And Marie Feller herself makes bracelets and distributes them at concerts. She met her best friend Vivien at one of the concerts. They used to try to learn the choreography for K-pop songs. “Of course, it’s a plus that K-pop artists look good,” says Marie of her favorite group NCT Dream, “but I don’t know anyone who has become a fan of them just for this reason.”
Ideas about fangirls are often limited to hysterical exclamations and fainting spells. But this is sometimes not true. Young women are also politically active: after the murder of George Floyd in the US, fans of the Korean pop group BTS called for donations to the Black Lives Matter movement. Victoria Kann advises young women who are ridiculed as fangirls to stay calm: “So what if people don’t like it?”
Victoria Kann sees great potential in the growing number of female fans: “Thanks to female fans, communities are created that give women joy through music and help them better understand the world and not feel lonely. And these are really very important arguments.”
See also:
#Whats #wrong #Rammstein #fans #11.07.2023