Fandoms are a powerful group of people who impact society in many ways.
Arguably, the two most similar fandoms are fangirls and football fans, they both obsess over people they admire and look up to.
Yet, there's a noticeable divide in how certain fans are perceived.
Teenage girls who passionately support their favourite artist in concert are often labelled as 'obsessive', 'weird' and 'annoying'.
Meanwhile, football fans who spend hours and vast amounts of money on their favourite teams are often praised for this behaviour.
So why does society see these expressions of fandom so differently?
The criticism towards fangirls stems from a gender bias on how 'acceptable' excitement and enthusiasm is for different groups of people.
When girls display devotion or any form of passion towards their favourite artist, they're frequently written off as mindless, contrasting a male-dominated sports fandom in which most fans are equally passionate, if not more, than female fangirls, yet their excitement is accepted as legitimate passion.
For example, game day for a sports fan means that they may get all dressed up in their teams colours- they may even wear their team's kit or jersey, they will scream and shout from the stands or at the television, and this is seen as acceptable.
Now, compare this behaviour to a young girl at a Taylor Swift concert.
She may be wearing merchandise, singing along to every song and posting videos online to share her experience at the concert, yet she will be told that her behaviour is 'excessive' or 'annoying'.
The double standard reveals how society views male vs female enjoyment.
Male-dominated fandoms are treated as powerful expressions of themselves whereas female-dominated fandoms are often labelled as 'cringe' and the fans within these fandoms 'obsessive'.
While both groups express devotion to something that brings them joy, society tends to see male-dominated fandoms as more acceptable or 'serious' compared to a female-dominated fandom.
Even though they are not regarded as 'serious', fangirls hold a huge amount of cultural and economic power.
Taylor Swift, for instance, has not only sold millions of albums but has also boosted the economy in almost every country on her tour, the 'Eras Tour'.
This is due to the devotion of her fans, commonly referred to as 'Swifties', and how their passion for music can impact entire countries, yet fangirls continuously face belittlement that ignores their impact on the world.
However, with movements towards gender equality there is a shift in attitudes towards fangirls.
With the help of artists like Swift, some have started to appreciate the commitment of fans and are realising that 'obsessive' fans are just people enjoying what they love.
This shift is challenging stereotypes and is helping people realise that there is a need for change in the way fans, specifically teenage girls, are regarded.
