(no subject)
This is an interesting read. I know I got it from somebody's website, and I hope I'm not stepping on any toes. I don't think so, since I have the author's name. Anyone know where I found it?
Note: This may not be formatted correctly as I cut and pasted it.
"Dirty" Pop
Nsync and the Post-Adolescent Fan
Unpublished ©2002 Veronica Carolyn Bond
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, thanks go out to Andrew Abbott, my advisor, who had never heard of Nsync until I walked into his office, eager to begin this project. I greatly appreciate the sobriety with which he regarded my endeavor, as I feared I would be seen as nothing more than an idle consumer on whom pop culture had left its mark. And, worse than that, someone who liked boy bands.
Elizabeth Campbell and Andreas Glaeser have been particularly helpful in the thesis-writing process, from the initial conception of the project to the mechanics of constructing the final paper. Discussing my project and listening to my peers discuss theirs proved to be a useful practice. Being forced to talk about Nsync was an interesting departure from my usual experience of being forced to shut up whenever I mentioned their name.
Myriads, multitudes, hordes, throngs, oodles, profusions of gratitude, and other synonyms for "a lot," go to Kristin M. Geraci, Dana S. White, and Lisa M. Martinez, my friends and fellow Rebels. Without you guys, I doubt I would have stayed sane…our version of "sane," anyway.
And, of course, for many hours of good music, wall decorations, crazy conversations, and new friends, I must thank the boys themselves: Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone, and Chris Kirkpatrick. But especially Lance. Because he's cute.
Here We Go
Introduction
They've been called "the biggest band in the world" and "the Fab Five." At 2.4 million copies, their sophomore album, No Strings Attached, owns the record for highest first week album sales. They mark the first time Rolling Stone magazine has published six separate, simultaneous covers. They're Nsync - that five member boy band, hailing from Orlando, Florida, who set the music world on edge and the hearts and hormones of girls everywhere in a tizzy. Sale of their first three albums, including Nsync and most recently Celebrity, number in the millions. With wildly successful concert tours, clothing lines, movie deals, and even lip balm on the market, it is almost impossible to escape their presence. Walk into any drug store and it is likely that their faces will be staring out from at least one magazine. It seems like everyone is a fan. Even if they should not be.
It is not that studies of pop music are entirely absent from the sociological scene. There exists a vast array of studies concerning , the comparison of popular culture to high culture, the development of youth culture, theories of massification, and theories of commercialization. Heavy metal, rap, and punk rock have provided for studies of subcultures and fandoms - even teenybopper culture has generated enough noise to be given its own time. So it is not that pop music studies do not exist, but what these studies have done is draw definite boundaries in the sociology of music culture, meaning that all who do not fall into these clean cut categories go unrecognized. Pop music fans are constantly subjected to a simple-minded stereotype; they are thought of as passive consumers who are easily manipulated by commercial industries (Shuker, 1994). Most often they are typed as adolescent girls who have more interest in daydreaming about celebrities, rather than in the actual music these celebrities produce. This image is commonly accepted, perhaps, because it is the image most often touted by the media. Nsync fans are no exception.
Nsync, whose members range in age from 21 to 301 , is just the sort of band that is thought to appeal solely to the pre-adolescent and teenage, female demographic. Although magazines and television constantly show images of these screaming young fans, not every Nsync fan fits the "screaming teeny" mold. There are a significant number of fans, aged 21 and above, who enjoy Nsync for their music and entertainment just as much as their teenage counterparts; the difference lies in the fact that these older fans cannot easily express their interest in Nsync. If they do, it is at the risk of being ridiculed. The problem is not simply one of fan identification, but also of negative social identification. Thus, the question is not just how and why individuals identify as Nsync fans, but of these older individuals who risk mockery yet still identify as Nsync fans, why do they choose to accept this negative social identity?
To attempt to answer this, I turn to two sociological theories: deviance theory and identity theory. Deviance theory serves to explain how that which is viewed as negative, can become positive when viewed and employed in the correct manner. Through this process an individual can come to accept an identity which possesses certain negative connotations. A person will not accept a negative identity or continue to pursue a deviant activity unless the pleasure they receive from the activity outweighs that negativity. Stereotypes are enough to warrant embarrassment over being a fan - if this embarrassment is powerful enough, the individual would simply not be fan. There must be a reason why older individuals choose to identify as Nsync fans, something beyond just liking the music.
After accepting a deviant identity, the fan must then define the identity for herself and for the others who share this identity. Identity theory examines how society shapes the self, which, in turn, shapes social behavior through both the reactions of those outside and inside the group. How a person chooses to behave in the fandom, which fan-related activities she pursues, and how she views other fans will influence the way she conceives her fan identity. One of the most telling aspects of identity for older fans is the attitude they hold towards younger fans. Those most affected by the stereotypes are also those who, for whatever reason, hold the most disdain for their younger peers. Attitudes regarding the band and the fandom itself serve to differentiate those who perpetuate the stereotype and those who do not.
Thus far, pop music studies have largely been conducted on a theoretical basis. Because people's experiences of music are tied to the specific social contexts in which they occur, a more ethnographic study would aim to show that pop music involves social identities, relationships, and practices, and is something which is created, used, and interpreted differently by different individuals and groups (Cohen 1993). Data for this study come from in-depth interviews with seven fans2 . All were over the age of 21 and all were female. Because of this, I will refer to the general fan as female throughout the paper. Since a large part of Nsync's fan base is female, as were all of my interviewees, it would be dishonest ignore physical attractions to the band's members as a significant factor in older fans' identification with the fandom. However, these physical attractions should not be believed to make up the entirety of the fandom and the fact that fans admit attractions to the band's members should not be used to reduce them to over-sexed women merely in need of a "safe" object of desire or in pursuit of a celebrity sexual encounter3 .
What is important is that these fans do have normal adult lives. Many have families, jobs, and various interests outside of Nsync. In general, pop music fans have gone unnoticed or have been regarded as passive consumers whose tastes are unrefined. Pop music is seen as uncreative and homogenous - indistinguishable from one boy band to the next; these negative traits have come to be strongly associated with the genre's fans. It is worth delving deeper into this huge fandom to explore the diversity among fans and to learn why, in the face of so many negative stereotypes, these individuals so strongly identify with their taste in music.
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1By age, Nsync is: Justin Timberlake, 21; Lance Bass, 23; JC Chasez, 24; Joey Fatone, 25; and Chris Kirkpatrick, 30. The band members are commonly referred to by their first names.
2Using a snowball sample, seven fans, from different areas of the United States, were chosen. Some of these fans also maintained their own Nsync fan sites, dedicated to making fun of the band in some way.
3This does not mean that no male Nsync fans exist, but the fact is that their existence is marginal and an analysis of their fan identification would be another project entirely.
Celebrity
Being a Fan Matters - A Sociological Perspective
What follows is exploration of how fandom has been studied in the past and an introduction to deviance theory and identity theory - the theories which I believe will help explain the acceptance of the negative "Nsync fan" identity. Fans are subjected to a number of different stereotypes, with female fans dealing with the additional stereotype of being a groupie. However, once a person realizes that she enjoys the music, she begins to define her experiences as a fan as pleasurable and eventually comes to accept the identity of a fan. Once this happens, she must understand how, as an older fan, she is allowed to express this identity. This occurs by learning the attitudes of the group that is "older fans" and organizing her experiences so that her attitudes reflect those of the group. A person cannot fully consider herself to belong to this group until these two processes are complete.
The Fandom
Music and music tastes can play a significant role in socialization. A cultural text, music in this case, can mean something only in the context of the experiences of its particular audience. Furthermore, musical tastes most often do not develop in isolation, but are subject to a variety of social influences (Grossberg 1992). The term "taste culture" has been used to name a set of values shared by a group of individuals; individuals sharing a taste for a particular type of music are, then, members of a music taste culture (Russell 1997). While music taste cultures can fall neatly along social lines, they can just as easily not. Demographic variables have not been found to be reliable predictors of taste. However, the music in taste cultures often contains elements that are part of a wider iconography - in subscribing to a music taste culture individuals are associating with a particular lifestyle, or with a wider set of values (Russell 1997). How this cultural text is used is dependent upon that audience, how it attempts to make sense of itself, and how the individuals uses it to construct a social identity Thus, identification as a "fan" can be seen as a type of social identity.
Social identity, as defined by Crozier (1997), is comprised of the set of social categories to which people belong, aspire to belong, or with which important values are shared. This is different from what Crozier calls personal identity in that personal identity is the set of unique qualities, values, and attributes of the individual which reflect a personal history. Two kinds of dependence processes are involved in social identities: compliance and informational influence. In the compliance process, the individual depends on the group for social approval and complies with the group because of the anticipation of either the reward or the punishment of doing or not doing so. The information influence process finds that individuals modify their position in the process of understanding the world by comparing their view of reality with that of the group. In general, influence occurs through references to preferences of other people or by attaching labels which imply that music belongs to certain categories - "pieces are described as originating from sources that one identifies with, or feels that one ought to identify with, either because one aspires to be the sort of person who identifies with it or does not wish to be seen as the kind of person who does not" (Crozier 1997). Russell (1997) backs up this idea, proposing that social structure and musical tastes constitute a set of mutual influences. The differences in musical tastes between social groups serve, along with other factors, to reinforce distinctions between groups, thereby representing one of the ways in which the group constructs itself. People's musical tastes can reflect the tendency to listen to and enjoy the same music that is listened to by other people with whom they wish to identify. It follows that there must be some kind of return for an individual in a fandom, something to be desired in assuming that social identity, otherwise the fandom would serve no purpose for the individual. Thus, there must be something appealing about being an Nsync fan, otherwise these women would simply choose not to be fans.
The Fan
The role of a fan is often described as passive or as the result of a celebrity who provides a para-social relationship for the fan. Jenson (1992) describes two models of the fan. One model is the obsessed loner who maintains an intense fantasy relationship with the celebrity. Notoriety is achieved by stalking, threatening, and in extreme cases, killing the celebrity, with Mark David Chapman serving as one of the most memorable examples. This is the isolated and alienated "mass man," cut off from friends, family, and community; his life is dominated by his fixation on the celebrity figure. The other model is the hysterical member of the crowd. This is the screaming, weeping, even fainting teenager, vulnerable to irrational loyalties to the celebrity figure and is easily influenced by the crowd. In these ways, fandom has been seen as a sort of pathological deviance, though neither are appropriate representations of the fan in everyday life. Instead, Jenson proposes that what is believed to be true about fans actually embodies what is believed to be true of modern society, as alienating and atomizing, or as vulnerable and irrational. With the increasing power of the mass media and decline of communities, it was believed that the "mass man" could easily become the victim of "mass persuasion." Fandom is then conceived as the attempt to compensate for a "perceived personal lack of autonomy, absence of community, incomplete identity, lack of power, and lack of recognition" (Jenson 1992).
Because the majority of Nsync's fan base is female, Nsync fans, especially older Nsync fans, must face an additional challenge - that of being labeled a "groupie." Though the term refers to a person, usually a woman, who chases after rock stars for sexual purposes, it is often used to label any type of female music fan. It is normal and even acceptable to have a crush on a celebrity as a teenager, but to admit to a crush on a celebrity as an adult woman is to overstep the boundaries of proper and mature feminine behavior (Cline 1992). Nevertheless, most Nsync fans can easily offer up the name of their favorite member and discuss their attractions in detail. Cline finds irony in the notion that female fans are thought of as immature regardless of who the celebrity of their liking may be. It is no good to like a member of Motley Crüe, she says, because they are tasteless and obviously out to attract women, but it is no better to maintain a crush on Bono of U2 because the seriousness of the band is being overlooked. The clear misconception is that girls and women who have attractions to pop stars are either teenyboppers or groupies - they either entertain fanciful notions of marriage to their favorite star, or they simply want to have sex with him. The most often told tale is that of the teeny-turned-groupie who experiences a downfall as she goes from pre-adolescent fantasies to lustful desires. In most cases, this is unrealistic. Cline points out that it takes guts, money, and looks to be a groupie and, "if you don't have the looks, you better have the money and guts." The majority of female fans would be appalled by what is expected of a groupie - admitting a sexual attraction to a celebrity does not necessarily mean that attraction will ever be acted upon.
Stefanie Rhein's study of adolescent pop music fans suggested that even within the younger age group, being a pop fan has less to do with celebrity admiration than is believed. The results of Rhein's survey found that music-related aspects were more important to fans than factors such as "admiration" or "having a crush [on the celebrity]," going against the stereotype that pop music fans are only interested in music for pretty faces (Rhein 2000). Rhein also found that involvement is connected to a social context of peer groups - those who were categorized as "super-fans" (fans with a great level of participation in their fandom) seemed to make friends based on music taste and felt strongly connected with other fans without necessarily having direct contact with them. This, again, shows that being a fan is not an isolated activity. Rather, it is inherently social.
The Deviance
One fandom that is gaining increasing credence as a sociological phenomenon is that of Grateful Dead fans, known as Deadheads. What has brought academics to study Deadhead culture is both its complexity and the stigma attached with participating in it. Despite the persistent stigma associated with the subculture, many individuals choose to participate in this fandom. By making outsiders more aware of workings of the subculture, the stigmatization may eventually come to subside. Rebecca G. Adams elaborates:
Because of Deadheads' acceptance of the use of psychedelic drugs, the way they sometimes dress, and their taste in music, the cultural mainstream stigmatizes members of the subculture. Because Deadheads perceived shows to be spiritual experiences, in addition to opportunities to be entertained, they are convinced of the importance of the phenomenon and their commitment to it is considerable. One way of resolving their deep desire to continue to be involved in a stigmatized group with their desire for respect is to improve the opinion outsiders have of the Deadhead community. (Adams, 2000).
Part of the issue is the idea that Deadheads are viewed as a deviant subculture, characterized by their use of illegal drugs and the practice of following the band around the country. Some Deadheads fit the stereotype - most do not - yet this negative evaluation of the subculture continues. Why, then, would a person choose to identify with a culture that is viewed negatively by larger society? Stephanie Jennings (2000) poses this question, employing theories of social deviance to reach an answer. In her study, Jennings found that there were four main interests which attracted people to the Deadhead scene - music, drug use, friends, and curiosity, with music being the primary reason for becoming a Deadhead. Many Deadheads were introduced to the music by friends who were already Deadheads. Others were drawn in by the fandom's acceptance of drug use, while others felt that fandom provided a larger attitude of freedom to be applied towards life. Whatever the reason, identifying with the subculture must play some sort of positive role in the individual's life. The question is, how does that which is viewed as negative, become positive?
Becker's (1963) theory of social deviance may shed some light on this question. Becker defines deviance as "essentially statistical…anything that varies too widely from the average." It is a failure to obey the rules set by a society who applies those rules to particular people and labels them as outsiders when that failure occurs. Deviance is not inherent in the individual, but rather is a product of the "interaction between the person who commits an act and those who respond to it" (14). The most drastic change resulting from a deviant label is a change in one's social identity - how others in society come to view the individual. Because a specific deviant trait may possess a generalized symbolic value, others may assume that a person who possesses that trait must also possess the other negative traits that have come to be associated with it. Jennings (2000) applies this, saying that in the eyes of one who is outside of the Deadhead subculture, the person who identifies as a Deadhead is a drug user and possess other negative traits. In the case of Nsync, post-adolescent fans are thought to be immature with a general lack of concern for "normal" adult life.
This theory can help explain the process by which post-adolescent individuals not only come to listen to the music of Nsync, but come to identify as Nsync fans, an identity which possess certain negative connotations. There are three steps in a sequence of events that must occur for a person to regularly engage in a deviant activity. To become a fan, a person must first recognize Nsync for what they are, a musical group, rather than for the stereotypes society has created for them, a step which Becker calls "learning the technique" (46). Simply accepting Nsync as a legitimate musical group is not enough to be a fan, however. A person must admit that the group is enjoyable - she must "learn to perceive the effects" (48). Finally, she must learn to enjoy what Nsync brings her, whether it is simply upbeat music, an object of affection or desire, or a group of friends with whom they share this common interest. In this last step she has "learned to enjoy the effects" (53). As a person moves from stage to stage, various social controls become less effective at preventing the deviant behavior. Through these stages, a person comes to change her views of the deviant behavior, neutralizing her sensitivity to the stereotype by accepting an alternate view.
The Identity
Identities are shaped through interactions with others and are, at least initially, the result of others' responses to that person. Thus, just as being an Nsync fan may be seen as deviant by some, there is a group to whom the older Nsync fan is not a deviant: other older Nsync fans. Once a person has recognized that identification as an Nsync fan is considered abnormal and has decided to accept that identity amidst outsiders' conceptions, she must also define her identity among the group of Nsync fans. In order to belong to the group she must learn the proper way to behave, the proper opinions to have, and the proper way to deal with negative stereotypes. In most cases these traits do not literally have to be learned, as it is the possession of these traits that will set her aside from others and draw her to a group to which these traits are common.
Social identity, what Mead terms the self, comes about through development and occurs through the processes of social experience and activity. It develops in the individual as a result of her relations to both the process and to others within the process (Mead 1934). Identity theory posits that conceptions of the self are meanings which individuals attribute to themselves and are crucial to the process of determining one's actions and interactions. Action and interaction are shaped by definitions and interpretations of situations surrounding the actions and interactions; the definitions and interpretations are based on meanings that are developed in the course of interaction with others (Stryker 1992). Obviously, there need not be only one self, as a person can appropriate different identities for each relevant social situation - a person may present herself as an Nsync fan while participating in certain activities, but during other activities, such as at a job or while interacting with specific individuals, this identity may be much less conspicuous. Because of this ability, there can be many selves which can be interdependent or independent of each other, sometimes in agreement and sometimes in conflict with other selves (Stryker 1992).
To fully develop the self, an individual must not only understand how others react to her and, in turn, respond to that, but she must also understand the attitudes of the group in which she participates. She will assume the organized attitudes of that social group and conduct her behavior so that it falls in accordance with participation in the group (Mead 1934). This occurs in two stages: first, the self is composed of an organization of the attitudes of others to herself; in the second stage the self also consists of an organization of the incidents she experiences. Hence, a fan's identity is not fully formed until she undergoes those experiences that are common to the group that is "older Nsync fans." She may conceive of herself as belonging to a certain sector of the fandom, but it is not fully a part of her self until she experiences and is affected by those incidents which truly separate the fandom by age. She may understand that negative characteristics are associated with being an Nsync fan, especially at a certain age, but if she has never been personally faced with the negativity, or simply is not troubled by it, her self is not fully organized as an older fan.
Digital Get Down
A Note on Methodology
As previously mentioned, all interviewees were female and all were over the age of 21. I chose 21 as the arbitrary cutting off point because throughout the fandom there is a general dividision at that age - most fan groups that are not for all ages are specific to the 21 and over crowd. Although I participated in one of these groups for several months and scoured the message archives, this information was used only as a way in which to derive my interview questions. Reporting those data would require me to contact each individual whose post I intended to use - a very time consuming and, in some cases, impossible task. Thus, the data contained here are only from the seven interviews that I conducted.
The women I interviewed were part of a snowball sample. Some I had already known, some I had gotten to know through others, and some I became acquainted with over the internet. Initial contact with these women was made through e-mail, the interviews were conducted over the phone, and follow up questions were posed through e-mail. Each free-form style interview lasted approximately an hour, at the beginning of which I informed the interviewee that she was allowed to answer each question in any manner she wished, address each issue as in depth as she wished, and to bring up anything that seemed relevant to her, even if I had not asked about it. Owing to this, I did not ask the same questions of each interviewee - on some occasions I found myself prodding more on a specific topic, and on other occasions I did not need to ask certain questions because the interviewee had brought the topic up herself. For a more detailed description of how I came to know these women, as well as a list of basic interview questions, please refer to the appendices.
Do Your Thing
Interviews and Long Conversations
The following interviews are presented case by case in order to provide an understanding of how fandom and identity operate for each individual. The women range in age from 23 to 30. All have attended some college and all are of middle class social standing. Three - Alison, Dawn, and Grace - are white, one - Erin - is black, two - Carrie and Hannah - are Hispanic, and one - Beth - is biracial. Additionally, both Carrie and Hannah have children under the age of 10. References to this demographic information will be made, as needed, in the interview reports.
Erin
Alison
Carrie
Hannah
Beth
Dawn
Grace
Do Your Thing
Erin
My interest in interviewing Erin stemmed particularly from both her visibility in the fandom, as the owner and moderator of an over-21 e-mail list with 300-some members, and her unique perspective on what constitutes a fan. What is different about Erin's concept of a fan is that enjoying the band's music is not a necessity. She lists alternative, classical, soundtracks, R&B, and 80's music as her preferred types of music, while making it clear that pop music is not high on her list of musical tastes - it was not her liking of the music that introduced her to the fandom, but rather an attraction to one of the band's members:
I really didn't know anything about [Nsync] because I don't listen to pop music…I first really noticed them when Lance was on Who Wants to be a Millionaire and I was like, he was the cutest, sweetest, dumbest little thing! I kind of fell for him, he's so pretty. It started out as a Lance thing. I still don't like the music, I rarely listen to it…I started thinking of my own slash4 stories and started doing research and got sucked in that way.
At 30, this is not Erin's first foray into the fandom world. Being a fan is an identity which has been relatively constant since her adolescence, "There hasn't been a point since high school that I haven't been a fan of something," she says. She considers Duran Duran5 to be her primary fandom, but is also a fan of Tim Burton and the television shows The X-Files, Action, and As Time Goes By. Although she refers to the fandom as more like her "main hobby," a need to take an extremely active role in her participation as a fan surfaces as she talks about her fandoms and her penchant for starting fans lists for each one. Erin was the founder of the As Time Goes By fandom; an e-mail list that she expected to be quite small ended up with over 700 members. Despite her love for organization, she believes that being a fan is more about a the right attitude rather than participating in certain practices:
Mostly [having been a part of previous fandoms] affects my attitude. I don't take anything seriously. I've always made fun of them. Humor is important to me - if you can't laugh at the idea of being into an 80s band that was ridiculed when it first started, well, you have to learn to laugh at yourself for being that devoted to a cause like that. I think it takes people aback when I make fun of Lance. They can't understand I'm still a fan even though I make fun of them. To a certain extent I can understand that I'm not much of a fan, I don't even like their music that much, but it's just an attitude. It doesn't diminish the level of fandom. It's about distancing yourself and respecting the fine line between fantasy and reality.
Erin credits writing as one of the mains reasons she has stayed in this fandom. Amongst an online community of fan fiction writers who exchange stories and provide feedback to the authors, there emerges a feeling of order within the group. The more an author's works is read and praised, the more credence or authority she has in the community. What makes this particular fandom more appealing for Erin is that she has reached a point where she is respected as an author, something which was not possible in her previous fandoms. The feeling of power that Erin possesses comes through her writing as well as through maintaining the online groups she creates.
I've been into slash since I was a teenage, writing in the Duran fandom. I didn't realize it had a name until I was into The X-Files…the Nsync fandom is the first time I've really been known. I got much more into the fandom head on, for good or for bad, but I think I got burnt out on it very easily. With X-Files, because I didn't know who the big name authors were, there's a certain kind of power that goes with being a writer that I didn't have with X-Files. I started getting attention in the Nsync fandom, people started praising my work and that was good. I'd never written so extensively before. I started writing stories, started making a name for myself, and started getting to know more people than in other fandoms.
Erin was reluctant to admit her attraction to Nsync partly because of the anticipated reactions from friends, but also because she realized that she would have had a similar negative reaction in a different situation - a Duran Duran fan admitting to also being a fan of New Kids on the Block6. She harbors the same negative sentiments towards these types of bands in herself; knowing the social reactions she would witness if she admitted to being an Nsync fan not only drove her desire to keep Nsync a secret, but also shaped the way she came to view the band itself. Her self-consciousness about being a fan does not arise simply because she is a member of this group, but because her identity is also drawn from her experiences of being on the other side of the fence, of knowing her own reactions. Keeping her emotions about the band at a distance helps to resolve the conflict of liking the band amidst her own negativity and serves to further separate her from the kind of fan with whom she does not wish to associate:
I didn't tell people because it was really crossing a line, because I'd always said I was not going to like someone younger than me. I accepted it [that I liked them], but I didn't want other people to know. When New Kids were around, I made fun of Durannies7 that were New Kids fans in that it was like a mockery of their own Durannie-ism, that they were just into Duran because they were just a bunch of pretty boys. So I knew the kinds of reactions I'd get, like, "How old are you?"
It became fun once I finally just "came out" as an Nsync fan and I had fun with it. When people ask me why I'm into them, I say they're kitschy…I made it clear that I wasn't taking it seriously or looking at them as idols. I'm way too old for that.
Though Erin did experience some negative reactions from those around her, she did not let it stop her from being a fan and, in fact, her participation in previous fandoms helped lessen the embarrassment of belonging to this fandom. Being a Duran Duran fan, Erin already had experience with others making fun of her for buying band-related merchandise and no longer lets that affect her, "I want it, I'm going to buy it, I have the money, and I'm not going to deny myself because someone makes a lame comment," she says.
Erin claims that it is others that sometimes make her feel old liking the band, but that, personally, she does not. Some of the problems she deals with as an older fan do not always come from comparisons to younger fans, or even non-fans criticizing her tastes - it is the older fans who speak negatively for themselves:
I don't personally feel too old, but sometimes other people scare me and I'm like, "And how old are you?" I'll give you an example: people were crying over concert tickets. There were all these technical problems with AOL8, people were supposed to get tickets in advance from AOL, but maybe they only held certain seats for AOL or only a certain number for radio stations and promoters and AOL got left with the bad seats. They were posting things like, "I'm in tears," and "It's frustrating me and it makes me not want to be a fan anymore," and I'm like, what is wrong with you? You aren't going to die because you're not going to see Nsync.
She goes on to describe a pair of older fans who moderate another Nsync e-mail list, focusing on an on-list argument about Lance's appearance at the 2002 Superbowl pre-game show. According to Erin, some of the list members believed that he was both drunk and high at the party and one of the moderators responded "unequivocally, as if she knew Lance personally, that Lance doesn't smoke marijuana." Erin's issue with the moderators is that they take the band and the fandom too seriously for her. "It's not uncommon that there are fans who hold onto this image and don't want it sullied because it would just kill them," she says. "It's partly the attitude and a sense of humor that ables me to have a sense of distance."
Humor is Erin's primary way of holding onto her identity as an adult - because she realizes what she is doing is thought to be silly and immature, she believes it should be obvious to others that she does not possess those traits. Although she uses humor in this way, she will also defend the band's talents, further defending her fan status:
If people say that they suck, as in they can't sing, then I'll defend them and say they sing a cappella and harmonize better than the groups [they] listen to. You have to at least recognize that they have some talent. It's not true that they have no talent. They do work hard. They're not Making of the Band9.
Even though Erin doesn't cite the music as her primary reason for being a fan, countering the "boy bands can't sing" stereotype allows her to demand some respect as a fan. The strong desire to keep her identity as a mature adult is seen as she draws a clear line between younger fans and herself. Though all of the fans I interviewed drew some sort of distinction between themselves and Nsync's younger fans, Erin's is the strongest, suggesting that her identity as a fan is heavily rooted in the ability to disassociate herself from what she views as inferior. She speaks with the strongest conviction about her feelings for younger fans, as if they pose a personal insult to her identification as a fan. Perhaps this arises from her longtime participation in fandoms, having experienced negative stereotypes since her adolescence thereby threatens her identity with the stereotypes created by these fans:
For the most part I avoid [younger fans], especially the ones on the internet. Not all are like that, but when I look back at how I was at 14, I see people are getting dumber as the years go on… You find the same problem with Duran fans. The younger ones, you avoid them because they all have this arrogance like they were the first ones who discovered Duran. They're irritating on all levels. I stick to older fans for better or worse. They're generally more mature.
With all my lists it starts off as a frustration - you really want to avoid the teenies10. They rarely add anything to the conversation, they go off topic…and when they do have anything on topic to say, it's rarely insightful. They don't share the same experiences as you. It's not being of the same generation, not having the same cultural references. They're not older, they don't know about working or taking responsibility for anything. They generally haven't matured.
Erin's fan identification is affected by an additional factor that none of the other interviewees cited as relevant: her race. As a black woman Erin admits to feeling some strain with identifying with what others may label as "white music." This becomes evident as she describes her feelings about Justin, who has often been criticized for trying to "act black":
Justin's a punk ass. That's what encapsulates what he is. He's a brat and is arrogant to a fault. It's not self-confidence…it's arrogance. I find his whole being offensive, the whole wanting-to-be-black-so-bad act, and to have it be validated on top of that because he's famous. I don't think he's cute, I don't think he's funny, I certainly don't think he can sing. I have no love for Justin.
Like younger fans, this particular aspect of the band poses a threat to the identity she tries to maintain, causing her to despise it. The topic arises again when she commented on how open she is about being a fan:
It's important for me to not be self-conscious about it. I wear an Nsync watch and one of my co-workers has noticed it. They haven't said anything to me, they don't really bring it up. Right now I'm working with a lot of black people, so that's kind of a different set of issues. There's an added issues of wearing a watch with white boys on it, and whether or not that makes me suspect. I'm not really as open about it as when I was at [my previous job].
Thus, Erin's concept of herself as a fan is largely directed by those traits she finds completely unattractive. She practically condemns those who threaten her attempts to separate herself from these unwanted traits, shunning younger fans and detesting Justin. Erin borders on going to the extreme to prove that she is not subject to the stereotypes surrounding Nsync's fans by constructing her identity in direct opposition to them. Maintaining an active role in the fandom allows her to do this, and relishing her position of authority provides seemingly concrete proof of her efforts.
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4Fan fiction is a type of writing that focuses on creating stories around celebrities or existing characters in the entertainment media. Slash fiction refers to the practice of placing characters in homosexual pairings. The first slash pairing was Kirk/Spock, from Star Trek.
5Duran Duran is an 80's pop band, subject to the same sort of stereotypes as Nsync.
6A boy band popular in the early 90's.
7Slang for Duran Duran fan.
8America Online, an internet provider.
9Making of the Band is a TV show that documents the creation and work of O-Town, an Orlando-based pop band. Auditions were cast and five males were chosen to be in the band. Because both Nsync and O-Town are five member boy bands from Orlando, and because O-Town is the pet project of Nsync's former manager, many comparisons have been drawn between the two groups, propelling the notion that Nsync is a commodity driven vehicle. The band's members, especially Lance, like to stress that this is not how Nsync came to be.
10Short for teenybopper. Conceptions of what a stereotypical teenybopper is depends up the individual. Teenyboppers are generally thought to be female, in the 9-15 year-old age range and, as with any other identity, is a combination of behaviors, beliefs, and comparisons with others. Whether this identity is thought to be typical of all younger fans and whether it is positive or negative is also dependent upon the individual.
Do Your Thing
Alison
I first noticed them in the Spring of 2000. I thought they were okay, but a little too poppy. I started liking them in June of 2000, due to incessant playing of their music by my roommate. Since I didn't really listen to pop music that much before Nsync, I just don't see how I would have found out about them [without her]. Maybe I would have heard "Bye Bye Bye" and liked it, but I doubt I ever would have had a chance to hear the whole album. Also, I would not have found all the proper fandom outlets without her.
In this way Alison, a 24-year-old graduate student, illustrates how she made the change from what she has called "music with meaning" to music she simply describes as "fun." The process that Alison took to become an Nsync fan is an uncomplicated one - she has experienced some outside harassment for being a fan, but she never let it hinder her enjoyment of the band or let it control how she chose to express herself within the fandom. She is neither bitter towards others who tease her, actually enjoying the reactions she receives when she tells others that she is a fan, nor does she feel the need for extreme separation from the band's younger fans. Through the course of the interview it became clear that Alison was a fan because she wanted to be and because she enjoyed the music and found it fun.
Like others, being a fan is nothing new to Alison, who says she "likes an eclectic mix of music. My favorites are Soul Coughing, Melissa Ferrick, Pearl jam, the Indigo Girls, and, of course, Nsync." She mentions that she was on several mailing lists for the Indigo Girls, Melissa Ferrick, and Dar Williams, and compares those with the Nsync mailing lists on which she participates as being more serious:
It's different because Nsync is cuter. It's more looking at pictures, but in terms of talking about them and listening to their music it's pretty similar, except there's a wider fan base to deal with than with Dar and Melissa. I've been on several e-mail lists and I'm still on one.
When asked why she left all of her mailing lists but one, a list whose sole purpose is to distribute pictures, she responded:
Well, for one thing they had far too much e-mail that was useless to me - I don't read fan fic[tion] and I don't care what Gabby is wearing to her prom. I also got kicked off of a list. I was on a list specifically for older fans, and on this list the first concern on 9/11 was as to whether or not Nsync had been involved, when, in reality, the likelihood of that was quite small. Then, when the idea that it was Osama bin Laden behind it all emerged, someone on the list found out that Osama was reportedly gay, and so they thought that would be a good fan fic[tion] to write - Nsync having sex with Osama bin Laden, which would somehow be saving the world. Anyway, so I voiced protest that perhaps a line had been crossed there, and that this could be offensive to people on the list, and I mentioned that for people who think they're too old for Nsync, they don't act very old. And for some reason it was my e-mail that was found to be offensive, so I got kicked off of the list.
Alison expects certain behavior from older fans. They may not be too old to like Nsync, but this does not mean that they can participate in the full range of behaviors thought to characterize only the band's younger fans, especially if, at the same time, they are drawing distinctions between themselves and the younger fans. This idea was constantly repeated throughout the interviews. It is not necessarily age that creates this distinctions among fans, but rather a way of behaving in the fandom. She offers one more opinion on older fans:
I think a lot of them are kind of stalkers, and that's even scarier when it's someone older than when it's a 14 year old because they have more ability to drive around, go to Justin's house, put something in Lance's mailbox, and I think they should understand when that's inappropriate. They should know the line between when something's fun and when it's illegal or just stupid.
There is a certain adopted identity that goes along with being an older Nsync fan, even beyond simply accepting that the fan identity itself carries negative stereotypes.
It appears that Alison does not at all feel her identity as a fan is threatened by the greater visibility of the band's younger fans. In fact, it may be safe to say that Alison's fan identity is not threatened at all, even by those who could possibly harass her about it. She realizes the reactions she may receive, but does not let that affect the way she views herself as a fan:
I've told friends and co-workers - if the subject comes up I'll bring it up. I'm not really shy about it. If I'm working and looking at Nsync stuff on the computer, they might see it. I feel old, maybe, when I'm at concerts, even though there are definitely fans older than me there. I've been embarrassed to like them…if there's people I'm trying to impress for some reason, saying I like Nsync doesn't really help. But I like the music and I think they're really cute and I think it's really fun…and I think it's even fun to tell people I like Nsync, to kind of throw a wrench in the works of me. A lot of people think that comes out of nowhere.
At the base of Alison's fan identity is simply the fact that she enjoys the band and their music. She does not see herself as participating in a behavior that is particularly deviant, as she mentions that she is not sure if she is actually different from younger fans. Because Alison does not feel that she needs to separate herself along age lines, she does not seem to experience much embarrassment over being a fan.
Do Your Thing
Carrie
Carrie's attraction to Nsync began with her seven-year-old daughter's interest in the band. Through her daughter and a friend's persuasion, the 27-year-old interior design assistant began to listen to the band and enjoy their music, eventually becoming a fan herself. Because Carrie's friends and family all enjoy Nsync, she did not have too much trouble becoming a fan, "To them it's funny," she says. "They all like Nsync and all have their favorites." She talks about her introduction to the group:
I have a couple of friends who like Nsync, one that I hang out with all the time. She was part of the reason I got into Nsync. At just about the same time as my daughter was getting into them, I met her and her daughter was really into Nsync and it kind of pushed everything forward. I went to my first concert with her.
Though she does not consider herself to be extremely involved in the fandom, she does place importance in being able to say that she is a fan, ignoring what others think of her because of that. While she is part of the official fan club, she gains most of her information about Nsync from friends and only occasionally browses on lists to "check up." Like Alison, Carrie's main reason for being a fan is because it is fun for her. Realizing the music was enjoyable to her was the first step to becoming a fan - being able to share the entertainment that it brings her daughter, her friends, and her family makes being a fan just that much more. Even buying Nsync related merchandise for either herself or her daughter is done out of the fun of creating a collection. She compares Nsync to the way she used to feel about New Kids on the Block when she was younger:
I used to be a fan of New Kids on the Block - oh my God, don't tell anyone! But…now I don't take it [being a fan] so seriously. It's something I like and if I want to go to a concert, I go to one. I'm not out there buying every piece of Nsync crap out there like back when I was 12 - I would think about New Kids, like, 24/7. This is something fun to do. I don't go totally crazy over it.
Because of her experience with being a fan of New Kids on the Block, Carrie does not need to give much thought to those who would criticize her for being an Nsync fan. Not being "obsessed" with the band allows her the ability to shrug off any negative reactions. She says that she does not necessarily advertise the fact that she likes Nsync, but she is not hesitant to mention them when the topic of music arises. Responses such as "I can't believe you like them" do not bother her much.
For Carrie, being a fan is about having a suitable attitude and appropriate behavior, regardless of age. She is quick to describe those actions she sees as improper, drawing a line between herself and those types of fans:
It's not so much the younger fans that bother me - it's the fans, no matter what age they are, that are the ones that are real obsessive, that act like idiots. That's what bugs me - these people that go to any lengths to see them, to be near them, and when they shake their hands, start crying. It doesn't come just from younger ones. It comes from the 18 and 19 year olds too. People who will sit there and try to follow them and try to get a glimpse of them - I think that's out of control… It's like they're stalkers and that's not cool.
Some of my friends are in their 40's and told me they went out and got dressed up, and the guys were in Vegas, and they were sitting there, trying to be right next to the guys, and it was really annoying. They're 40 years old! The guys are in their 20's and they're sitting there making fools out of themselves, following them from place to place. It's pretty scary…they're the stalker type.
The issue of the band members acting as role models arose when Carrie described how she felt about each of the members. She had this to say about Joey, who has a reputation for being a bit of a playboy:
Joey is funny, has a good sense of humor, and is all right as far as looks, but it's obvious he likes women. But it's cool, he's a guy, and like every other guy he's a dog. I don't have good or bad things to say about him. If you're after Joey, it's a good thing - you could be fat, ugly, bald…it doesn't matter with Joey. They're just guys and, yes, they're role models, but he's just a guy, acting like a guy. If women are there, throwing themselves at them…most guys would take advantage of that too. I don't run their lives…it doesn't bother me.
Keeping in mind that she has a young daughter, I then asked Carrie to elaborate on her feelings about the members as appropriate role models for younger fans:
As far as them knowing what they wanted to do, they went out, they did it. I like the fact that they contribute to a lot of charities. As far as personal matters, some of the things they do aren't the best things, but I think parents should be the ones that should be teaching kids right from wrong and point out the positives. For example, Joey's a man who's old enough to make his own decisions…parents need to explain that so that a ten year old isn't saying, "Joey does it, so I will too."
As a fan, Carrie is able to distance herself enough from the group so as to not take their actions as personally affecting her. This stems from the fact that she does not consider herself to be obsessed with the band. For Carrie, it is not being able to say she like Nsync that is important, but being able to enjoy whatever she likes without criticism that makes being a fan important. Carrie's choice is to maintain a certain distance between the band and her own life, rather than engaging in the same activities of friends who are also fans - her identity is colored by her decision to not idolize the band members.
Do Your Thing
Hannah
When Hannah first started liking Nsync she was incredulous. Though she was not entirely against pop music, saying that there is a wide variation in her musical taste, from Abba to Bob Marley to country, she never expected she would become an Nsync fan at her age. Continued exposure to the music changed her opinion on the band, making her like them regardless of what others, or she, originally thought. Hannah describes her introduction to the band and how she came to like them:
When I first noticed them, I don't think I really paid much attention, I just knew there were a couple of boy bands out there, but I didn't know who was who. I started hearing songs here and there, I don't recall what song it was, but I asked someone, "Who is that?" and they said it was Nsync. I said, "Oh my God, don't tell me I'm liking them!" But the more I listened to the radio, the more I heard the music…I finally decided to buy the CD, No Strings Attached, as soon as it came out. I was hearing a lot of hype about that CD and tour. I lied and said it was for my daughter, who hated Nsync at the time and refused to play along at the store, which made it kind of hard.
After I heard them on the radio quite a bit I went and got the CD and I couldn't turn it off. I was really amazed - you could dance to it! I was learning all the songs, dancing around the living room and my daughter was like, "You're so ridiculous, Mom." But they really play really good music. They're all a bunch of cuties, but aside from that the music is just really good music. Anytime anyone mentions them I'll say, "Oh my God, I love them." I just came out of the closet. The music spoke for itself, it didn't matter if it was a boy band or a teenybopper group.
Hannah was already aware of the band's stereotype, of being geared toward teenyboppers, when she first began liking them. Though the stereotype did not stop her from becoming a fan, it did make her hesitant and actually embarrassed for herself, "At first I did feel silly, being 27 and liking a teenybopper group," says Hannah, now 29. Even her eight-year-old daughter found the situation humorous. She attempted to conceal the fact that the Nsync merchandise she was purchasing was for herself, despite her daughter's unwillingness to play along with the game. Even though her daughter is now an Nsync fan as well, Hannah is confident that she would have eventually gotten to a point where she did not use her daughter as an excuse to like the band.
Nsync is not Hannah's first experience with being a fan. During her adolescence she was a fan of Wham, which she admits to still enjoying. Though she says that her liking of Nsync is not as intense as when she liked Wham, she realizes that liking Wham does affect the way she chooses to be a fan of Nsync. She cites age as the main factor in that difference:
I was all over Wham11. It might have had to do with, at that time I was 12 and 13, and you figure all teenyboppers now are all crazy about Nsync and BSB12, that was my time. I used to write George Michael letters, I had Wham and George Michael plastered all over the walls. I had all the records.
Me personally, although I was a really big Wham fan, I have one of those addictive personalities. If I see something I like, I wear it out. I still haven't worn out Wham. You play a Wham song and I'm jumping up and dancing. When I find something I like I stick to it. With Nsync it's not as big as it was with Wham, but that's a factor of age.
Hannah does get teased about Nsync, as she mentions a couple of cousins who tell her that she is "never going to grow up" and will "always be a teenager," but she takes the teasing in stride and no longer lets the fear of negative reactions affect her ability to enjoy the band. Even at concerts, when Hannah says she feels slightly out of place being surrounded by fans younger than herself, she does not let the possibility of sticking out keep her from attending. If she wants to be a fan, she will be.
Unlike Erin, being a fan of Wham during her adolescence makes Hannah more able to deal with, and more appreciative of, Nsync's younger fans. She is able to look back on her adolescence and recognize herself in those fans. Seeing herself in the younger fan group allows Hannah to look at younger fans in a different way that does not threaten how she constructs her own fan identity. It is a possibility that part of the reason why Hannah is an Nsync fan is in an effort to revisit her youth:
[The younger fans] can be somewhat annoying, but I just look back and I remember my Wham days and I'm sure I was just as crazy and I lived and breathed Wham and anything I would say had to do with Wham. I understand it because I was there when I was 13, but sometimes they are a little annoying. We went to see the Imax13 and there were some getting on our nerves. But it's something new, something to keep them out of trouble. It's fun - it's good, not bad.
Additionally, Hannah does not feel the need to have everyone know that she is an Nsync fan, but she will bring it up if the topic arises in conversations with others. It is not as though she has something to prove by being an Nsync fan, but rather that she does not want to feel inhibited by liking what she likes. According to Hannah, there is not one set way to express being a fan and not one way she expects other fans to behave. Just not being ashamed to like the band is enough to be a fan:
Some fans, they feel the need to have stuff plastered all over the place to show what they like and, for me, personally, it's just what I enjoy, what I like. I don't have to advertise it. If I want to I can, it's just I don't feel like I need do anything if I don't want to, but if I do [advertise it] then I do and you can take that and run with it if you want. I don't deny that I like them, but I don't go out and advertise. If you walk into my house you know we like Nsync. You'll see the game, a couple of dolls…my daughter had an Nsync birthday party and we haven't taken down the decorations. One is so cute and I walk by and kiss them in the morning. It's just how you want to show you're a fan.
Being able to identify with the younger fans gives Hannah the ability to not take herself seriously and not feel as though she needs to express herself as a fan in any particular way. She does not have to prove to anyone that she is anything, or not anything, because she is an Nsync fan. The way younger fans act is simply a factor of their age, just as the way she used to act regarding Wham has changed as she has gotten older. This has not left her bitter, but able to make her finally realize that there is nothing wrong with liking Nsync. The way she puts it, this attitude is part of her personality, "…it's part of me…I'm the kind of person who doesn't care what anybody else says or thinks."
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11Another 80's pop band.
12The Backstreet Boys, a current pop boy band and a major source of Nsync's commercial competition.
13Bigger Than Live, Nsync's Imax concert film.
Do Your Thing
Beth
Although Beth, 23, has participated in this fandom in the past few years, she no longer participates with nearly as much fervor and now wishes to distance herself from other fans. She owes this in part to the fact that she no longer finds Nsync related news interesting - she has simply lost interest in the band itself. Beth explains:
I wouldn't say I participate in this fandom at all. I try to stay away from internet people because they say they're an Nsync fan - I have my Live Journal14 and I'm on a couple of lists, although I don't post on them. One of my interests is Nsync and most people find me through that and are from the Nsync fandom. I don't cut off contact from them, but I don't really want to be involved in the Nsync fandom. It's more for entertainment's sake, to laugh at [Nsync]. I just don't think there's that much to be discussed fandom-wise anymore, which wasn't true a year ago.
Having been a longtime fan of U215, Beth has much experience with e-mail fan lists and the type of discussions that occur on them. She does not consider belonging to lists as heavy participation in the fandom, even though much interaction between fans transpires on these lists, and therefore does not feel that belonging to lists makes any person more of a fan than any other person. Being slightly disappointed with the debates that were sparked among U2 fans, Beth was even more turned off by the topics that came under fire on her Nsync lists:
I was really active on a U2 mailing list…I think I had higher expectations of the Nsync people because U2 fans, they're a little weird. The arguments people would have would be over the significance of the five chord progression of a song, whereas arguments here are over why teenagers shouldn't be allowed in the pit16. I thought the U2 arguments were kind of pathetic…Nsync lists were worse.
Beth, despite wanting to keep her distance from other fans, has no problem admitting that she, too, is a fan. Her annoyance with these other fans may actually stem from the fact that she does not see any reason to be embarrassed about being a fan and does not want to be grouped with those who feel that either they or she should be. Beth did feel some embarrassment about telling other people she was an Nsync fan when she first started liking the group, but it did not force her to keep it a secret. In fact, she wanted to see what others' reactions would be:
Everyone knows I like Nsync. I remember when I first started liking them, telling other people was embarrassing, maybe a lot more embarrassing than it is now, but I never withheld the information from anyone. I kind of wanted to see their reactions…they ranged from violent to mocking. No one was ever like, "Yeah! Me too!" even though they are now. People would be like, "Oh no! I can't believe that you would like them!" I would alter their perceptions of the world. I thought it was ridiculous.
Beth furthermore feels that contempt for the band's younger fans is senseless. Because she does not feel any threatening need to separate herself from the younger age group, she has no problem with their existence, or the fact that they are constantly associated with the band. Beth actually holds the same type of contempt for older fans that most older fans hold for their younger counterparts. According to her, it is personality, not age, that separates fans and those that focus on age are most likely no better than those on whom they focus:
I love [younger fans], I have no hatred. I don't even call them "teenies." I think the older fans are just as stupid, because it's okay for a fourteen year old to have delusions and think that these things will one day be true and create a society based on liking the band, who likes what member, and who is more popular for whatever Justin related paraphernalia they wore to school that day, but it's absolutely ridiculous for someone who's hit puberty and moved on to operate that way. To envy younger fans for being young, and thinking their older age makes them understand the band more, makes them understand them at all, or makes them more worthy to meet the band…it's just ridiculous.
Beth does not need her preference for the group to define who she is, nor does she want the actions of others her age to speak for her. Her identity is not built on the perceptions of others and she does not pay attention to anything anyone may say about her being an Nsync fan, even if they are fellow fans. Rather, the only importance Beth sees in being able to say that she is a fan is that it shows that she is comfortable with herself, not because she has anything to prove - "It's important because if I was an Nsync fan and I couldn't say it, I would be depressed," she says. "I'm secure in myself."
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14Live Journal is an onli
Note: This may not be formatted correctly as I cut and pasted it.
"Dirty" Pop
Nsync and the Post-Adolescent Fan
Unpublished ©2002 Veronica Carolyn Bond
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, thanks go out to Andrew Abbott, my advisor, who had never heard of Nsync until I walked into his office, eager to begin this project. I greatly appreciate the sobriety with which he regarded my endeavor, as I feared I would be seen as nothing more than an idle consumer on whom pop culture had left its mark. And, worse than that, someone who liked boy bands.
Elizabeth Campbell and Andreas Glaeser have been particularly helpful in the thesis-writing process, from the initial conception of the project to the mechanics of constructing the final paper. Discussing my project and listening to my peers discuss theirs proved to be a useful practice. Being forced to talk about Nsync was an interesting departure from my usual experience of being forced to shut up whenever I mentioned their name.
Myriads, multitudes, hordes, throngs, oodles, profusions of gratitude, and other synonyms for "a lot," go to Kristin M. Geraci, Dana S. White, and Lisa M. Martinez, my friends and fellow Rebels. Without you guys, I doubt I would have stayed sane…our version of "sane," anyway.
And, of course, for many hours of good music, wall decorations, crazy conversations, and new friends, I must thank the boys themselves: Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone, and Chris Kirkpatrick. But especially Lance. Because he's cute.
Here We Go
Introduction
They've been called "the biggest band in the world" and "the Fab Five." At 2.4 million copies, their sophomore album, No Strings Attached, owns the record for highest first week album sales. They mark the first time Rolling Stone magazine has published six separate, simultaneous covers. They're Nsync - that five member boy band, hailing from Orlando, Florida, who set the music world on edge and the hearts and hormones of girls everywhere in a tizzy. Sale of their first three albums, including Nsync and most recently Celebrity, number in the millions. With wildly successful concert tours, clothing lines, movie deals, and even lip balm on the market, it is almost impossible to escape their presence. Walk into any drug store and it is likely that their faces will be staring out from at least one magazine. It seems like everyone is a fan. Even if they should not be.
It is not that studies of pop music are entirely absent from the sociological scene. There exists a vast array of studies concerning , the comparison of popular culture to high culture, the development of youth culture, theories of massification, and theories of commercialization. Heavy metal, rap, and punk rock have provided for studies of subcultures and fandoms - even teenybopper culture has generated enough noise to be given its own time. So it is not that pop music studies do not exist, but what these studies have done is draw definite boundaries in the sociology of music culture, meaning that all who do not fall into these clean cut categories go unrecognized. Pop music fans are constantly subjected to a simple-minded stereotype; they are thought of as passive consumers who are easily manipulated by commercial industries (Shuker, 1994). Most often they are typed as adolescent girls who have more interest in daydreaming about celebrities, rather than in the actual music these celebrities produce. This image is commonly accepted, perhaps, because it is the image most often touted by the media. Nsync fans are no exception.
Nsync, whose members range in age from 21 to 301 , is just the sort of band that is thought to appeal solely to the pre-adolescent and teenage, female demographic. Although magazines and television constantly show images of these screaming young fans, not every Nsync fan fits the "screaming teeny" mold. There are a significant number of fans, aged 21 and above, who enjoy Nsync for their music and entertainment just as much as their teenage counterparts; the difference lies in the fact that these older fans cannot easily express their interest in Nsync. If they do, it is at the risk of being ridiculed. The problem is not simply one of fan identification, but also of negative social identification. Thus, the question is not just how and why individuals identify as Nsync fans, but of these older individuals who risk mockery yet still identify as Nsync fans, why do they choose to accept this negative social identity?
To attempt to answer this, I turn to two sociological theories: deviance theory and identity theory. Deviance theory serves to explain how that which is viewed as negative, can become positive when viewed and employed in the correct manner. Through this process an individual can come to accept an identity which possesses certain negative connotations. A person will not accept a negative identity or continue to pursue a deviant activity unless the pleasure they receive from the activity outweighs that negativity. Stereotypes are enough to warrant embarrassment over being a fan - if this embarrassment is powerful enough, the individual would simply not be fan. There must be a reason why older individuals choose to identify as Nsync fans, something beyond just liking the music.
After accepting a deviant identity, the fan must then define the identity for herself and for the others who share this identity. Identity theory examines how society shapes the self, which, in turn, shapes social behavior through both the reactions of those outside and inside the group. How a person chooses to behave in the fandom, which fan-related activities she pursues, and how she views other fans will influence the way she conceives her fan identity. One of the most telling aspects of identity for older fans is the attitude they hold towards younger fans. Those most affected by the stereotypes are also those who, for whatever reason, hold the most disdain for their younger peers. Attitudes regarding the band and the fandom itself serve to differentiate those who perpetuate the stereotype and those who do not.
Thus far, pop music studies have largely been conducted on a theoretical basis. Because people's experiences of music are tied to the specific social contexts in which they occur, a more ethnographic study would aim to show that pop music involves social identities, relationships, and practices, and is something which is created, used, and interpreted differently by different individuals and groups (Cohen 1993). Data for this study come from in-depth interviews with seven fans2 . All were over the age of 21 and all were female. Because of this, I will refer to the general fan as female throughout the paper. Since a large part of Nsync's fan base is female, as were all of my interviewees, it would be dishonest ignore physical attractions to the band's members as a significant factor in older fans' identification with the fandom. However, these physical attractions should not be believed to make up the entirety of the fandom and the fact that fans admit attractions to the band's members should not be used to reduce them to over-sexed women merely in need of a "safe" object of desire or in pursuit of a celebrity sexual encounter3 .
What is important is that these fans do have normal adult lives. Many have families, jobs, and various interests outside of Nsync. In general, pop music fans have gone unnoticed or have been regarded as passive consumers whose tastes are unrefined. Pop music is seen as uncreative and homogenous - indistinguishable from one boy band to the next; these negative traits have come to be strongly associated with the genre's fans. It is worth delving deeper into this huge fandom to explore the diversity among fans and to learn why, in the face of so many negative stereotypes, these individuals so strongly identify with their taste in music.
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1By age, Nsync is: Justin Timberlake, 21; Lance Bass, 23; JC Chasez, 24; Joey Fatone, 25; and Chris Kirkpatrick, 30. The band members are commonly referred to by their first names.
2Using a snowball sample, seven fans, from different areas of the United States, were chosen. Some of these fans also maintained their own Nsync fan sites, dedicated to making fun of the band in some way.
3This does not mean that no male Nsync fans exist, but the fact is that their existence is marginal and an analysis of their fan identification would be another project entirely.
Celebrity
Being a Fan Matters - A Sociological Perspective
What follows is exploration of how fandom has been studied in the past and an introduction to deviance theory and identity theory - the theories which I believe will help explain the acceptance of the negative "Nsync fan" identity. Fans are subjected to a number of different stereotypes, with female fans dealing with the additional stereotype of being a groupie. However, once a person realizes that she enjoys the music, she begins to define her experiences as a fan as pleasurable and eventually comes to accept the identity of a fan. Once this happens, she must understand how, as an older fan, she is allowed to express this identity. This occurs by learning the attitudes of the group that is "older fans" and organizing her experiences so that her attitudes reflect those of the group. A person cannot fully consider herself to belong to this group until these two processes are complete.
The Fandom
Music and music tastes can play a significant role in socialization. A cultural text, music in this case, can mean something only in the context of the experiences of its particular audience. Furthermore, musical tastes most often do not develop in isolation, but are subject to a variety of social influences (Grossberg 1992). The term "taste culture" has been used to name a set of values shared by a group of individuals; individuals sharing a taste for a particular type of music are, then, members of a music taste culture (Russell 1997). While music taste cultures can fall neatly along social lines, they can just as easily not. Demographic variables have not been found to be reliable predictors of taste. However, the music in taste cultures often contains elements that are part of a wider iconography - in subscribing to a music taste culture individuals are associating with a particular lifestyle, or with a wider set of values (Russell 1997). How this cultural text is used is dependent upon that audience, how it attempts to make sense of itself, and how the individuals uses it to construct a social identity Thus, identification as a "fan" can be seen as a type of social identity.
Social identity, as defined by Crozier (1997), is comprised of the set of social categories to which people belong, aspire to belong, or with which important values are shared. This is different from what Crozier calls personal identity in that personal identity is the set of unique qualities, values, and attributes of the individual which reflect a personal history. Two kinds of dependence processes are involved in social identities: compliance and informational influence. In the compliance process, the individual depends on the group for social approval and complies with the group because of the anticipation of either the reward or the punishment of doing or not doing so. The information influence process finds that individuals modify their position in the process of understanding the world by comparing their view of reality with that of the group. In general, influence occurs through references to preferences of other people or by attaching labels which imply that music belongs to certain categories - "pieces are described as originating from sources that one identifies with, or feels that one ought to identify with, either because one aspires to be the sort of person who identifies with it or does not wish to be seen as the kind of person who does not" (Crozier 1997). Russell (1997) backs up this idea, proposing that social structure and musical tastes constitute a set of mutual influences. The differences in musical tastes between social groups serve, along with other factors, to reinforce distinctions between groups, thereby representing one of the ways in which the group constructs itself. People's musical tastes can reflect the tendency to listen to and enjoy the same music that is listened to by other people with whom they wish to identify. It follows that there must be some kind of return for an individual in a fandom, something to be desired in assuming that social identity, otherwise the fandom would serve no purpose for the individual. Thus, there must be something appealing about being an Nsync fan, otherwise these women would simply choose not to be fans.
The Fan
The role of a fan is often described as passive or as the result of a celebrity who provides a para-social relationship for the fan. Jenson (1992) describes two models of the fan. One model is the obsessed loner who maintains an intense fantasy relationship with the celebrity. Notoriety is achieved by stalking, threatening, and in extreme cases, killing the celebrity, with Mark David Chapman serving as one of the most memorable examples. This is the isolated and alienated "mass man," cut off from friends, family, and community; his life is dominated by his fixation on the celebrity figure. The other model is the hysterical member of the crowd. This is the screaming, weeping, even fainting teenager, vulnerable to irrational loyalties to the celebrity figure and is easily influenced by the crowd. In these ways, fandom has been seen as a sort of pathological deviance, though neither are appropriate representations of the fan in everyday life. Instead, Jenson proposes that what is believed to be true about fans actually embodies what is believed to be true of modern society, as alienating and atomizing, or as vulnerable and irrational. With the increasing power of the mass media and decline of communities, it was believed that the "mass man" could easily become the victim of "mass persuasion." Fandom is then conceived as the attempt to compensate for a "perceived personal lack of autonomy, absence of community, incomplete identity, lack of power, and lack of recognition" (Jenson 1992).
Because the majority of Nsync's fan base is female, Nsync fans, especially older Nsync fans, must face an additional challenge - that of being labeled a "groupie." Though the term refers to a person, usually a woman, who chases after rock stars for sexual purposes, it is often used to label any type of female music fan. It is normal and even acceptable to have a crush on a celebrity as a teenager, but to admit to a crush on a celebrity as an adult woman is to overstep the boundaries of proper and mature feminine behavior (Cline 1992). Nevertheless, most Nsync fans can easily offer up the name of their favorite member and discuss their attractions in detail. Cline finds irony in the notion that female fans are thought of as immature regardless of who the celebrity of their liking may be. It is no good to like a member of Motley Crüe, she says, because they are tasteless and obviously out to attract women, but it is no better to maintain a crush on Bono of U2 because the seriousness of the band is being overlooked. The clear misconception is that girls and women who have attractions to pop stars are either teenyboppers or groupies - they either entertain fanciful notions of marriage to their favorite star, or they simply want to have sex with him. The most often told tale is that of the teeny-turned-groupie who experiences a downfall as she goes from pre-adolescent fantasies to lustful desires. In most cases, this is unrealistic. Cline points out that it takes guts, money, and looks to be a groupie and, "if you don't have the looks, you better have the money and guts." The majority of female fans would be appalled by what is expected of a groupie - admitting a sexual attraction to a celebrity does not necessarily mean that attraction will ever be acted upon.
Stefanie Rhein's study of adolescent pop music fans suggested that even within the younger age group, being a pop fan has less to do with celebrity admiration than is believed. The results of Rhein's survey found that music-related aspects were more important to fans than factors such as "admiration" or "having a crush [on the celebrity]," going against the stereotype that pop music fans are only interested in music for pretty faces (Rhein 2000). Rhein also found that involvement is connected to a social context of peer groups - those who were categorized as "super-fans" (fans with a great level of participation in their fandom) seemed to make friends based on music taste and felt strongly connected with other fans without necessarily having direct contact with them. This, again, shows that being a fan is not an isolated activity. Rather, it is inherently social.
The Deviance
One fandom that is gaining increasing credence as a sociological phenomenon is that of Grateful Dead fans, known as Deadheads. What has brought academics to study Deadhead culture is both its complexity and the stigma attached with participating in it. Despite the persistent stigma associated with the subculture, many individuals choose to participate in this fandom. By making outsiders more aware of workings of the subculture, the stigmatization may eventually come to subside. Rebecca G. Adams elaborates:
Because of Deadheads' acceptance of the use of psychedelic drugs, the way they sometimes dress, and their taste in music, the cultural mainstream stigmatizes members of the subculture. Because Deadheads perceived shows to be spiritual experiences, in addition to opportunities to be entertained, they are convinced of the importance of the phenomenon and their commitment to it is considerable. One way of resolving their deep desire to continue to be involved in a stigmatized group with their desire for respect is to improve the opinion outsiders have of the Deadhead community. (Adams, 2000).
Part of the issue is the idea that Deadheads are viewed as a deviant subculture, characterized by their use of illegal drugs and the practice of following the band around the country. Some Deadheads fit the stereotype - most do not - yet this negative evaluation of the subculture continues. Why, then, would a person choose to identify with a culture that is viewed negatively by larger society? Stephanie Jennings (2000) poses this question, employing theories of social deviance to reach an answer. In her study, Jennings found that there were four main interests which attracted people to the Deadhead scene - music, drug use, friends, and curiosity, with music being the primary reason for becoming a Deadhead. Many Deadheads were introduced to the music by friends who were already Deadheads. Others were drawn in by the fandom's acceptance of drug use, while others felt that fandom provided a larger attitude of freedom to be applied towards life. Whatever the reason, identifying with the subculture must play some sort of positive role in the individual's life. The question is, how does that which is viewed as negative, become positive?
Becker's (1963) theory of social deviance may shed some light on this question. Becker defines deviance as "essentially statistical…anything that varies too widely from the average." It is a failure to obey the rules set by a society who applies those rules to particular people and labels them as outsiders when that failure occurs. Deviance is not inherent in the individual, but rather is a product of the "interaction between the person who commits an act and those who respond to it" (14). The most drastic change resulting from a deviant label is a change in one's social identity - how others in society come to view the individual. Because a specific deviant trait may possess a generalized symbolic value, others may assume that a person who possesses that trait must also possess the other negative traits that have come to be associated with it. Jennings (2000) applies this, saying that in the eyes of one who is outside of the Deadhead subculture, the person who identifies as a Deadhead is a drug user and possess other negative traits. In the case of Nsync, post-adolescent fans are thought to be immature with a general lack of concern for "normal" adult life.
This theory can help explain the process by which post-adolescent individuals not only come to listen to the music of Nsync, but come to identify as Nsync fans, an identity which possess certain negative connotations. There are three steps in a sequence of events that must occur for a person to regularly engage in a deviant activity. To become a fan, a person must first recognize Nsync for what they are, a musical group, rather than for the stereotypes society has created for them, a step which Becker calls "learning the technique" (46). Simply accepting Nsync as a legitimate musical group is not enough to be a fan, however. A person must admit that the group is enjoyable - she must "learn to perceive the effects" (48). Finally, she must learn to enjoy what Nsync brings her, whether it is simply upbeat music, an object of affection or desire, or a group of friends with whom they share this common interest. In this last step she has "learned to enjoy the effects" (53). As a person moves from stage to stage, various social controls become less effective at preventing the deviant behavior. Through these stages, a person comes to change her views of the deviant behavior, neutralizing her sensitivity to the stereotype by accepting an alternate view.
The Identity
Identities are shaped through interactions with others and are, at least initially, the result of others' responses to that person. Thus, just as being an Nsync fan may be seen as deviant by some, there is a group to whom the older Nsync fan is not a deviant: other older Nsync fans. Once a person has recognized that identification as an Nsync fan is considered abnormal and has decided to accept that identity amidst outsiders' conceptions, she must also define her identity among the group of Nsync fans. In order to belong to the group she must learn the proper way to behave, the proper opinions to have, and the proper way to deal with negative stereotypes. In most cases these traits do not literally have to be learned, as it is the possession of these traits that will set her aside from others and draw her to a group to which these traits are common.
Social identity, what Mead terms the self, comes about through development and occurs through the processes of social experience and activity. It develops in the individual as a result of her relations to both the process and to others within the process (Mead 1934). Identity theory posits that conceptions of the self are meanings which individuals attribute to themselves and are crucial to the process of determining one's actions and interactions. Action and interaction are shaped by definitions and interpretations of situations surrounding the actions and interactions; the definitions and interpretations are based on meanings that are developed in the course of interaction with others (Stryker 1992). Obviously, there need not be only one self, as a person can appropriate different identities for each relevant social situation - a person may present herself as an Nsync fan while participating in certain activities, but during other activities, such as at a job or while interacting with specific individuals, this identity may be much less conspicuous. Because of this ability, there can be many selves which can be interdependent or independent of each other, sometimes in agreement and sometimes in conflict with other selves (Stryker 1992).
To fully develop the self, an individual must not only understand how others react to her and, in turn, respond to that, but she must also understand the attitudes of the group in which she participates. She will assume the organized attitudes of that social group and conduct her behavior so that it falls in accordance with participation in the group (Mead 1934). This occurs in two stages: first, the self is composed of an organization of the attitudes of others to herself; in the second stage the self also consists of an organization of the incidents she experiences. Hence, a fan's identity is not fully formed until she undergoes those experiences that are common to the group that is "older Nsync fans." She may conceive of herself as belonging to a certain sector of the fandom, but it is not fully a part of her self until she experiences and is affected by those incidents which truly separate the fandom by age. She may understand that negative characteristics are associated with being an Nsync fan, especially at a certain age, but if she has never been personally faced with the negativity, or simply is not troubled by it, her self is not fully organized as an older fan.
Digital Get Down
A Note on Methodology
As previously mentioned, all interviewees were female and all were over the age of 21. I chose 21 as the arbitrary cutting off point because throughout the fandom there is a general dividision at that age - most fan groups that are not for all ages are specific to the 21 and over crowd. Although I participated in one of these groups for several months and scoured the message archives, this information was used only as a way in which to derive my interview questions. Reporting those data would require me to contact each individual whose post I intended to use - a very time consuming and, in some cases, impossible task. Thus, the data contained here are only from the seven interviews that I conducted.
The women I interviewed were part of a snowball sample. Some I had already known, some I had gotten to know through others, and some I became acquainted with over the internet. Initial contact with these women was made through e-mail, the interviews were conducted over the phone, and follow up questions were posed through e-mail. Each free-form style interview lasted approximately an hour, at the beginning of which I informed the interviewee that she was allowed to answer each question in any manner she wished, address each issue as in depth as she wished, and to bring up anything that seemed relevant to her, even if I had not asked about it. Owing to this, I did not ask the same questions of each interviewee - on some occasions I found myself prodding more on a specific topic, and on other occasions I did not need to ask certain questions because the interviewee had brought the topic up herself. For a more detailed description of how I came to know these women, as well as a list of basic interview questions, please refer to the appendices.
Do Your Thing
Interviews and Long Conversations
The following interviews are presented case by case in order to provide an understanding of how fandom and identity operate for each individual. The women range in age from 23 to 30. All have attended some college and all are of middle class social standing. Three - Alison, Dawn, and Grace - are white, one - Erin - is black, two - Carrie and Hannah - are Hispanic, and one - Beth - is biracial. Additionally, both Carrie and Hannah have children under the age of 10. References to this demographic information will be made, as needed, in the interview reports.
Erin
Alison
Carrie
Hannah
Beth
Dawn
Grace
Do Your Thing
Erin
My interest in interviewing Erin stemmed particularly from both her visibility in the fandom, as the owner and moderator of an over-21 e-mail list with 300-some members, and her unique perspective on what constitutes a fan. What is different about Erin's concept of a fan is that enjoying the band's music is not a necessity. She lists alternative, classical, soundtracks, R&B, and 80's music as her preferred types of music, while making it clear that pop music is not high on her list of musical tastes - it was not her liking of the music that introduced her to the fandom, but rather an attraction to one of the band's members:
I really didn't know anything about [Nsync] because I don't listen to pop music…I first really noticed them when Lance was on Who Wants to be a Millionaire and I was like, he was the cutest, sweetest, dumbest little thing! I kind of fell for him, he's so pretty. It started out as a Lance thing. I still don't like the music, I rarely listen to it…I started thinking of my own slash4 stories and started doing research and got sucked in that way.
At 30, this is not Erin's first foray into the fandom world. Being a fan is an identity which has been relatively constant since her adolescence, "There hasn't been a point since high school that I haven't been a fan of something," she says. She considers Duran Duran5 to be her primary fandom, but is also a fan of Tim Burton and the television shows The X-Files, Action, and As Time Goes By. Although she refers to the fandom as more like her "main hobby," a need to take an extremely active role in her participation as a fan surfaces as she talks about her fandoms and her penchant for starting fans lists for each one. Erin was the founder of the As Time Goes By fandom; an e-mail list that she expected to be quite small ended up with over 700 members. Despite her love for organization, she believes that being a fan is more about a the right attitude rather than participating in certain practices:
Mostly [having been a part of previous fandoms] affects my attitude. I don't take anything seriously. I've always made fun of them. Humor is important to me - if you can't laugh at the idea of being into an 80s band that was ridiculed when it first started, well, you have to learn to laugh at yourself for being that devoted to a cause like that. I think it takes people aback when I make fun of Lance. They can't understand I'm still a fan even though I make fun of them. To a certain extent I can understand that I'm not much of a fan, I don't even like their music that much, but it's just an attitude. It doesn't diminish the level of fandom. It's about distancing yourself and respecting the fine line between fantasy and reality.
Erin credits writing as one of the mains reasons she has stayed in this fandom. Amongst an online community of fan fiction writers who exchange stories and provide feedback to the authors, there emerges a feeling of order within the group. The more an author's works is read and praised, the more credence or authority she has in the community. What makes this particular fandom more appealing for Erin is that she has reached a point where she is respected as an author, something which was not possible in her previous fandoms. The feeling of power that Erin possesses comes through her writing as well as through maintaining the online groups she creates.
I've been into slash since I was a teenage, writing in the Duran fandom. I didn't realize it had a name until I was into The X-Files…the Nsync fandom is the first time I've really been known. I got much more into the fandom head on, for good or for bad, but I think I got burnt out on it very easily. With X-Files, because I didn't know who the big name authors were, there's a certain kind of power that goes with being a writer that I didn't have with X-Files. I started getting attention in the Nsync fandom, people started praising my work and that was good. I'd never written so extensively before. I started writing stories, started making a name for myself, and started getting to know more people than in other fandoms.
Erin was reluctant to admit her attraction to Nsync partly because of the anticipated reactions from friends, but also because she realized that she would have had a similar negative reaction in a different situation - a Duran Duran fan admitting to also being a fan of New Kids on the Block6. She harbors the same negative sentiments towards these types of bands in herself; knowing the social reactions she would witness if she admitted to being an Nsync fan not only drove her desire to keep Nsync a secret, but also shaped the way she came to view the band itself. Her self-consciousness about being a fan does not arise simply because she is a member of this group, but because her identity is also drawn from her experiences of being on the other side of the fence, of knowing her own reactions. Keeping her emotions about the band at a distance helps to resolve the conflict of liking the band amidst her own negativity and serves to further separate her from the kind of fan with whom she does not wish to associate:
I didn't tell people because it was really crossing a line, because I'd always said I was not going to like someone younger than me. I accepted it [that I liked them], but I didn't want other people to know. When New Kids were around, I made fun of Durannies7 that were New Kids fans in that it was like a mockery of their own Durannie-ism, that they were just into Duran because they were just a bunch of pretty boys. So I knew the kinds of reactions I'd get, like, "How old are you?"
It became fun once I finally just "came out" as an Nsync fan and I had fun with it. When people ask me why I'm into them, I say they're kitschy…I made it clear that I wasn't taking it seriously or looking at them as idols. I'm way too old for that.
Though Erin did experience some negative reactions from those around her, she did not let it stop her from being a fan and, in fact, her participation in previous fandoms helped lessen the embarrassment of belonging to this fandom. Being a Duran Duran fan, Erin already had experience with others making fun of her for buying band-related merchandise and no longer lets that affect her, "I want it, I'm going to buy it, I have the money, and I'm not going to deny myself because someone makes a lame comment," she says.
Erin claims that it is others that sometimes make her feel old liking the band, but that, personally, she does not. Some of the problems she deals with as an older fan do not always come from comparisons to younger fans, or even non-fans criticizing her tastes - it is the older fans who speak negatively for themselves:
I don't personally feel too old, but sometimes other people scare me and I'm like, "And how old are you?" I'll give you an example: people were crying over concert tickets. There were all these technical problems with AOL8, people were supposed to get tickets in advance from AOL, but maybe they only held certain seats for AOL or only a certain number for radio stations and promoters and AOL got left with the bad seats. They were posting things like, "I'm in tears," and "It's frustrating me and it makes me not want to be a fan anymore," and I'm like, what is wrong with you? You aren't going to die because you're not going to see Nsync.
She goes on to describe a pair of older fans who moderate another Nsync e-mail list, focusing on an on-list argument about Lance's appearance at the 2002 Superbowl pre-game show. According to Erin, some of the list members believed that he was both drunk and high at the party and one of the moderators responded "unequivocally, as if she knew Lance personally, that Lance doesn't smoke marijuana." Erin's issue with the moderators is that they take the band and the fandom too seriously for her. "It's not uncommon that there are fans who hold onto this image and don't want it sullied because it would just kill them," she says. "It's partly the attitude and a sense of humor that ables me to have a sense of distance."
Humor is Erin's primary way of holding onto her identity as an adult - because she realizes what she is doing is thought to be silly and immature, she believes it should be obvious to others that she does not possess those traits. Although she uses humor in this way, she will also defend the band's talents, further defending her fan status:
If people say that they suck, as in they can't sing, then I'll defend them and say they sing a cappella and harmonize better than the groups [they] listen to. You have to at least recognize that they have some talent. It's not true that they have no talent. They do work hard. They're not Making of the Band9.
Even though Erin doesn't cite the music as her primary reason for being a fan, countering the "boy bands can't sing" stereotype allows her to demand some respect as a fan. The strong desire to keep her identity as a mature adult is seen as she draws a clear line between younger fans and herself. Though all of the fans I interviewed drew some sort of distinction between themselves and Nsync's younger fans, Erin's is the strongest, suggesting that her identity as a fan is heavily rooted in the ability to disassociate herself from what she views as inferior. She speaks with the strongest conviction about her feelings for younger fans, as if they pose a personal insult to her identification as a fan. Perhaps this arises from her longtime participation in fandoms, having experienced negative stereotypes since her adolescence thereby threatens her identity with the stereotypes created by these fans:
For the most part I avoid [younger fans], especially the ones on the internet. Not all are like that, but when I look back at how I was at 14, I see people are getting dumber as the years go on… You find the same problem with Duran fans. The younger ones, you avoid them because they all have this arrogance like they were the first ones who discovered Duran. They're irritating on all levels. I stick to older fans for better or worse. They're generally more mature.
With all my lists it starts off as a frustration - you really want to avoid the teenies10. They rarely add anything to the conversation, they go off topic…and when they do have anything on topic to say, it's rarely insightful. They don't share the same experiences as you. It's not being of the same generation, not having the same cultural references. They're not older, they don't know about working or taking responsibility for anything. They generally haven't matured.
Erin's fan identification is affected by an additional factor that none of the other interviewees cited as relevant: her race. As a black woman Erin admits to feeling some strain with identifying with what others may label as "white music." This becomes evident as she describes her feelings about Justin, who has often been criticized for trying to "act black":
Justin's a punk ass. That's what encapsulates what he is. He's a brat and is arrogant to a fault. It's not self-confidence…it's arrogance. I find his whole being offensive, the whole wanting-to-be-black-so-bad act, and to have it be validated on top of that because he's famous. I don't think he's cute, I don't think he's funny, I certainly don't think he can sing. I have no love for Justin.
Like younger fans, this particular aspect of the band poses a threat to the identity she tries to maintain, causing her to despise it. The topic arises again when she commented on how open she is about being a fan:
It's important for me to not be self-conscious about it. I wear an Nsync watch and one of my co-workers has noticed it. They haven't said anything to me, they don't really bring it up. Right now I'm working with a lot of black people, so that's kind of a different set of issues. There's an added issues of wearing a watch with white boys on it, and whether or not that makes me suspect. I'm not really as open about it as when I was at [my previous job].
Thus, Erin's concept of herself as a fan is largely directed by those traits she finds completely unattractive. She practically condemns those who threaten her attempts to separate herself from these unwanted traits, shunning younger fans and detesting Justin. Erin borders on going to the extreme to prove that she is not subject to the stereotypes surrounding Nsync's fans by constructing her identity in direct opposition to them. Maintaining an active role in the fandom allows her to do this, and relishing her position of authority provides seemingly concrete proof of her efforts.
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4Fan fiction is a type of writing that focuses on creating stories around celebrities or existing characters in the entertainment media. Slash fiction refers to the practice of placing characters in homosexual pairings. The first slash pairing was Kirk/Spock, from Star Trek.
5Duran Duran is an 80's pop band, subject to the same sort of stereotypes as Nsync.
6A boy band popular in the early 90's.
7Slang for Duran Duran fan.
8America Online, an internet provider.
9Making of the Band is a TV show that documents the creation and work of O-Town, an Orlando-based pop band. Auditions were cast and five males were chosen to be in the band. Because both Nsync and O-Town are five member boy bands from Orlando, and because O-Town is the pet project of Nsync's former manager, many comparisons have been drawn between the two groups, propelling the notion that Nsync is a commodity driven vehicle. The band's members, especially Lance, like to stress that this is not how Nsync came to be.
10Short for teenybopper. Conceptions of what a stereotypical teenybopper is depends up the individual. Teenyboppers are generally thought to be female, in the 9-15 year-old age range and, as with any other identity, is a combination of behaviors, beliefs, and comparisons with others. Whether this identity is thought to be typical of all younger fans and whether it is positive or negative is also dependent upon the individual.
Do Your Thing
Alison
I first noticed them in the Spring of 2000. I thought they were okay, but a little too poppy. I started liking them in June of 2000, due to incessant playing of their music by my roommate. Since I didn't really listen to pop music that much before Nsync, I just don't see how I would have found out about them [without her]. Maybe I would have heard "Bye Bye Bye" and liked it, but I doubt I ever would have had a chance to hear the whole album. Also, I would not have found all the proper fandom outlets without her.
In this way Alison, a 24-year-old graduate student, illustrates how she made the change from what she has called "music with meaning" to music she simply describes as "fun." The process that Alison took to become an Nsync fan is an uncomplicated one - she has experienced some outside harassment for being a fan, but she never let it hinder her enjoyment of the band or let it control how she chose to express herself within the fandom. She is neither bitter towards others who tease her, actually enjoying the reactions she receives when she tells others that she is a fan, nor does she feel the need for extreme separation from the band's younger fans. Through the course of the interview it became clear that Alison was a fan because she wanted to be and because she enjoyed the music and found it fun.
Like others, being a fan is nothing new to Alison, who says she "likes an eclectic mix of music. My favorites are Soul Coughing, Melissa Ferrick, Pearl jam, the Indigo Girls, and, of course, Nsync." She mentions that she was on several mailing lists for the Indigo Girls, Melissa Ferrick, and Dar Williams, and compares those with the Nsync mailing lists on which she participates as being more serious:
It's different because Nsync is cuter. It's more looking at pictures, but in terms of talking about them and listening to their music it's pretty similar, except there's a wider fan base to deal with than with Dar and Melissa. I've been on several e-mail lists and I'm still on one.
When asked why she left all of her mailing lists but one, a list whose sole purpose is to distribute pictures, she responded:
Well, for one thing they had far too much e-mail that was useless to me - I don't read fan fic[tion] and I don't care what Gabby is wearing to her prom. I also got kicked off of a list. I was on a list specifically for older fans, and on this list the first concern on 9/11 was as to whether or not Nsync had been involved, when, in reality, the likelihood of that was quite small. Then, when the idea that it was Osama bin Laden behind it all emerged, someone on the list found out that Osama was reportedly gay, and so they thought that would be a good fan fic[tion] to write - Nsync having sex with Osama bin Laden, which would somehow be saving the world. Anyway, so I voiced protest that perhaps a line had been crossed there, and that this could be offensive to people on the list, and I mentioned that for people who think they're too old for Nsync, they don't act very old. And for some reason it was my e-mail that was found to be offensive, so I got kicked off of the list.
Alison expects certain behavior from older fans. They may not be too old to like Nsync, but this does not mean that they can participate in the full range of behaviors thought to characterize only the band's younger fans, especially if, at the same time, they are drawing distinctions between themselves and the younger fans. This idea was constantly repeated throughout the interviews. It is not necessarily age that creates this distinctions among fans, but rather a way of behaving in the fandom. She offers one more opinion on older fans:
I think a lot of them are kind of stalkers, and that's even scarier when it's someone older than when it's a 14 year old because they have more ability to drive around, go to Justin's house, put something in Lance's mailbox, and I think they should understand when that's inappropriate. They should know the line between when something's fun and when it's illegal or just stupid.
There is a certain adopted identity that goes along with being an older Nsync fan, even beyond simply accepting that the fan identity itself carries negative stereotypes.
It appears that Alison does not at all feel her identity as a fan is threatened by the greater visibility of the band's younger fans. In fact, it may be safe to say that Alison's fan identity is not threatened at all, even by those who could possibly harass her about it. She realizes the reactions she may receive, but does not let that affect the way she views herself as a fan:
I've told friends and co-workers - if the subject comes up I'll bring it up. I'm not really shy about it. If I'm working and looking at Nsync stuff on the computer, they might see it. I feel old, maybe, when I'm at concerts, even though there are definitely fans older than me there. I've been embarrassed to like them…if there's people I'm trying to impress for some reason, saying I like Nsync doesn't really help. But I like the music and I think they're really cute and I think it's really fun…and I think it's even fun to tell people I like Nsync, to kind of throw a wrench in the works of me. A lot of people think that comes out of nowhere.
At the base of Alison's fan identity is simply the fact that she enjoys the band and their music. She does not see herself as participating in a behavior that is particularly deviant, as she mentions that she is not sure if she is actually different from younger fans. Because Alison does not feel that she needs to separate herself along age lines, she does not seem to experience much embarrassment over being a fan.
Do Your Thing
Carrie
Carrie's attraction to Nsync began with her seven-year-old daughter's interest in the band. Through her daughter and a friend's persuasion, the 27-year-old interior design assistant began to listen to the band and enjoy their music, eventually becoming a fan herself. Because Carrie's friends and family all enjoy Nsync, she did not have too much trouble becoming a fan, "To them it's funny," she says. "They all like Nsync and all have their favorites." She talks about her introduction to the group:
I have a couple of friends who like Nsync, one that I hang out with all the time. She was part of the reason I got into Nsync. At just about the same time as my daughter was getting into them, I met her and her daughter was really into Nsync and it kind of pushed everything forward. I went to my first concert with her.
Though she does not consider herself to be extremely involved in the fandom, she does place importance in being able to say that she is a fan, ignoring what others think of her because of that. While she is part of the official fan club, she gains most of her information about Nsync from friends and only occasionally browses on lists to "check up." Like Alison, Carrie's main reason for being a fan is because it is fun for her. Realizing the music was enjoyable to her was the first step to becoming a fan - being able to share the entertainment that it brings her daughter, her friends, and her family makes being a fan just that much more. Even buying Nsync related merchandise for either herself or her daughter is done out of the fun of creating a collection. She compares Nsync to the way she used to feel about New Kids on the Block when she was younger:
I used to be a fan of New Kids on the Block - oh my God, don't tell anyone! But…now I don't take it [being a fan] so seriously. It's something I like and if I want to go to a concert, I go to one. I'm not out there buying every piece of Nsync crap out there like back when I was 12 - I would think about New Kids, like, 24/7. This is something fun to do. I don't go totally crazy over it.
Because of her experience with being a fan of New Kids on the Block, Carrie does not need to give much thought to those who would criticize her for being an Nsync fan. Not being "obsessed" with the band allows her the ability to shrug off any negative reactions. She says that she does not necessarily advertise the fact that she likes Nsync, but she is not hesitant to mention them when the topic of music arises. Responses such as "I can't believe you like them" do not bother her much.
For Carrie, being a fan is about having a suitable attitude and appropriate behavior, regardless of age. She is quick to describe those actions she sees as improper, drawing a line between herself and those types of fans:
It's not so much the younger fans that bother me - it's the fans, no matter what age they are, that are the ones that are real obsessive, that act like idiots. That's what bugs me - these people that go to any lengths to see them, to be near them, and when they shake their hands, start crying. It doesn't come just from younger ones. It comes from the 18 and 19 year olds too. People who will sit there and try to follow them and try to get a glimpse of them - I think that's out of control… It's like they're stalkers and that's not cool.
Some of my friends are in their 40's and told me they went out and got dressed up, and the guys were in Vegas, and they were sitting there, trying to be right next to the guys, and it was really annoying. They're 40 years old! The guys are in their 20's and they're sitting there making fools out of themselves, following them from place to place. It's pretty scary…they're the stalker type.
The issue of the band members acting as role models arose when Carrie described how she felt about each of the members. She had this to say about Joey, who has a reputation for being a bit of a playboy:
Joey is funny, has a good sense of humor, and is all right as far as looks, but it's obvious he likes women. But it's cool, he's a guy, and like every other guy he's a dog. I don't have good or bad things to say about him. If you're after Joey, it's a good thing - you could be fat, ugly, bald…it doesn't matter with Joey. They're just guys and, yes, they're role models, but he's just a guy, acting like a guy. If women are there, throwing themselves at them…most guys would take advantage of that too. I don't run their lives…it doesn't bother me.
Keeping in mind that she has a young daughter, I then asked Carrie to elaborate on her feelings about the members as appropriate role models for younger fans:
As far as them knowing what they wanted to do, they went out, they did it. I like the fact that they contribute to a lot of charities. As far as personal matters, some of the things they do aren't the best things, but I think parents should be the ones that should be teaching kids right from wrong and point out the positives. For example, Joey's a man who's old enough to make his own decisions…parents need to explain that so that a ten year old isn't saying, "Joey does it, so I will too."
As a fan, Carrie is able to distance herself enough from the group so as to not take their actions as personally affecting her. This stems from the fact that she does not consider herself to be obsessed with the band. For Carrie, it is not being able to say she like Nsync that is important, but being able to enjoy whatever she likes without criticism that makes being a fan important. Carrie's choice is to maintain a certain distance between the band and her own life, rather than engaging in the same activities of friends who are also fans - her identity is colored by her decision to not idolize the band members.
Do Your Thing
Hannah
When Hannah first started liking Nsync she was incredulous. Though she was not entirely against pop music, saying that there is a wide variation in her musical taste, from Abba to Bob Marley to country, she never expected she would become an Nsync fan at her age. Continued exposure to the music changed her opinion on the band, making her like them regardless of what others, or she, originally thought. Hannah describes her introduction to the band and how she came to like them:
When I first noticed them, I don't think I really paid much attention, I just knew there were a couple of boy bands out there, but I didn't know who was who. I started hearing songs here and there, I don't recall what song it was, but I asked someone, "Who is that?" and they said it was Nsync. I said, "Oh my God, don't tell me I'm liking them!" But the more I listened to the radio, the more I heard the music…I finally decided to buy the CD, No Strings Attached, as soon as it came out. I was hearing a lot of hype about that CD and tour. I lied and said it was for my daughter, who hated Nsync at the time and refused to play along at the store, which made it kind of hard.
After I heard them on the radio quite a bit I went and got the CD and I couldn't turn it off. I was really amazed - you could dance to it! I was learning all the songs, dancing around the living room and my daughter was like, "You're so ridiculous, Mom." But they really play really good music. They're all a bunch of cuties, but aside from that the music is just really good music. Anytime anyone mentions them I'll say, "Oh my God, I love them." I just came out of the closet. The music spoke for itself, it didn't matter if it was a boy band or a teenybopper group.
Hannah was already aware of the band's stereotype, of being geared toward teenyboppers, when she first began liking them. Though the stereotype did not stop her from becoming a fan, it did make her hesitant and actually embarrassed for herself, "At first I did feel silly, being 27 and liking a teenybopper group," says Hannah, now 29. Even her eight-year-old daughter found the situation humorous. She attempted to conceal the fact that the Nsync merchandise she was purchasing was for herself, despite her daughter's unwillingness to play along with the game. Even though her daughter is now an Nsync fan as well, Hannah is confident that she would have eventually gotten to a point where she did not use her daughter as an excuse to like the band.
Nsync is not Hannah's first experience with being a fan. During her adolescence she was a fan of Wham, which she admits to still enjoying. Though she says that her liking of Nsync is not as intense as when she liked Wham, she realizes that liking Wham does affect the way she chooses to be a fan of Nsync. She cites age as the main factor in that difference:
I was all over Wham11. It might have had to do with, at that time I was 12 and 13, and you figure all teenyboppers now are all crazy about Nsync and BSB12, that was my time. I used to write George Michael letters, I had Wham and George Michael plastered all over the walls. I had all the records.
Me personally, although I was a really big Wham fan, I have one of those addictive personalities. If I see something I like, I wear it out. I still haven't worn out Wham. You play a Wham song and I'm jumping up and dancing. When I find something I like I stick to it. With Nsync it's not as big as it was with Wham, but that's a factor of age.
Hannah does get teased about Nsync, as she mentions a couple of cousins who tell her that she is "never going to grow up" and will "always be a teenager," but she takes the teasing in stride and no longer lets the fear of negative reactions affect her ability to enjoy the band. Even at concerts, when Hannah says she feels slightly out of place being surrounded by fans younger than herself, she does not let the possibility of sticking out keep her from attending. If she wants to be a fan, she will be.
Unlike Erin, being a fan of Wham during her adolescence makes Hannah more able to deal with, and more appreciative of, Nsync's younger fans. She is able to look back on her adolescence and recognize herself in those fans. Seeing herself in the younger fan group allows Hannah to look at younger fans in a different way that does not threaten how she constructs her own fan identity. It is a possibility that part of the reason why Hannah is an Nsync fan is in an effort to revisit her youth:
[The younger fans] can be somewhat annoying, but I just look back and I remember my Wham days and I'm sure I was just as crazy and I lived and breathed Wham and anything I would say had to do with Wham. I understand it because I was there when I was 13, but sometimes they are a little annoying. We went to see the Imax13 and there were some getting on our nerves. But it's something new, something to keep them out of trouble. It's fun - it's good, not bad.
Additionally, Hannah does not feel the need to have everyone know that she is an Nsync fan, but she will bring it up if the topic arises in conversations with others. It is not as though she has something to prove by being an Nsync fan, but rather that she does not want to feel inhibited by liking what she likes. According to Hannah, there is not one set way to express being a fan and not one way she expects other fans to behave. Just not being ashamed to like the band is enough to be a fan:
Some fans, they feel the need to have stuff plastered all over the place to show what they like and, for me, personally, it's just what I enjoy, what I like. I don't have to advertise it. If I want to I can, it's just I don't feel like I need do anything if I don't want to, but if I do [advertise it] then I do and you can take that and run with it if you want. I don't deny that I like them, but I don't go out and advertise. If you walk into my house you know we like Nsync. You'll see the game, a couple of dolls…my daughter had an Nsync birthday party and we haven't taken down the decorations. One is so cute and I walk by and kiss them in the morning. It's just how you want to show you're a fan.
Being able to identify with the younger fans gives Hannah the ability to not take herself seriously and not feel as though she needs to express herself as a fan in any particular way. She does not have to prove to anyone that she is anything, or not anything, because she is an Nsync fan. The way younger fans act is simply a factor of their age, just as the way she used to act regarding Wham has changed as she has gotten older. This has not left her bitter, but able to make her finally realize that there is nothing wrong with liking Nsync. The way she puts it, this attitude is part of her personality, "…it's part of me…I'm the kind of person who doesn't care what anybody else says or thinks."
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11Another 80's pop band.
12The Backstreet Boys, a current pop boy band and a major source of Nsync's commercial competition.
13Bigger Than Live, Nsync's Imax concert film.
Do Your Thing
Beth
Although Beth, 23, has participated in this fandom in the past few years, she no longer participates with nearly as much fervor and now wishes to distance herself from other fans. She owes this in part to the fact that she no longer finds Nsync related news interesting - she has simply lost interest in the band itself. Beth explains:
I wouldn't say I participate in this fandom at all. I try to stay away from internet people because they say they're an Nsync fan - I have my Live Journal14 and I'm on a couple of lists, although I don't post on them. One of my interests is Nsync and most people find me through that and are from the Nsync fandom. I don't cut off contact from them, but I don't really want to be involved in the Nsync fandom. It's more for entertainment's sake, to laugh at [Nsync]. I just don't think there's that much to be discussed fandom-wise anymore, which wasn't true a year ago.
Having been a longtime fan of U215, Beth has much experience with e-mail fan lists and the type of discussions that occur on them. She does not consider belonging to lists as heavy participation in the fandom, even though much interaction between fans transpires on these lists, and therefore does not feel that belonging to lists makes any person more of a fan than any other person. Being slightly disappointed with the debates that were sparked among U2 fans, Beth was even more turned off by the topics that came under fire on her Nsync lists:
I was really active on a U2 mailing list…I think I had higher expectations of the Nsync people because U2 fans, they're a little weird. The arguments people would have would be over the significance of the five chord progression of a song, whereas arguments here are over why teenagers shouldn't be allowed in the pit16. I thought the U2 arguments were kind of pathetic…Nsync lists were worse.
Beth, despite wanting to keep her distance from other fans, has no problem admitting that she, too, is a fan. Her annoyance with these other fans may actually stem from the fact that she does not see any reason to be embarrassed about being a fan and does not want to be grouped with those who feel that either they or she should be. Beth did feel some embarrassment about telling other people she was an Nsync fan when she first started liking the group, but it did not force her to keep it a secret. In fact, she wanted to see what others' reactions would be:
Everyone knows I like Nsync. I remember when I first started liking them, telling other people was embarrassing, maybe a lot more embarrassing than it is now, but I never withheld the information from anyone. I kind of wanted to see their reactions…they ranged from violent to mocking. No one was ever like, "Yeah! Me too!" even though they are now. People would be like, "Oh no! I can't believe that you would like them!" I would alter their perceptions of the world. I thought it was ridiculous.
Beth furthermore feels that contempt for the band's younger fans is senseless. Because she does not feel any threatening need to separate herself from the younger age group, she has no problem with their existence, or the fact that they are constantly associated with the band. Beth actually holds the same type of contempt for older fans that most older fans hold for their younger counterparts. According to her, it is personality, not age, that separates fans and those that focus on age are most likely no better than those on whom they focus:
I love [younger fans], I have no hatred. I don't even call them "teenies." I think the older fans are just as stupid, because it's okay for a fourteen year old to have delusions and think that these things will one day be true and create a society based on liking the band, who likes what member, and who is more popular for whatever Justin related paraphernalia they wore to school that day, but it's absolutely ridiculous for someone who's hit puberty and moved on to operate that way. To envy younger fans for being young, and thinking their older age makes them understand the band more, makes them understand them at all, or makes them more worthy to meet the band…it's just ridiculous.
Beth does not need her preference for the group to define who she is, nor does she want the actions of others her age to speak for her. Her identity is not built on the perceptions of others and she does not pay attention to anything anyone may say about her being an Nsync fan, even if they are fellow fans. Rather, the only importance Beth sees in being able to say that she is a fan is that it shows that she is comfortable with herself, not because she has anything to prove - "It's important because if I was an Nsync fan and I couldn't say it, I would be depressed," she says. "I'm secure in myself."
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14Live Journal is an onli