By: Amanda Meyer//
As per Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, the definition of a fangirl is “a girl or woman who is an extremely or overly enthusiastic fan of someone or something.”
For as long as I can remember, women in music have always been dragged down and treated like less. Whether it’s a female artist or a female fan, there’s rarely any support or respect for these women, their music, or their music taste. On a personal note, I’ve been mocked because of the artists I like and the concerts I’ve attended. This treatment never made sense to me, but it’s also nothing new. Fangirls date back as far as Beatlemania with The Beatles, and probably even before then! Female fans and artists are often told that their music is “too immature,” and sometimes they’re even accused of only wanting to “get with” a band member because of their good looks.
Recently, Harry Styles spoke out on the negative connotation of a “fangirl.” In the latest issue of Rolling Stone, Styles shared A LOT of juicy info… mainly about moving on from One Direction fame to his new solo career. With his superstardom from One Direction, a massive following of fangirls have been following him for years now, and he’s not at all tired of it!
When Styles’ fangirl audience was brought up in the interview, he was asked if he worries about proving his musical credibility to an older, more mature audience. Styles followed up with the following quote: “Who’s to say that young girls who like pop music – short for popular, right? – have worse musical taste than a 30-year-old hipster guy? That’s not up to you to say. Music is something that’s always changing. There’s no goal posts. Young girls like the Beatles. You gonna tell me they’re not serious? How can you say young girls don’t get it? They’re our future. Our future doctors, lawyers, mothers, presidents, they kind of keep the world going. Teenage-girl fans – they don’t lie. If they like you, they’re there. They don’t act ‘too cool.’ They like you, and they tell you. Which is sick.”
Styles isn’t the first, or the last artist to speak out on having a following of mostly “fangirls.” Alex Gaskarth of All Time Low saw Styles’ Rolling Stone article and went on a Twitter rant all about it! Gaskarth tweeted out the following tweets:
He nailed it. https://t.co/xf6x9Ii3gx
— Alex Gaskarth (@AlexGaskarth) April 18, 2017
Been asked questions like this before:Do we worry that some of our fanbase is young, etc. as if it carries some kind of negative connotation
— Alex Gaskarth (@AlexGaskarth) April 18, 2017
That's what's up. Thank you. 🙂 https://t.co/nArvEs5jLf
— Alex Gaskarth (@AlexGaskarth) April 18, 2017
Fellow musicians, Skyler Acord of Issues and Josh Francheschi of You Me At Six, also spoke out about Styles’ quote with Gaskarth:
https://twitter.com/Skyduck64/status/854397840352784385
really nailed it
— Josh Franceschi (@joshmeatsix) April 18, 2017
It was so awesome seeing bands of other genres stick up for their fans, because at the end of the day, who cares if you’re listening to the hottest boyband in town or if you’re supporting a popular artist – it’s all about the music. Instead of bullying the “fangirls,” let’s just turn up the music and worry about when our favorite artists are releasing new music and touring!
