Ever since I was a little girl I have heard to not be that crazy fan. Don’t be the girl that screams for boy bands or pop singers. Don’t be that girl that lines up at the crack of dawn to see your favorite artist. Whatever you do, don’t talk about your favorite artist as much as you talk about hobbies. I believe that it is time to get over it. Society has come too far in the world of music for girls to get hated on for just liking what they like. 

It’s not them who needs to grow up, it’s you. 

Let’s start from the beginning of it all. The Beatles. Now don’t get me wrong, there have been fans of different artists or bands for years before The Beatles but they had a big impact on teen culture. 

When The Beatles started to become popular it was teenage girls who started listening and following them. It wasn’t just the music they made, it was who they were as people. During the time period it was something new. They helped bring people together. This could be compared to modern day stans. These girls would line up for hours to hear this band. 

Now, The Beatles are considered one of the greatest bands of all time. They have broken records, been given numerous awards, made it in the hall of fames, and more. Who do we have to judge when these people are considered amazing among generations? These teenagers loved The Beatles and were called overdramatic and crazy. Now The Beatles are considered the best of the best. 

Additionally, I hear a lot of people ask “well what do you learn when you are a stan?“ This is a good question because there are a lot of things that you learn. Some examples are marketing, community building, organization, social media editing and management, and video editing. 

Something big about being a stan is trying to get the artist’s song or album to the top of the charts. There are many different ways to do this but the main way is streaming music. Streams can do a lot in the music world. It’s how artists make money, get their songs on the radio, get nominated for different awards, and gain a larger following. So as you can see, streams are a big deal.

Now there are many ways that stans do to get artists streams up. One thing is creating a streaming party.  A streaming party is a type of fan project that gets artists streams up while listening to your favorite artist with others. Too add, these streaming parties are all organized by the stans in their own free time. It helps many teens learn communication skills and organization tools. It can also help teach time management and give teens a way to be creative with the things they enjoy. 

Another phrase that I hear a lot is “well why do you have to be so over dramatic?“ 

Let’s picture this, you are at a sports game for your favorite team. There is always a winner and a loser in sports. When your team wins everyone around you starts screaming. You can also see fans of the losing team screaming and sometimes fighting. This is a huge gendered issue. With things that can attract a larger group of male fans, no one bats an eye about their behavior. There is a difference between the way society views sports teams and pop stars and boy bands.

Girls are found “emotional, overdramatic, embarrassing, and obsessive“ when men are found “normal.“

To add, being a stan is a way to find people who like the same things as you. There are many different ways to connect with others. One way is to create a twitter account. Twitter is one of the main social media platforms stans use to connect with each other. There is actually a side of twitter called “Stan Twitter“ where stans communicate. This is where streaming parties happen.

If you feel alone there are others who you can relate to. The music that you love others love also. Music is a way to express yourself and connect with others. It is an outlet for so many teenagers to not feel alone.

I have been a fan of Taylor Swift for seven years. I first listened to her when I was in third grade after her album 1989 was released. I remember listening to my CD in the car with my mom. I also became a huge Harry Styles fan at the beginning of the pandemic. The pandemic was something new and scary. In a time that everything felt so cold and alone, music was a way to escape. When I first listened to Harry Styles’ album Fine Line it was a reminder that everything will be okay.  

I have been made fun of numerous times for the music I like. It hurts when people make fun of you for something that is so important to you. When I found out that other girls my age felt the same way about music, it made me feel normal. What I liked was okay. Now I know that there are others that feel the same way and that if someone makes fun of me, it doesn’t matter because it’s what’s important to me. That is what counts. 

It is about time that we stop hating on teenage girls just because they like something different than you do. Just because someone is different doesn’t mean they don’t deserve the same respect as you do, especially if you are a fan of something. It is time to understand instead of judge.

 “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,“ Harry Styles said. “You gonna tell me they are not serious?“