Thousands of screaming fans wait for the doors to open, decked out in colorful clothes, with paint all over their faces jumping up and down waiting to see their idols perform in person.

How did you picture those fans? Did you imagine them as so-called fangirls or sports fans? Would the attitude you held toward the group referred to earlier change depending on which one?

Most likely, yes. If the idea in your mind was a fangirl, you might have rolled your eyes thinking of a group of teenage girls screaming at the top of their lungs for a boy band. If the idea in your mind was a sports fan, you might have pictured something completely different, maybe respectable men with a passion for American football.

While in essence, both groups of people are the same, our society perceives fangirls as embarrassing and “much” less respectable than sports fans. 

The basis of this difference in perception doesn’t lie in anything but sexism. Because we associate these fans of musicians or bands with femininity, they are then associated with being less-than or embarrassing. On the other hand, being a sports fan is associated with masculinity and is considered acceptable.

A common argument is that fangirls waste their money, making them less respectable than sports fans. However, if it comes down to “wasting” money, it’s a pretty equal comparison looking at football fans and K-pop fans, both arguably the most intense of each category.

According to a study conducted by LendingTree, 1 out of 4 consumers say it’s somewhat likely that they will go into credit card debt due to football spending, and 27% of football fans say they will spend over $1000 for football this year, including tickets and merchandise.

iPrice Group, a Southeast Asian e-commerce aggregator compiled data and found the average amount a K-pop superfan spends ranges from $665 to $1,422 for tickets, albums and other merchandise.

Both of these findings show that fans of either interest are spending around the same amount of money. Thus, the difference in attitude doesn’t actually have anything to do with money spent.

Another common argument made against fangirls is that their “obsession” is unhealthy or crazy, but the same level of “obsession,” if not more, is seen in sports fans. For example, after the 2018 Super Bowl, fans of both the Eagles and the Patriots rioted in the streets in happiness and anger. The narrative is spun around a double standard lacking any sound reasoning. 

There is no question that this difference in respectability toward each interest is guided by inherent sexism. The purpose of highlighting this difference isn’t to push toward treating sports fans with the same lack of respect but rather to treat all types of fans with equal respect. Let people enjoy things without feeling shame or embarrassment.

Sanchita is a freshman in LAS.

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