When it comes to the expectations of a ‘fan’, they are limited to having an interest in him due to his acting skills or ability to play a range of character types. However, the expectations of a ‘fangirl’ range from being fascinated by his appearance (constant viewing of pictures, having discussions purely about his physical features etc.), to becoming an omniscient fan. Ignoring how scary that concept is, feminists have an idea behind this. Hélène Cixous theorised that throughout history, we have a ‘tendency to group elements of our world into opposing pairs’ (or rather Binary Oppositions) thus creating a divide between the genders.1 An example of this is the head v.s heart debate that suggests men are more influenced by thought or logic, making them more dominant, while women are influenced by their hearts or emotion. With this theory in mind, we can apply it to the differences between the ‘fan’ and the ‘fangirl’ stereotypes. We expect men to be ‘fans’ because they will more likely appreciate an actor for his critical acclamations or how he ‘becomes’ a character, whereas women are expected to ‘fall’ for an actor and become obsessed with them. However, this generalisation is limiting and does not consider that there are male fans who ‘obsess’ over actors, just as there are female fans who appreciate an actor for their performance.
1 N/A, 2011, The Philosophy Book, Great Britain: Dorling Kindersley Limited.↩
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