being a fangirl essay

In defense of fangirls: Why being part of the BTS fandom is helping me through the pandemic

Samantha lui has found comfort and companionship among millions of fellow devoted k-pop fans.

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It's time for me to come clean: I'm a fangirl. 

Unlike regular fans, who have a strong interest in or admiration for a particular person or thing, "fangirls," according to the dictionary, are girls who are overly enthusiastic and behave in an obsessive or overly excited way. 

I admit, I haven't always been proud of the fangirl label.

Maybe it's because I'm 29 years old, with a job and bills to pay.

Or perhaps it's because of how I was teased when I screamed over British boy band One Direction, or crushed on actors Ryan Gosling and Dev Patel.

But it was only when the COVID-19 pandemic started that I realized that being a fangirl was more than a childish obsession.

Living alone in my apartment, I couldn't see my family, friends or loved ones. It was stressful and lonely. So I turned  to something I loved for comfort.

That something was the South Korean boy band BTS — the best-selling artists in South Korean history. 

Keeping fangirl identity 'a secret'

I first discovered BTS in February 2020.

I watched a live performance of their song Black Swan on YouTube, and I was immediately mesmerized by their dance moves, singing and stage presence. The choreography, set design and production left me thinking, "Wow, this is art!"

I spent the next two days going down a YouTube rabbit hole. I watched video after video, getting to know BTS through interviews and performances.

By the end of the week, I had memorized all of the group members' stage names: RM, Suga, Jin, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook. I knew that RM did most of the talking in English, that Jin was born the same year as I was, and that BTS is short for "bulletproof boy scouts" in Korean. The name signifies the group's desire to get rid of unhealthy stereotypes and unrealistic expectations of young people.

I had become part of BTS' ARMY, the official name for the group's fandom. It stands for "Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth."

I subscribed to their YouTube channel (along with 40 million other people), followed them on Twitter and Instagram and joined Weverse, the app they use to interact with their fans.

I started buying the band's official merchandise — t-shirts, plushies, pens and stickers — as well as magazine covers featuring the group.

Despite following  them intensely on social media, I never left a comment. I kept my newfound love of them quiet. I felt silly to be so invested. 

But hiding my fandom bothered me. If a group was giving me this much joy during a period of isolation, why shouldn't I embrace it?

Being part of fandom can be 'healthy'

According to Dr. Lynn Zubernis, I'm feeling embarrassed because society has long perceived fangirls as "frivolous and selfish." 

Zubernis, a clinical psychologist and professor at West Chester University in Pennsylvania, started studying fandoms and the psychology of being a fan after she became fixated on the television series Supernatural .

Her experiences led her to co-write a book called Fangasm: Supernatural Fangirls. 

Zubernis points out that fangirls are treated differently to fanboys or fans. She describes growing up in Philadelphia and seeing family members spend entire Sundays at Eagles games, wearing Eagles jerseys, and wanting Eagles paraphernalia for Christmas.

"That is accepted as a pretty normal thing," she said. "But when I fell in love and was just as passionate about a little genre television show on the CW, it was really not perceived in the same way.

Zubernis says that it is not nearly as acceptable for a grown woman to be a fan because it's a lot more threatening.

"There's anxiety around women saying, 'No, this is what I'm passionate about. I'm going to do what I want to do. This is what makes me happy and I'm going to do that.'" 

Zubernis says the best way to embrace the fangirl label is by battling against "internalized shame" and to recognize that "there are really healthy things that come out of fandom and being part of a fan community."

Finding community through fandom 

As I look back on my past, I think about the role fandoms have played in my life and the friends I've made along the way. 

While I was in university, I became close friends with a classmate named Alexa Huffman through our shared love of the One Direction. 

One of the highlights of our friendship included winning tickets to see the group live in concert. 

But while our love of the group has waned through the years, the memory of that event has helped us stay in touch. 

"The experience of being fangirls has kept us close because it gives us something to talk about, no matter where we are," Huffman told me recently. 

Loving BTS has also helped me connect with fellow fangirls during the pandemic, like Minnie Luangkham. 

We met last fall at a socially-distanced BTS fan event she helped organize at a Toronto cafe. 

We bonded over the fact that their songs helped us get through tough times. We quickly became friends and added each other on social media. 

"We love BTS so much and they teach people so many things — like to love yourself, and just be open and be true to who you are. And I feel like it's almost like a safe place," Luangkham said. 

We've made plans to hang out after the pandemic. It's a friendship that would have never happened without BTS. 

I realize that more than BTS itself, it's the community of fans — or BTS' ARMY — that is helping me right now. We're getting through this pandemic together.

And if that makes me a fangirl, then so be it. 

Samantha Lui is an associate producer with CBC Toronto's Metro Morning . She's also produced interviews for Cross Country Checkup, As It Happens and CBC News Network . Before joining the CBC, she interned at Hong Kong's English daily newspaper, South China Morning Post. A fangirl at heart, she spends her free time watching BTS videos on YouTube and Asian dramas. She is also holding out hope for a One Direction reunion tour one day. 

This documentary was edited by Alison Cook. 

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How Being A Fangirl Changed My Life

By Femsplain

This piece originally appeared on Femsplain.com . Femsplain is a community for everyone, powered by personal stories from anyone female-identified.

I was not always a music fangirl.

In fact, I would count 2015 as only my second year as a full-time Stan (if you don’t know what a Stan is, refer to Twitter and that one Eminem song). High school was soundtracked by pretty tame stuff, save for a few alt tunes that I discovered through NPR and kept on my iPod because their mere presence made me feel super sophisticated. But as I entered my junior year at college, and the prospect of "real life" seemed to be chasing me down with impressive speed, I relied on music. At first it was a nice form of escapism. Delving into pop-rock albums made me feel as if I was the subject of a John Hughes flick instead of a boring, normal college kid. But the more I listened, the more I figured out how the music was causing a change in me while simultaneously being its backdrop.

I was always a straight-A, preternaturally serious teenager. I didn’t go to concerts; I went to debate tournaments. I loved Banana Republic and shunned the hazy music festival summers my friends indulged in. I needed to get into a good college and get a hefty scholarship. I was way too impatient for the "quests for self discovery" that my peers sought through Death Cab and Mumford. It wasn’t until I got to college and reclaimed my inner fangirl that I realized how special it is to fall in love with bands, and bands fronted by women in particular. Haim, SZA, Angel Olsen—they all provided the soundtrack for my own change in perspective. I became disillusioned with what I used to want, and instead became enchanted with music and music enthusiasts. You can fall in love with a band quite easily if you love their fan culture as well.

I spent the better part of last August traversing the West Coast, going to Haim concerts and meeting other superfans. In the middle of a packed audience at FYF in Los Angeles, I found a cohort of twentysomething Haim fans. We took turns making Este Haim’s signature bass face and chatted about how cool it is that women can unapologetically rock. The smart, passionate, hysterically funny young women that populated the concert crowds became some of my best friends. I changed from someone who harbored a gross amount of internalized misogyny—rolling my eyes at girls in skater skirts and choker necklaces—to a champion of fangirls and everything they love.

I am by no means knowledgeable or infallible when it comes to gender issues. But the intersecting worlds of social media and social justice have opened my eyes to slights against women in music that I just can’t abide. I’m glad I’ve changed—my transition to music fangirl has helped me embrace a pro-feminism culture that accepts and encourages women of all stripes. I’m just continually frustrated that sometimes the music industry seems sluggish to adapt to its consumers’ more progressive outlook on gender. I think I’ll tear my hair out if I read one more article that attributes the entirety of a woman musician’s craft to her hyped male producer. Charli XCX ecutive produced her slam-dunk of a pop-punk album, Sucker, yet her male producers are given all too much credit for the aesthetic and ideas she so deliberately cultivated. And even when women’s involvement in making their music is left unquestioned, they are sexualized or described in the most infantilizing, condescending gendered terms. They are called "innocent," "naïve" and "soft." I have never seen the Haim sisters as anything less than ferocious in their talent and audacity. But they are coded as easy, breezy Valley girls whose luscious locks are written about more than their shredding abilities.

Change can be difficult. I don’t feel as sure or steady in what I want anymore, or what my career priorities are. I just know I want to support bands and the people that love them—particularly women in music. I owe most of this change to the fangirls who launch these bands’ careers and endlessly encourage them. They form a family of sorts—cheering from the stage barrier and then resuming their lives, striving for their own personal goals while being inspired by the band’s bigger ones. But they’re also a family that looks out for its own, and that demands change in the music industry. We need writers who respect the young women on stage and in the audience, and labels that trust women’s visions for their own work. It’s a frustrating yet worthwhile pursuit—talking to any fangirl at a festival or concert will quickly prove that to you.

—Nellie Gayle

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Fangirls rule the internet in 'Everything I Need, I Get From You'

Liam McBain

Jessica Mendoza

Quinn O'Toole

Kaitlyn Tiffany, author of Everything I Need, I Get From You: How Fangirls Shaped the Internet as We Know It. Amelia Holowaty Krales/FSG Books hide caption

Kaitlyn Tiffany, author of Everything I Need, I Get From You: How Fangirls Shaped the Internet as We Know It.

Fangirls often don't get taken seriously in pop culture. The prevailing image is a mass of screaming young women, obsessed only with proximity to the object of their devotion.

But in her new book, Everything I Need, I Get From You: How Fangirls Created the Internet as We Know It , culture reporter Kaitlyn Tiffany explores just how much fangirls have shaped online life. She talks with guest host B.A. Parker about how fans used Tumblr to transform internet culture, how being a One Direction fan enriched her own life and why fandom is more complicated than you might think.

This episode was produced by Liam McBain. It was edited by Jessica Mendoza and Quinn O'Toole. Engingeering help came from Stu Rushfield. You can follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin and email us at [email protected].

To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories

It's time we stopped treating fangirls as pop culture's favourite punchline

By Hasina Jeelani

“Why are young women screaming at a One Direction concert seen as hysterical but grown men screaming at their inanimate TVs, rioting and causing millions of dollars of damage, seen as part of being a sports fan?” writes Lucy Blakiston for Shit You Should Care About. As the founder of a pop-culture portal that commands over 3.5 million eyeballs, a day in the life of Blakiston involves curating everyday memes laced with insightful commentary on the happenings of the world. However, there is little humour in her disposition as she skewers the gender-based gatekeeping prevalent in the realm of fandoms—and, for that matter, governing who gets to call themselves a legitimate fan . “I never once thought their interest in these sports was hysterical or something to be ashamed about. My interest in One Direction, on the other hand, was seen as juvenile and embarrassing,” she challenges.

Her wrath isn’t unwarranted, given the crucial role that fangirls play in moving the levers of culture forward by sheer strength of numbers. However, historically, their self-worth has been reductively minimised to a screaming, pulsating mass of hysteria—easy target practice for the literary lampoons that deny them power in the very institutions that they have created. This isn’t to say that they are powerless. Fangirls of today can take down white supremacist hashtags by flooding them with fancams. They can sabotage a political rally by booking hundreds of tickets for seats they don't intend to use—case in point: the K-pop stans who successfully inflated attendance expectations for a Trump rally in Tulsa. If they wake up one day and put their mind to it, they can even free Britney Spears from conservatorship. The one thing they haven't been able to do is to escape the unyielding onslaught of derision and mockery.

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In an infamous essay for New Statesman , Paul Johnson scoffed, “Those who flock round the Beatles, who scream themselves into hysteria, whose vacant faces flicker over the TV screen, are the least fortunate of their generation, the dull, the idle, the failures." The article would go on to become of the most complained-about pieces in the history of the publication. And while the Beatlemaniac of yesteryear has become the Belieber of today, fangirls are yet to escape the clutches of condescension and knee-jerk ridicule.

For critic Barbara Ehrenreich, the policing of fangirls is nothing new—she credits it to a historical mandate that insists on moulding teenage girls into symbols of purity. Any subversions from the norm trigger memories of the Victorian-era idea of hysteria, a medical condition attributed to women exhibiting erratic behaviour with the “tendency to cause trouble.” In an essay in 1992, Ehrenreich observed, "To abandon control—to scream, faint, dash about in mobs—was in form, if not in conscious intent, to protest the rigid double standard of female teen culture.”

Taking a detour from the codes of patriarchy can come with dire consequences. Blakiston recalls being mortified when a video of her and her best friend screaming after securing One Direction concert tickets was broadcast at her 21st birthday party. On the other side of the globe, her experiences are mirrored by Arunima Joshua, a 27-year-old content writer. “While interning at an indie music establishment in 2015, I had been looping “Blank Space” the whole day on my earphones. But when a colleague asked me what I was listening to, I was embarrassed to admit that it was a Taylor Swift song—knowing the lighthearted, but judgmental ribbing that it would inspire.” During the singer’s reputation era of 2017, Joshua pretended to be an “ironic Swiftie” in order to continue publicly sharing her inputs on the album. It was only two album eras later, in her mid-20s, that she found herself emboldened to publicly claim her status as a devoted Swiftie.

Since the public proclamation of her fandom, she finds that she is often furnished with unsolicited, patronising recommendations to listen to an under-the-radar artiste instead. “Within the music community, fangirls of female pop stars are expected to not know enough about the technical aspects of music, and the artiste’s lyricism is further dismissed as a petulant pre-teen obsession with fairytale tropes. This does not translate for male fans of metal and hip hop genres, whose fandom lends them an air of intellect to bolster their image,” she points out.

Matisse DuPont, a Boston-based educator and gender consultant, believes that the gender-based disparities within the world of fandom exist because cishet men have largely been considered the standard in most societies. “As a consequence, their interests become the default,” they explain. “Affiliation with the fandom of men's sports is often used as leverage to gain access to spaces where men dominate and have power. Cultural tropes like the ‘cool girl’—who isn’t like other girls because she loves sports—often exist to disparage feminine interests in favour of masculinely coded ones. This also makes it impossible for women to have a vested interest in sports without becoming a part of the boys’ club.”

Today, DuPont believes that modern society continues to remain complicit in the denigration of feminine interests in order to maintain patriarchal social systems. “This comes to a crescendo when we talk about the interests of young girls—anything they like becomes vapid, trendy, over-hyped, cringe and sappy. Masculine fandoms are figured to be historical and universal, whereas feminine fandoms are seen as nothing more than a fad,” they observe.

Blakiston believes that momentum can be achieved by erasing the systemic disparity; while sports fans are assured that they can make a living out of their hobby by becoming commentators, YouTube influencers or fantasy gaming pros, a boy band fangirl is made to believe that the skills she is learning aren’t legitimate. “This couldn’t be further from the truth because being a fangirl can help you learn valuable skills that are transferable in the real world. Take your pick: website, blog and forum building, community management, Photoshop skills, video editing, writing and editing—fanfic writers, I see you—as well as mobilising and organising.” She believes that the blueprint for the latter can be found with the Indian BTS ARMY that mobilised to raise a whopping two million rupees within 24 hours during the devastating second wave of the pandemic that gripped the nation in April. “It’s no wonder that there’s a confidence gap between men and women at the workplace because it’s so hard to recognise our skills when we keep being told that our motive for learning them is something to be ashamed of,” she ponders.

So can the fangirl ever be freed from this censure and cultural conservatorship? Joshua has cause to believe that the advent of internet culture could be the turning point for the plight of the modern fangirl, with meme pages—such as Blakiston’s Shit You Should Care About—as well as a slew of other femme-identifying popular culture accounts validating and celebrating them. “They also regularly call out the high-handed attitudes of largely masculine pop culture fandoms that gatekeep music and bands. Even if they’re just memes, their thought-shifting impact endures beyond the screen,” she says.

At the end of the day, she sums up the impact of the fangirl with a famously cited quote: “The greatest musical act since the advent of mass media would have just been four scrawny boys from Liverpool, if it hadn’t been for the hordes of screaming teen fangirls on American shores that kicked off the legendary Beatlemania—those thousands of young women created the world’s first pop music stars.” But hey, it’s probably just the hysteria.

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Home » Blog » The Art of Being a Fan: How Fan Culture Affects Mental Health Topic: FAN CULTURE AND MENTAL HEALTH

The Art of Being a Fan: How Fan Culture Affects Mental Health Topic: FAN CULTURE AND MENTAL HEALTH

Writer/s: Marie Nicole Ingrid Lusterio, Jasmin Cyrille Researcher: Marie Nicole Ingrid Lusterio, Jasmin Cyrille Editor: Richardson dR Mojica Graphics: Billie Fuentes, Jacklyn Moral, Krystle Mae Labio Tweet Chat Moderators: Richardson Mojica Tobey Fhar Isaac Calayo Spaces Moderators: 

Are you a fan of something? Is it a book series that you really like? K-drama? Actors? Artists? Music? We are all fans of something at one point in our lives, and many might relate when we say that being a “fan” is probably one of our most extraordinary eras in life. Being unconditionally happy because of something or someone is a different experience. They said being a fangirl is a wild ride. It’s like stepping into a different world, knowing different people, and experiencing different emotions all at the same time. 

With the age of technology, the widespread use of social media intensified the fan culture across the globe. It started to conquer social platforms with Western idols, Korean waves, Japanese anime, Filipino love teams, and many more. Because of these, fandoms are created and expanded. It paved the way to create spaces on the internet for fandoms to express their support for their respective chosen entertainment (Napier, 2006). 

Being a Fangirl/Fanboy 

On the surface, we can define “fans” as people who like particular stuff. Inverse interpreted “fans” as audiences that construct their own culture [10]. Being a fan allows us to also discover ourselves more:

• Self-understanding – We can get a greater understanding of our emotions, actions, and motivations by engaging with other fans and relating to the people we idolize [11].
• Self-expression – For some people who may not identify with typical “social norms,” fandom or being a fan provides a safe place where “weirdness” is not only welcomed but celebrated [11].
• Self-creativity – being a fan gives us the inspiration to create and foster art in many forms to express love and joy over the people or things we like. This gives us the opportunity to discover ourselves more.

Being in a Fandom

Fandoms are formed by a group of people who admire and support a certain popular culture. With the help of their idols, different people are connected and gathered with common and shared interests. Consequently, many friendships were strengthened and built by stanning celebrities. The networks of different fandoms expressed this sense of belongingness as they welcomed everyone to their group. Psychotherapist and psychology professor at Columbia University, Dr. Laurel Steinberg, explained the positive effects of belonging to fandoms on individuals’ socioemotional health. The connection and family-like will produce this feeling of security and will help the fans to establish this sense of purpose. Additionally, it is healthy for an individual to engage in activities that will make her/him move, think, and interact [5]

Beyond cheerings, kiligs , and happiness, the stan culture expands its definition and influence among its fans. Through the great influence of their idols, their fandoms are dedicated to giving philanthropic causes, from donating monetary assistance to providing help with humanitarian hands to the marginalized section of society. To address their idols’ advocacy and promote their campaigns, different fandoms make efforts to offer help to the world [1]

Being a Groupie – effects of fan culture on mental health such as positivity, happiness (emotions), coping mechanism 

Being a fan allows us to love someone or something without conditions and rejoice over the little things. It gives us chance to have fun and be happy with a community that connects to us with the same feelings. 

However, just like many things, being a fan has its limits. Obsession and true ardor are two different things. Obsession generally interferes with one’s quality of life and confuses fiction with reality. The difference isn’t necessarily who is more passionate; rather, it’s whether or not people can maintain healthy boundaries while supporting and being overly obsessed that we perceive fiction as reality [12]. In the K-Pop fandom community, this kind of fan is called a “sasaeng ”. Sasaeng is defined as an obsessive fan who stalks or engages in other behavior constituting an invasion of the privacy of celebrities. When becoming a fan we should also make sure we keep appropriate boundaries for both ourselves and the individuals we admire [13].

PRE-ACTIVITY SESSION: 

What fandom/s do you belong to? 

Ex: EXO-L, Blinks, Potterheads, DonBelle, A’Tin 

GUIDE QUESTIONS:

• What made you a fan of something/someone? What changed when you became a fan?
• How did fandom/fan community engagement help you? 
• How do we maintain healthy boundaries as a fan?

POST-ACTIVITY SESSION: 

Share your unforgettable and happy fan stories with us. 

REFERENCE: 

• De Cartagena, A. (November, 2021). Beyond Just Stanning, See How These Filipino Fandoms Have Been Giving Back.   Nylon: Pop Culture. https://nylonmanila.com/stanning-filipino-fandoms-giving-back/
• Jang, W. & Song, J. E. (2017). The Influences of K-pop Fandom on Increasing Cultural Contact [Thesis, University of Seoul]. National Research Foundation of Korea. https://barnettcenter.osu.edu/sites/default/files/2019-08/the_influences_of_k-pop_fandom.pdf
• Liao, Z. (2021). Fan Culture under the Influence of Media Development . Open Journal of Social Sciences, 9, 88-93. https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=113688
• Steig, C. (August, 2019). Stanning A Celeb Or TV Show Can Be Fun. But Is It Good For Your Mental Health? Refinery29. https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/08/233262/fandom-mental-health-effects
• Wiest, B. (July, 2017). Psychologists Say That Belonging To A Fandom Is Amazing For Your Mental Health . Teen Vogue. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/psychologists-say-fandoms-are-amazing-for-your-mental-health
• Hrebenak, M. (n.d.). Supernatural: The Power of Fandom for Mental Health. Progressive Counseling Services. https://www.meredithlpc.com/blog/mental-health-and-fandom
• Inverse. (October, 2015). SCIENCE EXPLAINS: WHY BEING A FAN IS GOOD FOR YOU . https://www.inverse.com/article/7120-science-explains-why-being-a-fan-is-good-for-you
• Vinney, C. (June 2022). What Is the Effect of Long-Term Fandom? VeryWellMind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-effect-of-long-term-fandom-5296129
• Napier, S. (2006). The World of Anime Fandom in America . Mechademia, 1(1), 47–63. doi:10.1353/mec.0.0072
• Sloat, S. (2015, October 16). Science Explains. . . Why Being a Fan Is Good for You. Inverse. https://www.inverse.com/article/7120-science-explains-why-being-a-fan-is-good-for-you
• Hrebenak, M. M. S. (2020, November 16). Supernatural: The Power of Fandom for Mental Health . Progressive Counseling Services. https://www.meredithlpc.com/blog/mental-health-and-fandom
• Wiest, B. (2017, July 20). Psychologists Say That Belonging To A Fandom Is Amazing For Your Menta . Teen Vogue. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/psychologists-say-fandoms-are-amazing-for-your-mental-health
• Sasaeng fan . (n.d.). Google Arts & Culture. https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/sasaeng-fan/m0lqhnn1?hl=en

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Here’s Your Guide to Healthy Fangirling

You can listen to the audio version of this article.

All of us, at some point in our lives, became a fan of either an actor, singer, dancer, writer, band or whoever catches our attention, that came to a point where we idolised them. At present, it has become so much easier to become a fan and, with the help of different social media platforms, it is easier to follow every step of our biases. Due to this easy access to following our idol’s life, when does this habit of being a fan become healthy or even unhealthy at some point?

Perks of being a fangirl

• Our idols inspire us to get through the day whether we are having a rough day or not, our idols inspire us as we wake up every morning.
• Being a fan lessens the dullness and boredom of our lives.
• You give yourself a chance to know a new set of friends being in the same fandom through creating strong support systems and feelings of affirmation, also being connected to people who shared the same interest and passion is good for mental health.
• Being a fangirl is beneficial to mental health, it helps to build a sense of identity, empowering self-determination , and the feeling of belongingness to a collective community.
• Fandoms help to find solace in flickering emotions and scattered sensibilities.

Unhealthy aspects of being a fangirl

• Please make sure that being a fan won’t ever turn into an obsession .
• The displacement of our hopes and fears for our relationships can settle onto these idols.
• Sometimes, being a fan is our scapegoat from reality, which makes us look differently at what is in our life to face and deal with.
• Being a fangirl consumes most of your time and, at worst, consumes most of your life, if you can’t handle it.
• The thing with being a part of fandoms is that they gradually evolve from an intricately woven fantasy to a world that flawlessly outshines every aspect of the real world we live in.

The problem with this fandom is that, be it friendship or a romantic relationship, pop culture paints a picture that depicts an idealised scenario that we often unknowingly try to achieve. Millennials tend to compare their relationships to this so-called ideal scenario. The unrealistic expectations that we have of people eventually drain us completely.

Fandoms do generally offer a sense of belonging and community that many teens struggle to feel deeply connected to, simply because we learn best when we enjoy what we’re doing. The sense of belongingness that the fandom brought to fans brings a great deal to our mental and emotional health. Being a fan serves as a dessert into our routinary life.

Setting limitations is the key to a healthy fangirling. Do not forget that we also have our personal life to handle, dealing with reality will be forever our main focus in life, being a fan is just adding colours to our life. Do not let fangirling get in your way of finding your real life, but it can be an inspiration to life . Snap out of your daydreaming and get a life outside being a fan, reality is always where we belong.

Dina Relojo is the social media manager of Psychreg. She is a teacher from the Philippines.

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BACKSTREET BOYS ISN'T JUST A BAND. IT'S A LIFESTYLE.

Introduction – The Art of Fangirling

Oxford Dictionary

fan·girl          /ˈfanɡərl/           

• a female fan, especially one who is obsessive about comics, movies, music, or science fiction.

“your average fangirl, despite the implication of the name, is a grown-up”

• (of a female fan) behave in an obsessive or overexcited way.

“I’m still fangirling over this casting”

Urban Dictionary

• A rabid breed of human female who is obsessed with either a fictional character or an actor. Similar to the breed of fanboy. Fangirls congregate at anime conventions and LiveJournal. Have been known to glomp, grope, and tackle when encountering said obsessions. Hugh Jackman:   ‘ello. Fangirl:   SQUEEEEEE! *immediately attaches to Jackman’s leg* Jackman:   Security! 
• Girls who are fanatical about a particular person, group of people, or idea.”The rock star was flooded with fangirls.”

So, what is a fangirl?

A fangirl can be your typical teenager who buys teenybopper magazines for posters of BTS. A fangirl can be your college student who still loves that band that won her heart when she was a little girl. A fangirl can be an adult with a job and life who loves an artist, movie franchise, group, or sports star with all of her heart.

Kathleen Smith, who wrote “ The Fangirl   Life” said, “A fangirl is simply a lady fan.”

You can’t get much simpler than that.

Being a fangirl has come with a bad connotation over the years. For instance, that Urban Dictionary description above. Rabid breed. Obsessed. Grope. Tackle.

That’s not what a fangirl really is.

Being a fangirl to me, means to not only be able to vibe or enjoy the music your favorite artist releases, but to also feel connected to other fans through music and social media! I’ve been a fangirl for about 10 years, and I have been able to connect and meet with so many people! Being a fangirl is being supportive and helping others and lastly, it doesn’t mean who has the most money to go to all the shows it’s the ones that support the artists through streaming! Alexis, 20, North Carolina, US

Hannah Ewens wrote in “ Fangirls ,” “They’re the ones at the helm of fan practices that the public have a vague awareness of: Tweeting their favorite artist incessantly, writing fan fiction, religiously updating devoted social media profiles, buying ‘meet-and-greet’ tickets and following the band around to various shows.”

That’s who fangirls are. And there should be no shame in being a fangirl. 

Where did the term come from?

Some believe the word “fan” comes from the word “fanatic,” which is derived from the Latin word   fanaticus,   meaning “insanely but divinely inspired. It pertained to a temple or special place, which, if you think of it, kind of makes sense. As a fan, our fandom is our special place.

It is also said that the word “fan” comes from the word “fancy.” For example, “Do you fancy that guy?” It means that you really like something and even dates back to 1545. Saying that “fan” came from “fancy” does sound a little less dramatic. They believe the modern term came around the 19 th   century according to   EtymOnline.com .

“I fancy Nick Carter” back then would now be, “I am totally a Nick Carter fangirl.”

Being a fan girl means not just being an obvious fan of the boys and supporting their endeavors. To me it also means being part of a community of fans who support and encourage each other like family. I can’t think of being a fangirl and not think of experiences related to the boys that I have been able to share with dear friends! It makes being a fangirl that much more special.  Miranda, 43, Alabama, US

Types of Fangirls

When it comes to boy bands, Backstreet Boys, New Kids on the Block, 98 Degrees, Boyz II Men, Take That, and every other boy band from the 90s and early 2000s fans are usually in their 20s or older. The vast majority are what one would call an adult fangirl, or professional fangirl. Even the Jonas Brothers fans are now adults who, for the most part, pay their own bills, or are in college.

Wherever you look, you will always see various types of fangirls. Some websites list them out, from calling one “The Banshee” to “The Crier.” I could possibly come up with my own list of different type of fangirls, but I won’t get into that right now. The girls over at   Fangirls Night Out   did a pretty good job, especially when it relates back to musicians.

You may find yourself relating to more than one type of fangirl and that’s okay. I’m several of them all put together in a crazy, spirally ribbon bow.

We will be discussing this all more in-depth during a future “class.” 

Being a fangirl is an escape from reality and it is also being the truest version of myself all at the same time. It’s a feeling of weightlessness in a world determined to sink me. It’s dancing in confetti, staying up all night, traveling the world, smiling until my cheeks hurt and living without regret because I absolutely bought that concert ticket. Being a fangirl means making memories I’ll never forget with friends who have become my family. Jenni, 39, North Carolina

What is the Art of Fangirling?

The art of fangirling is quite simple – have fun. If you’re a fangirl and you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong. Something about your fangirling ways is not working because that’s what being a fangirl really is. It’s having fun, loving whatever it is that you’re a fangirl of. It’s about being with your fellow fangirl friends. It’s about

People won’t always take us seriously and that’s okay. They think all fangirls are 15-year-old girls, but that’s not how it is at all. Even Harry Styles thinks so.

Harry   spoke to Rolling Stone   in 2019 and gave his opinion on fangirls:

“They’re the most honest — especially if you’re talking about teenage girls, but older as well,” he said. “They have that bullshit detector. You want honest people as your audience. We’re so past that dumb outdated narrative of ‘Oh, these people are girls, so they don’t know what they’re talking about.’ They’re the ones who know what they’re talking about. They’re the people who listen obsessively. They fucking own this shit. They’re running it.”

Then you have fangirls like the girls at   Fangirls Night Out . They are all involved in marketing and they have incorporated pop culture in their branding for personal endeavors and joint projects.

Many fangirls have begun their careers by writing fan fiction and have moved into normal fiction, even getting published and movies made from their books. (“After” was originally a Harry Styles fan fiction, and the “Fifty Shades of Grey” series was originally a “Twilight” fan fiction.) We will get more into fan fiction later in another class.

Fangirl Reads & Watches

• “The Fangirl Life” by Kathleen Smith.   The book was released in 2016 and its tagline is “A guide to all the feels and learning how to deal.” Kathleen is a therapist – her twitter account is   @FangirlTherapy   – and discusses all things fangirls while putting a spin on it that could help someone who is having a difficult time or for someone who wonders if there are more people like her out in the world and yes, there is. There are fangirls everywhere.
• “Fangirls” by Hannah Ewens.   “Fangirls” is a book by British writer Hannah that not only talks about the fandom-type fangirls, but fangirls in general. Whether it’s people who love Courtney Love or a girl from Georgia that loves the Backstreet Boys (*looks around*), she looks at all aspects. (Warning: I was interviewed for the book.)
• “I Used To Be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story”   This documentary was filmed by two Australian filmmakers over the span of a few years where they focus on a One Direction fan, a Backstreet Boys fan (a friend of mine!), a Take That fan, and a fan of The Beatles. You never really know how much you relate to other people until you watch something like this. (I get a special thank you in the credits.)

It means everything. Backstreet Boys mean everything to me. I’ve been a fan since the start I suffer from depression and an anxiety disorder. Listening to them helps me get though. Sofia, 35, UK

Other Fangirl Reads:

• When Fangirling Turns Toxic (+ What To Do When it Does!)
• My transformation into a full-fledge fangirl
• Dear all boy band fangirls, you need to read this book…
• Review: “I Used To Be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story” hits so close to home, my wig is snatched
• Thoughts: Have I gotten too old to be that kind of fangirl?

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• Australia edition
• Europe edition

I used to be ashamed of being a fangirl. Now I see how joyous and creative it was

Lady Gaga was my idol, but I didn’t dare tell anyone. Now a new wave of books and films shows us why female obsession is such an important part of growing up

I t’s the summer of 2009. The sun is offering the bare minimum for June, but I have my back to the window, methodically typing out a letter to Lady Gaga . The two-page-long document is full of personal details and intimate thoughts, such as the worry I’ll never feel good enough or fit in at school. I pour my heart out to her and swim in the subsequent dopamine hits of a perfect one-way relationship.

I never told anyone about my love for Lady Gaga due to the shame of looking like an over-obsessive fangirl. While there’s now a cultural roadmap for teen girls idolising their favourite boybands, back then I had no idea how to showcase my obsession without looking unhinged.

But, thankfully, I have learned to revel in what it means to be truly consumed by pop culture, thanks to a wave of literature exploring exactly that dynamic. A handful of books, documentaries, films and memoirs are celebrating the fizzy, dizzying heights of female obsession and what it offers teen girls and women. Writers and academics are pushing back against the lazy stereotype of the frivolous, gullible, hysterical teenage girl and giving her a more nuanced backstory.

Part of this wave of insights comes from former obsessive girls writing about their own lived experiences. Journalist Kaitlyn Tiffany was once a screaming One Direction fan, and her book ( Everything I Need I Get From You: How Fangirls Created the Internet as We Know It ) investigates how fangirls not only catapulted the boyband from X-Factor failure to international stars, but simultaneously shaped the internet. There’s also journalist Maria Sherman’s celebration of female fandom, L arger Than Life: A History of Boy Bands from NKOTB to BTS , the basis for a documentary directed by Gia Coppola , Superfans: Screaming. Crying. Throwing up . Meanwhile, the Pixar film, Turning Red , follows 13-year-old Mei Lee’s adoration of 4*Town, a cartoonishly gorgeous boyband. Female obsession is being reclaimed, showing it can be joyous, offering emotional support to countless women growing up – and I’m one of them.

“Teen girls are viewed as too much – as too emotional, too passionate, too invested, too expressive,” says Dr Briony Hannell , a sociologist at Sheffield University and an expert on fan culture. “By virtue of their age and their gender, [obsessive girls] are routinely subject to many of the most negative and damaging stereotypes about fans – that they are hysterical, excessive and hypersexual.” It’s not that teen girls are devoid of sexuality – my own, regrettable, infatuation with Justin Timberlake at the age of 15 would never have happened if this were the case – but society has built an absurd caricature of teenage girls who idolise musicians as irrational and unruly. In reality, at least for me, this alleged transgression saw me playing Timberlake’s music videos on repeat before lessons. In hindsight this was possibly the most earnest way to simultaneously fancy and appreciate someone – by simply enjoying the work they put out.

The assumption that screaming girls at a One Direction concert were mentally undressing the band is a one-dimensional perception. It erases the LGBTQ+ voices within the group who enjoy the welcoming community that exists when you love the same thing. For many people, there is a camaraderie and trust built from obsessing over the same person or thing and these communities can be a key way to explore gender identity or sexuality, as they find people going through the same experiences.

There has been little effort to look beyond these narrow tropes, because “girlhood and teenage life has not historically been seen as having any kind of a value or direction”, says Dr Ysabel Gerrard , a lecturer in digital media and society at Sheffield University.

Instead, young girls’ obsessions are reduced to: “Harry Styles/Robert Pattinson is so hot; I will buy whatever he sells.” The assumption is that sexual attraction to these figures robs teenagers of objectivity and taste. Unsurprisingly, many young girls internalise “these derogatory, sexist stereotypes” and feel a sense of shame around their obsessions, despite the importance of them to their daily life and their sense of self, says Hannell.

By contrast, boys and men may be afforded more nuance in their obsessions – but there are still large barriers to how they can experience them. “The difference comes from much longer-standing norms around what people are allowed to do,” says Gerrard. “There is a comparison between football and boybands,” which have a similar level of “emotional investment”, but the response men have towards sports is more socially acceptable.

“Being a teenager is a rich environment for obsession, which I think is lost sometimes in the flat description of obsessive fangirls,” says Tiffany. Bedroom culture is a particularly enjoyable example of this. “It was a girl-focused form of subculture during the 90s, which included sitting in your bedroom, clipping things out of magazines, or doodling, writing in a diary, lip-syncing, listening to your CD player.” Girls are often reduced to simply being hormonal and running after “cute” boys, though within the four walls of their bedroom they might be creating installations and regurgitating inspiration in countless formats, from glitter-adorned photographs to handmade cushions.

The reality is that many obsessive teenage girls possess a level of creativity and self-expression akin to Gaga. They harbour huge creative potential, says Hannell. This might be expressed through the creation of artwork, writing and distributing fan fiction, or developing technically sophisticated fan videos or websites dedicated to what they love. Fangirls routinely deliver huge fanfiction narratives within weeks.

During my own obsession, I carefully papier-mâchéd an eye mask, sticking on mirrored pieces of card, to replicate one of Gaga’s Pokerface accessories in the run-up to her Birmingham concert. I have no doubt it was more Poundland than Picasso but, more than a decade on, I look back with awe at the effortless, joyful way I assembled it.

Tiffany argues that obsessive girls have informed a huge portion of online culture, such as “the totality of Twitter discourse. The emotional balance of Twitter is like, someone is either a hero or a villain,” she says. Any moment, political, humorous or serious, can become a meme with everyone declaring they are either a fan or against the characters involved. It’s now normal for people to respond to a viral TikTok or interview during an election with “I’m a fan”.

Even the gif – the short animation or moving image routinely re-shared on social media – originated on the Tumblr blogs of countless teenage fangirls, who developed it alongside new languages to declare their fandom. “This is something that is now so ordinary and routine in daily digital life, yet it owes much to the creativity and passion of ‘obsessed’ teen girls and their fannish interests,” says Hannell.

Obsessive girls are political, too. They “can lend their weight to causes they believe in and in turn make them super visible,” says Tiffany, pointing to the 2015 rise of Milifandom . The viral hashtag started by 17-year-old student Abby Tomlinson created a fanbase for the then Labour leader Ed Miliband in rapid-time and engaged a generation of young voters. These communities realised what was needed to make a message trend and for tweets to go viral – passing a message around densely connected networks and amplifying one another within it. Today, businesses and political parties attempt to replicate this format, one that most teen girls could do in seconds.

“That’s now how everyone, including political activists, understands how to achieve internet virality, and fans were really the first group of people who were attempting to do that, who even thought to use Twitter in that way,” says Tiffany.

As a former obsessive teenage girl, seeing this electric cultural shift is redemptive. I’m under no illusions that the stereotypes that existed a decade ago have immediately disappeared, but it’s also heartwarming to see obsessive women wearing this status like a gigantic neon sign. It’s also joyous to see younger girls surrounded by media that depicts the effervescent joy of obsession. Maybe they’ll want to scream about their passions, too.

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The life of a fangirl is hard. Everyone should admire our dedication.

Friday, October 7, 2016

My experience of being a kpop fangirl.

2 comments:

Great job for standing your fangirl flag. I can pretty much relate to you, though. I'm a fanboy myself, but not with KPop. Though I have idolized some groups (I also have my bias), I'm not as avid as you are. Back when I was a teen, I'm a huge fan of the Jonas Brothers, Green Day, and Taylor Swift. But now, I still am a fan but with reserved and controlled emotions. However, if I see any of my idols one day on the street or even in the elevator, I might unleash my inner fanboy.

So hi there! thanks for this wonderful speech and yeah as i see you're an army .. this helped me a lot because my English teacher asked me to write a speech about being a fan girl so do you mind if i'll get this as an inspiration or reference something?

Fandom & Feminism: The Power of Being A Fangirl

Feminism. We’ve heard the term used repeatedly in politics and popular culture. What does it truly mean? By definition, feminism is “the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes.” With that in mind, it should simplify it to one word: equal. However, we’ve learned over the years that it can never be that one-dimensional. With equality comes power and self-assurance. For some of us, we find that in our passions. What happens when those passions are discredited or even mocked? What can we do to take that power back?

The Stigma of the Fangirl

If one of your passions is being a fangirl, you may have found yourself on the wrong end of various conversations. You may have felt as though many were talking down to you, judging you, or trying to make you feel ashamed of your hobbies. In a sense, it takes away that power and self-assurance that being a fangirl can really bring. 

However, being part of a fandom can be extremely empowering. You are connecting with others who share a common interest and through social media or going to live events, you can form friendships and find a community. Then why does it seem so stigmatising to look someone in the eye and say, “I’m a fangirl!” Oftentimes, fangirls are seen as crazy, obsessed, or immature. Did you know that some even want to call us unwell?

Have you heard of Celebrity Worship Syndrome? We hadn’t either until it came across our FYP. According to the Newport Academy, CWS is an obsessive-addictive disorder in which an individual becomes excessively focused on the details of a celebrity. This study even broke the syndrome down into three different subtypes: Entertainment-social, Intense-Personal, and Borderline-Pathological. (“Connection Between Celebrity Worship Syndrome & Teen Mental Health”) 

While we’ll never discredit a psychiatrist’s work, it feels rather dehumanising to think of it through this one perspective. It takes something like creating a fan page, which many do to show admiration for their favourite artist, connect with other fans, or express their creativity through things like fan art, and villanizes it using polarizing terms. It diminishes the term “fangirl” into something to be seen as twisted or lesser-than, when in reality – fangirls have more power than even they know. 

Our Fangirl Powers

You may be asking, how does this tie into feminism? Being a fangirl reflects elements of representation, and creativity, and sheds light on female voices in popular culture. We’ll give you an example. What draws us to the media we consume? Relatability. When we can see ourselves or our story in movies, television shows, or song lyrics we’re going to form a stronger connection. 

Whether it be about heartbreak, romance, or even loving ourselves – we’re represented in a world that typically overlooks us. Artists like Taylor Swift and blockbuster movies (Barbie, we’re looking at you) give us authentic portrayals of women, discuss real-life issues, and allow us to show our sensitivity that might typically be seen as weak or fragile. That is power. What we do with that power is even more special. 

Along with that stigma comes the stereotype; they go hand-in-hand. On the surface, many may perceive it as shallow, mindless, or juvenile. What they don’t see is the critical engagement we have with entertainment and media. We have the ability to dig further than a plot line or a single lyric and find a deeper message. We can find excitement in what others might see as mundane. Most of all, we can bring empathy and compassion to a world that doesn’t show it to us. 

By making these analyses and talking about them on social media platforms we can create change. We can demand attention to topics that affect us every single day. We can draw attention to the lack of diversity, to the objectification of women, or to the silencing of our voices. In media where women are dismissed or portrayed negatively, we can use our “little fan pages” to create discourse around the injustices and misinterpretations of the womanly experience. Pretty cool, right? We think so. 

That’s why this may seem a little biased, but to us being a fangirl is a beautiful thing. Not only can we make a powerful impact on the world by continuing our fight against misogyny and misrepresentation… but it’s downright fun! It brings us joy in the darkness. It gives us a sense of belonging and allows us to show sides of us we might otherwise be afraid to. Being a fangirl helps shape popular culture and is an important part of the entertainment industry. 

So, we say: don’t be afraid to be you. Go out and shine. Scream about your favourite artists and bands on social media. Buy the merch. Get the tickets – even if you have to fight Ticketmaster! Own being a fangirl and be ready to play a part in changing the world.  

Music Journalist, poet, cat mom, and professional concertgoer

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An NPR editor who wrote a critical essay on the company has resigned after being suspended

N EW YORK (AP) — A National Public Radio editor who wrote an essay criticizing his employer for promoting liberal views resigned on Wednesday, attacking NPR's new CEO on the way out.

Uri Berliner, a senior editor on NPR's business desk, posted his resignation letter on X, formerly Twitter, a day after it was revealed that he had been suspended for five days for violating company rules about outside work done without permission.

“I cannot work in a newsroom where I am disparaged by a new CEO whose divisive views confirm the very problems” written about in his essay, Berliner said in his resignation letter.

Katherine Maher, a former tech executive appointed in January as NPR’s chief executive, has been criticized by conservative activists for social media messages that disparaged former President Donald Trump. The messages predated her hiring at NPR.

NPR’s public relations chief said the organization does not comment on individual personnel matters.

The suspension and subsequent resignation highlight the delicate balance that many U.S. news organizations and their editorial employees face. On one hand, as journalists striving to produce unbiased news, they're not supposed to comment on contentious public issues; on the other, many journalists consider it their duty to critique their own organizations' approaches to journalism when needed.

In his essay , written for the online Free Press site, Berliner said NPR is dominated by liberals and no longer has an open-minded spirit. He traced the change to coverage of Trump's presidency.

“There's an unspoken consensus about the stories we should pursue and how they should be framed,” he wrote. “It's frictionless — one story after another about instances of supposed racism, transphobia, signs of the climate apocalypse, Israel doing something bad and the dire threat of Republican policies. It's almost like an assembly line.”

He said he'd brought up his concerns internally and no changes had been made, making him “a visible wrong-thinker at a place I love.”

In the essay's wake, NPR top editorial executive, Edith Chapin, said leadership strongly disagreed with Berliner's assessment of the outlet's journalism and the way it went about its work.

It's not clear what Berliner was referring to when he talked about disparagement by Maher. In a lengthy memo to staff members last week, she wrote: “Asking a question about whether we're living up to our mission should always be fair game: after all, journalism is nothing if not hard questions. Questioning whether our people are serving their mission with integrity, based on little more than the recognition of their identity, is profoundly disrespectful, hurtful and demeaning.”

Conservative activist Christopher Rufo revealed some of Maher's past tweets after the essay was published. In one tweet, dated January 2018, Maher wrote that “Donald Trump is a racist.” A post just before the 2020 election pictured her in a Biden campaign hat.

In response, an NPR spokeswoman said Maher, years before she joined the radio network, was exercising her right to express herself. She is not involved in editorial decisions at NPR, the network said.

The issue is an example of what can happen when business executives, instead of journalists, are appointed to roles overseeing news organizations: they find themselves scrutinized for signs of bias in ways they hadn’t been before. Recently, NBC Universal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde has been criticized for service on paid corporate boards.

Maher is the former head of the Wikimedia Foundation. NPR's own story about the 40-year-old executive's appointment in January noted that she “has never worked directly in journalism or at a news organization.”

In his resignation letter, Berliner said that he did not support any efforts to strip NPR of public funding. “I respect the integrity of my colleagues and wish for NPR to thrive and do important journalism,” he wrote.

David Bauder writes about media for The Associated Press. Follow him at http://twitter.com/dbauder

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An NPR editor who wrote a critical essay on the company has resigned after being suspended

FILE - The headquarters for National Public Radio (NPR) stands on North Capitol Street on April 15, 2013, in Washington. A National Public Radio editor who wrote an essay criticizing his employer for promoting liberal reviews resigned on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, a day after it was revealed that he had been suspended. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

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NEW YORK (AP) — A National Public Radio editor who wrote an essay criticizing his employer for promoting liberal views resigned on Wednesday, attacking NPR’s new CEO on the way out.

Uri Berliner, a senior editor on NPR’s business desk, posted his resignation letter on X, formerly Twitter, a day after it was revealed that he had been suspended for five days for violating company rules about outside work done without permission.

“I cannot work in a newsroom where I am disparaged by a new CEO whose divisive views confirm the very problems” written about in his essay, Berliner said in his resignation letter.

Katherine Maher, a former tech executive appointed in January as NPR’s chief executive, has been criticized by conservative activists for social media messages that disparaged former President Donald Trump. The messages predated her hiring at NPR.

NPR’s public relations chief said the organization does not comment on individual personnel matters.

The suspension and subsequent resignation highlight the delicate balance that many U.S. news organizations and their editorial employees face. On one hand, as journalists striving to produce unbiased news, they’re not supposed to comment on contentious public issues; on the other, many journalists consider it their duty to critique their own organizations’ approaches to journalism when needed.

In his essay , written for the online Free Press site, Berliner said NPR is dominated by liberals and no longer has an open-minded spirit. He traced the change to coverage of Trump’s presidency.

“There’s an unspoken consensus about the stories we should pursue and how they should be framed,” he wrote. “It’s frictionless — one story after another about instances of supposed racism, transphobia, signs of the climate apocalypse, Israel doing something bad and the dire threat of Republican policies. It’s almost like an assembly line.”

He said he’d brought up his concerns internally and no changes had been made, making him “a visible wrong-thinker at a place I love.”

In the essay’s wake, NPR top editorial executive, Edith Chapin, said leadership strongly disagreed with Berliner’s assessment of the outlet’s journalism and the way it went about its work.

It’s not clear what Berliner was referring to when he talked about disparagement by Maher. In a lengthy memo to staff members last week, she wrote: “Asking a question about whether we’re living up to our mission should always be fair game: after all, journalism is nothing if not hard questions. Questioning whether our people are serving their mission with integrity, based on little more than the recognition of their identity, is profoundly disrespectful, hurtful and demeaning.”

Conservative activist Christopher Rufo revealed some of Maher’s past tweets after the essay was published. In one tweet, dated January 2018, Maher wrote that “Donald Trump is a racist.” A post just before the 2020 election pictured her in a Biden campaign hat.

In response, an NPR spokeswoman said Maher, years before she joined the radio network, was exercising her right to express herself. She is not involved in editorial decisions at NPR, the network said.

The issue is an example of what can happen when business executives, instead of journalists, are appointed to roles overseeing news organizations: they find themselves scrutinized for signs of bias in ways they hadn’t been before. Recently, NBC Universal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde has been criticized for service on paid corporate boards.

Maher is the former head of the Wikimedia Foundation. NPR’s own story about the 40-year-old executive’s appointment in January noted that she “has never worked directly in journalism or at a news organization.”

In his resignation letter, Berliner said that he did not support any efforts to strip NPR of public funding. “I respect the integrity of my colleagues and wish for NPR to thrive and do important journalism,” he wrote.

David Bauder writes about media for The Associated Press. Follow him at http://twitter.com/dbauder

Turmoil at NPR after editor rips network for political bias

The public radio network is being targeted by conservative activists over the editor’s essay, which many staffers say is misleading and inaccurate.

Uri Berliner had worked at NPR for a quarter-century when he wrote the essay that would abruptly end his tenure. On April 9, the Free Press published 3,500 words from Berliner, a senior business editor, about how the public radio network is guilty of journalistic malpractice — for conforming to a politically liberal worldview at the expense of fairness and accuracy.

“It’s true NPR has always had a liberal bent, but during most of my tenure here, an open-minded, curious culture prevailed,” Berliner wrote. “We were nerdy, but not knee-jerk, activist, or scolding. In recent years, however, that has changed.”

The essay, whose arguments were disputed by NPR management and many staffers, plunged the network into a week-long public controversy.

Last week NPR’s new CEO, Katherine Maher, indirectly referenced Berliner’s essay in a note to staff that NPR also published online. “Asking a question about whether we’re living up to our mission should always be fair game: after all, journalism is nothing if not hard questions,” she wrote. “Questioning whether our people are serving our mission with integrity, based on little more than the recognition of their identity, is profoundly disrespectful, hurtful, and demeaning.”

The drama reached a pinnacle Wednesday, when Berliner resigned while taking a shot at Maher.

In his resignation letter, Berliner called NPR “a great American institution” that should not be defunded. “I respect the integrity of my colleagues and wish for NPR to thrive and do important journalism,” he wrote in the letter, posted on his X account. “But I cannot work in a newsroom where I am disparaged by a new CEO whose divisive views confirm the very problems I cite in my Free Press essay.”

Berliner’s comments have angered many of his now-former colleagues, who dismissed as inaccurate his depiction of their workplace and who say his faulty criticisms have been weaponized against them.

Berliner’s essay is titled “ I’ve Been at NPR for 25 Years. Here’s How We Lost America’s Trust .” On its face, it seemed to confirm the worst suspicions held by NPR’s critics on the right: that the legendary media organization had an ideological, progressive agenda that dictates its journalism. The Free Press is an online publication started by journalist Bari Weiss, whose own resignation from the New York Times in 2020 was used by conservative politicians as evidence that the Times stifled certain ideas and ideologies; Weiss accused the Times of catering to a rigid, politically left-leaning worldview and of refusing to defend her against online “bullies” when she expressed views to the contrary. Berliner’s essay was accompanied by several glossy portraits and a nearly hour-long podcast interview with Weiss. He also went on NewsNation, where the host Chris Cuomo — who had been cast out from CNN for crossing ethical lines to help his governor-brother — called Berliner a “whistleblower.”

Initially, Berliner was suspended for not getting approval for doing work for another publication. NPR policy requires receiving written permission from supervisors “for all outside freelance and journalistic work,” according to the employee handbook.

An NPR spokeswoman said Wednesday that the network does not comment on personnel matters. Berliner declined The Washington Post’s request for further comment.

In an interview Tuesday with NPR’s David Folkenflik — whose work is also criticized in the Free Press essay — Berliner said “we have great journalists here. If they shed their opinions and did the great journalism they’re capable of, this would be a much more interesting and fulfilling organization for our listeners.”

Berliner’s future at NPR became an open question. NPR leaders were pressed by staff in meetings this week as to why he was still employed there. And some reporters made clear they didn’t want to be edited by Berliner anymore because they now questioned his journalistic judgment, said one prominent NPR journalist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preserve relationships. “How are you supposed to have honest debates about coverage if you think it’s going to be fodder for the point he’s trying to make?” the staffer said.

Berliner had written that “there’s an unspoken consensus” about stories to pursue at NPR — “of supposed racism, transphobia, signs of the climate apocalypse, Israel doing something bad, and the dire threat of Republican policies” — and that the network operated without friction, “almost like an assembly line.”

Several prominent NPR journalists countered that impression. “We have strong, heated editorial debates every day to try and get the most appropriate language and nuanced reporting in a landscape that is divisive and difficult to work in as a journalist,” Leila Fadel, host of “Morning Edition,” told The Post. “Media and free independent press are often under attack for the fact-based reporting that we do.” She called Berliner’s essay “a bad-faith effort” and a “factually inaccurate take on our work that was filled with omissions to back his arguments.”

Other staffers noted that Berliner did not seek comment from NPR for his piece. No news organization is above reproach, “Weekend Edition” host Ayesha Rascoe told The Post, but someone should not “be able to tear down an entire organization’s work without any sort of response or context provided, or pushback.” There are many legitimate critiques to make of NPR’s coverage, she added, “but the way this has been done — it’s to invalidate all the work NPR does.”

NPR is known to have a very collegial culture, and the manner in which Berliner aired his criticism — perhaps even more than the substance of it — is what upset so many of his co-workers, according to one staffer.

“Morning Edition” host Steve Inskeep, writing on his Substack on Tuesday , fact-checked or contextualized several of the arguments Berliner made. For instance: Berliner wrote that he once asked “why we keep using that word that many Hispanics hate — Latinx.” Inskeep said he searched 90 days of NPR’s content and found “Latinx” was used nine times — “usually by a guest” — compared to the nearly 400 times “Latina” and “Latino” were used.

“This article needed a better editor,” Inskeep wrote. “I don’t know who, if anyone, edited Uri’s story, but they let him publish an article that discredited itself. … A careful read of the article shows many sweeping statements for which the writer is unable to offer evidence.”

This week conservative activist Christopher Rufo — who rose to fame for targeting “critical race theory,” and whose scrutiny of Harvard President Claudine Gay preceded her resignation — set his sights on Maher, surfacing old social media posts she wrote before she joined the news organization. In one 2020 tweet, she referred to Trump as a “deranged racist.” Others posts show her wearing a Biden hat, or wistfully daydreaming about hanging out with Kamala D. Harris. Rufo has called for Maher’s resignation.

“In America everyone is entitled to free speech as a private citizen,” Maher wrote in a statement to The Post, when asked about the social media posts. “What matters is NPR’s work and my commitment as its CEO: public service, editorial independence, and the mission to serve all of the American public.”

Maher, who started her job as NPR CEO last month, previously was the head of the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that operates the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. An NPR spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday that Maher “was not working in journalism at the time” of the social media posts; she was “exercising her first amendment right to express herself like any other American citizen,” and “the CEO is not involved in editorial decisions.”

In a statement, an NPR spokesperson described the outcry over Maher’s old posts as “a bad faith attack that follows an established playbook, as online actors with explicit agendas work to discredit independent news organizations.”

Meanwhile, some NPR staffers want a more forceful defense of NPR journalism by management. An internal letter — signed by about 50 NPR staffers as of Wednesday afternoon — called on Maher and NPR editor in chief Edith Chapin to “publicly and directly” call out Berliner’s “factual inaccuracies and elisions.”

In the essay, Berliner accuses NPR of mishandling three major stories: the allegations of the 2016 Trump campaign’s collusion with Russia, the origins of the coronavirus , and the authenticity and relevance of Hunter Biden’s laptop. Berliner’s critics note that he didn’t oversee coverage of these stories. They also say that his essay indirectly maligns employee affinity groups — he name-checks groups for Muslim, Jewish, queer and Black employees, which he wrote “reflect broader movement in the culture of people clustering together based on ideology or a characteristic at birth.” (Berliner belonged to the group for Jewish employees, according to an NPR staffer with knowledge of membership.) He also writes that he found NPR’s D.C. newsroom employed 87 registered Democrats and zero Republicans in editorial positions in 2021. His critics say this figure lacks proper context.

Tony Cavin, NPR’s managing editor of standards and practices, told The Post that “I have no idea where he got that number,” that NPR’s newsroom has 660 employees, and that “I know a number of our hosts and staff are registered as independents.” That includes Inskeep, who, on his Substack, backed up Cavin’s assessment.

Berliner also wrote that, during the administration of Donald Trump , NPR “hitched our wagon” to top Trump antagonist Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) by interviewing him 25 times about Trump and Russia. Cavin told The Post NPR aired 900 interviews with lawmakers during the same period of time, “so that’s 3 percent. He’s a business reporter, he knows about statistics and it seems he’s selectively using statistics.”

Cavin said some inside the organization agree with points Berliner made, even if they “don’t like the way he went about it. The irony of this is it tells you how diverse as an organization we are, in ideological terms.”

“There are a few bits of truth in this,” NPR international correspondent Eyder Peralta wrote on Facebook. But he said the essay “uses a selecting reading to serve the author’s own world views” and paints with “too broad a brush.”

“I have covered wars, I have been thrown in jail for my work,” Peralta told The Post, “and for him to question part of what is in our nature, which is intellectual curiosity and that we follow our noses where they lead us, that hurts. And I think that damages NPR.”

Some staffers have also been attacked online since the essay’s publication. Rascoe, who, as a Black woman host for NPR, says she’s no stranger to online vitriol, but one message after Berliner’s essay labeled her as a “DEI hire” who has “never read a book in her life.”

“What stung about this one was it came on the basis of a supposed colleague’s op-ed,” whose words were “being used as fodder to attack me,” Rascoe said. “And my concern is not about me, but all the younger journalists who don’t have the platform I have and who will be attacked and their integrity questioned simply on the basis of who they are.”

NPR, like much of the media industry, has struggled in recent years with a declining audience and a tough ad market. NPR laid off 100 workers in 2023, one of its largest layoffs ever , citing fewer sponsorships and a projected $30 million decline in revenue.

Going forward, some staffers worry about the ramifications of Berliner’s essay and the reactions to it. The open letter to Maher and Chapin said that “sending the message that a public essay is the easiest way to make change is setting a bad precedent, regardless of the ideologies being expressed.”

An earlier version of this article included a reference to Uri Berliner's Free Press essay in which Berliner cited voter registration data for editorial employees of NPR's D.C. newsroom. The article has been updated to clarify that this data was from 2021, not the present day.

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Liz Cheney: The Supreme Court Should Rule Swiftly on Trump’s Immunity Claim

By Liz Cheney

Ms. Cheney, a Republican, is a former U.S. representative from Wyoming and was vice chairwoman of the Jan. 6 select committee in the House of Representatives.

On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Donald Trump’s arguments that he is immune from prosecution for his efforts to steal the 2020 presidential election. It is likely that all — or nearly all — of the justices will agree that a former president who attempted to seize power and remain in office illegally can be prosecuted. I suspect that some justices may also wish to clarify whether doctrines of presidential immunity might apply in other contexts — for example, to a president’s actions as commander in chief during a time of war. But the justices should also recognize the profoundly negative impact they may have if the court does not resolve these issues quickly and decisively.

If delay prevents this Trump case from being tried this year, the public may never hear critical and historic evidence developed before the grand jury, and our system may never hold the man most responsible for Jan. 6 to account.

The Jan. 6 House select committee’s hearings and final report in 2022 relied on testimony given by dozens of Republicans — including many who worked closely with Mr. Trump in the White House, in his Justice Department and on his 2020 presidential campaign. The special counsel Jack Smith’s election-related indictment of Mr. Trump relies on many of the same firsthand witnesses. Although the special counsel reached a number of the same conclusions as the select committee, the indictment is predicated on a separate and independent investigation. Evidence was developed and presented to a grand jury sitting in Washington, D.C.

The indictment and public reporting suggest that the special counsel was able to obtain key evidence our committee did not have. For example, it appears that the grand jury received evidence from witnesses such as Mark Meadows, a former Trump chief of staff, and Dan Scavino, a former Trump aide, both of whom refused to testify in our investigation. Public reporting also suggests that members of Mr. Trump’s Office of White House Counsel and other White House aides testified in full, without any limitations based on executive privilege, as did Vice President Mike Pence and his counsel.

The special counsel’s indictment lays out Mr. Trump’s detailed plan to overturn the 2020 election, including the corrupt use of fraudulent slates of electors in several states. According to the indictment, senior advisers in the White House, Justice Department and elsewhere repeatedly warned that Mr. Trump’s claims of election fraud were false and that his plans for Jan. 6 were illegal. Mr. Trump chose to ignore those warnings. (Remember what the White House lawyer Eric Herschmann told Mr. Trump’s alleged co-conspirator John Eastman on Jan. 7, 2021: “Get a great f’ing criminal defense lawyer. You’re gonna need it.”) There is little doubt that Mr. Trump’s closest advisers also gave the federal grand jury minute-to-minute accounts of his malicious conduct on Jan. 6, describing how they repeatedly begged the president to instruct the violent rioters to leave our Capitol and how Mr. Trump refused for several hours to do so as he watched the attack on television. This historic testimony about a former president’s conduct is likely to remain secret until the special counsel presents his case at trial.

As a criminal defendant, Mr. Trump has long had access to federal grand jury material relating to his Jan. 6 indictment and to all the testimony obtained by our select committee. He knows what all these witnesses have said under oath and understands the risks he faces at trial. That’s why he is doing everything possible to try to delay his Jan. 6 federal criminal trial until after the November election. If the trial is delayed past this fall and Mr. Trump wins re-election, he will surely fire the special counsel, order his Justice Department to drop all Jan. 6 cases and try to prevent key grand jury testimony from ever seeing the light of day.

I know how Mr. Trump’s delay tactics work. Our committee had to spend months litigating his privilege claims (in Trump v. Thompson) before we could gain access to White House records. Court records and public reporting suggest that the special counsel also invested considerable time defeating Mr. Trump’s claims of executive privilege, which were aimed at preventing key evidence from reaching the grand jury. All of this evidence should be presented in open court, so that the public can fully assess what Mr. Trump did on Jan. 6 and what a man capable of that type of depravity could do if again handed the awesome power of the presidency.

Early this year, a federal appeals court took less than a month after oral argument to issue its lengthy opinion on immunity. History shows that the Supreme Court can act just as quickly , when necessary. And the court should fashion its decision in a way that does not lead to further time-consuming appeals on presidential immunity. It cannot be that a president of the United States can attempt to steal an election and seize power but our justice system is incapable of bringing him to trial before the next election four years later.

Mr. Trump believes he can threaten and intimidate judges and their families , assert baseless legal defenses and thereby avoid accountability altogether. Through this conduct, he seeks to break our institutions. If Mr. Trump’s tactics prevent his Jan. 6 trial from proceeding in the ordinary course, he will also have succeeded in concealing critical evidence from the American people — evidence demonstrating his disregard for the rule of law, his cruelty on Jan. 6 and the deep flaws in character that make him unfit to serve as president. The Supreme Court should understand this reality and conclude without delay that no immunity applies here.

Liz Cheney, a Republican, is a former U.S. representative from Wyoming and was vice chairwoman of the Jan. 6 select committee in the House of Representatives.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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