Eunice Yun

"Celebrity Crushes" : Shaping modern culture one obsession at a time

Eunice Yun 

Who is your celebrity crush? A reasonable question asked today. However, it seems silly to envision your ancestors from generations ago answering such a question. But why ? To answer this, we must look at the social, cultural, and technological changes in American history that have given rise to fandom culture and celebrity crushes as a popular modern practice. Moreover, how this seemingly “simple” popular teen culture has far influenced modern culture. 

The 19th century was a period where society was much more conservative, with strict social norms and codes of conduct. The idea of expressing admiration or attraction for someone outside of one's social class or station was generally frowned upon. Furthermore, especially for a woman, expressing devout attraction for a “celebrity”, would be seen as scandalous and inappropriate. Women were expected to be submissive, demure, and composed.  

Many social and cultural shifts allowed fandom and celebrity crushes to be part of modern culture. One of which was the rise of individuality in adolescents and youth. Up until the 20th century adults had dominance over their children; however, as shown in the early 20th century in immigrants, adolescents more easily adapt to the new environment and can thrive much better than their parents (2). This stimulates adolescents to form their own individual thoughts apart from their parents. Youth are the key to carving cultural and social paths. Later, we will see how the media targets this demographic for fan consumer products. 

Another social movement in history that allowed fandom to be more accepted in modern culture is the freedom of sexuality and self discoveries. The 19th century expectation was that sex is used for procreation and that one must curb any sexual behavior to maintain control (3). The ideal image of a woman and man were bound by a set of strict social expectations. In contrast, modern society, beginning in the late 20th century is more accepting of individual expression and personal choice, including the idea of having a “celebrity crush”. Girls especially are more empowered to express their sexuality and desires without the fear of social backlash, a topic we will revisit. Nevertheless, fandom is a space to explore gender and sexual identity (7). Many of the strict social and cultural expectations fade out as a new generation, dominated by youth, steps in. This allows fandom culture to gain traction as it rises as popular teen culture. 

Moreover, the most important instigator of fandom culture was the media and technological advancements made in the late 20th century. Prior to the late 20th century, media such as television and magazines were primarily focused on entertainment; however, as we enter the late 20th century century fandom media was more widespread and put forth a new source of entertainment; celebrity crushes. Figure 1 is the cover of a 1976 edition of Teen Beat magazine. Figure 2 is the cover of the 1990 edition of Teen Beat magazine. A mere 26 year difference contains a drastic shift in media focus. In the 1976 edition, Teen Beat entices customers with popular entertainment like the show Happy Days, taking a more informative approach. It is more filtered and contains more information based content and targets adults as their consumers. However, the 1990s edition of Teen Beat  incorporates more fan media, focused on generating “celebrity crush” culture by primarily targeting teen girls. On the cover there is a “Giant Music Giveaway”. This rise of crushing over celebrities and dedication to them correlates with the rise in consumer products. 

When media was limited to magazines, newspapers, and books, they were focused on news and current events. As the media landscape becomes broader, society is exposed to a constant stream of celebrity gossip. This led to a greater normalization of celebrity culture and more accepting attitudes toward celebrity crushes. The magazine begins to target teen girls as their primary consumers. 

However, this rise of fandom post 19th century, is not to neglect the presence of fans in earlier centuries. Popularity in any context, musicians, poets, authors, singers, gain traction through followers. Nonetheless, what classifies one “fan” is acutely different. Modern society places value of popularity on attractiveness and "celebrity status". Fans often rise as a result of having a “celebrity crush”. Take Harry Styles, Brad Pitt, and Leonardo Dicaprio for example. While talent and skill was a factor in their popularity, it doesn’t compare to the amount of traction they’ve gained based on their “attractiveness” and visual appeal. 

A fan for example in the 18th century would not be classified as a fan in modern terms. Popular figures in this time period were presidents, scientists, and those who challenge political and social norms. George Washington was a "great embodiment of national virtue" (8). "Fame" was given on the basis of being an "honorable" gentlemen. The 18th century was an era of "American Adam" (8). An Adamic hero is one of "self-reliance, virtue, achievement, [...] the central figure in quest for national legitimacy"(8). 

The lack of media, technology, and strict social and cultural norms, allows society to only be exposed to those outside their personal circle through talk. Talk circulated around those creating controversies and novel discoveries, not who is “hot” as social norms limited such. “Celebrity crushes” as a concept were not invented till the late 20th century. Media was not as widespread or accessible and the public’s access to information regarding celebrities was limited. As we enter the 20th century the period of print culture comes to an end (5). 

By the late 20th the rise of fandom and “celebrity crush” culture was generated; however, it was not until the early 21st century that there was a huge boom in this popular culture due to technological advancements (4). The invention of iphones and easy accessibility that technology provided, allows easy access to media. Thus, celebrities’ personal lives are much more transparent. Media spreads like wildfire from the comfort of one's own bed through social media and the internet. Technology feeds the ravaging creature that is fandom. This easy accessibility gives rise to fan communities and subcultures that were once niche and localized. The internet and social media allows fans to connect and create communities, ultimately leading to large fandoms. These technology advancements have transformed the way fans consume entertainment Media covers celebrities 24/7 feeding the audience that remains insatiable. 

Another significant impact of technology on fan behavior is the rise of influencer culture. Social media platforms have created a new category of celebrities known as social media influencers. These individuals have amassed large followings on social media, and many of them have become influential figures in the entertainment industry. Fans follow these influencers for inspiration, lifestyle tips, and entertainment, and often emulate their behavior and style. This has led to the emergence of new fan behaviors, such as product endorsements, sponsored content, and influencer marketing. Furthermore, with the boom of TikTok, we see a new category of videos being "thirst traps". Videos men and women put on the internet to gain popularity by enticing viewers sexually. Society now views a form of fame to be based solely on attraction. 

Finally, technology allows consumer products to be easily purchased. Many fans can purchase merchandise such as T-shirts, posters, etc to show their support, further advertising and showing the support of their idols. These modern celebrities are bear a striking difference to an era when national heroes were those "placed on pedestals" (8). 

Now we return to this shift in media targeting teenage girls as “celebrity crush” culture becomes a common practice. The rise of “fangirls” and current “fangirl” culture, both speak on the gender roles and discrimination of women (6). 19th century gender roles were much more rigidly defined, with strict expectations on how men and women should behave. While they've been allowed to explore they've been allowed more liberty to exploring sexual desires, nonetheless, presence of older stereotypes persist (6). We can observe the agility of sexism through its persistence. In the early 1990s as Gerrard observes, uses "groupie" as a "heteronormative term used to devalue female fans who seemed to be more interested in pursuing sexual relations with male musicians than their musical talents" (6). The term "groupies" were used to label what we currently call "fangirls". In a study conducted with media fan pages of the show Pretty Little Liars, Vampire Diaries, and Revenge, many devalue "girlish fandoms" based on the unique intersection of gender and age that fan girls have (6). Their behaviors are described with "Victorian era gendered words" like "fever, "madness", "hysteria", and "obsession. Many adults deny being a "fangirl" as it is belittled by news media. The study concluded with two findings : 1, Derision is used to help adult fans normalize their devalued pleasures as they blame "fangirls" to be controversial. 2, Fans use derision to generate a form of "pleasure", since many adult respondents in the study liked adopting roles that elevate their cultural status (ex. being an "educator" of other fans) (6). The ridicule "fangirling" has experienced over equivalent masculine pleasures, shows how society is reproducing "same intersecting agist and sexist discourses that are leveled against them"(6). A perpetuation of sexism. 

However, these same fangirls who are ridiculed over pop culture obsessions, have built the foundations of modern culture (1). 

Endnotes:

1. Anselmo-Sequeira, Diana. “How Teenage Girls Invented Fandom” Cinema
   Journal, 2015. https://daily.jstor.org/how-teenage-girls-invented-fandom/.
   
   

2. Brooke Blower, “Immigration.” HI 303: Sex, Love, and Family: Relationships in Recent American History and Pop Culture (Class Lecture, Boston University, Boston, MA, February 26, 2023).
   
   

3.  Brooke Blower, “Sex Ed and Discoveries” HI 303: Sex, Love, and Family: Relationships in Recent American History and Pop Culture (Class Lecture, Boston University, Boston, MA, February 28, 2023). 

4.  Cavicchi, Daniel. “Fandom before ‘Fan.’” Reception: Texts, Readers, Audiences, History 6, no.
   1 (2014): 52–72. https://doi.org/10.5325/reception.6.1.0052.
   
   

5.  Coulter, Natalie, and Kristine Moruzi. “Woke Girls: From the Girl’s Realm to Teen Vogue.”
   Feminist Media Studies 22, no. 4 (2020): 765–79. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2020.1736119.
   

6. Gerrard, Ysabel. “Groupies, Fangirls and Shippers: The Endurance of a Gender Stereotype.”
   American Behavioral Scientist 66, no. 8 (2021): 1044–59. https://doi.org/10.1177/00027642211042284.
   
   

7. Gilbert, Anne. “Understanding Fandom: An Introduction to the Study of Media Fan Culture by Mark Duffett.” Cinema Journal 54, no. 3 (2015): 160–64. https://doi.org/10.1353/cj.2015.0039.
   
   

8. Henderson, Amy. “Celebrity Culture in the United States .” The H.W. Wilson Company, 2008. https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/16810/npg_BarnumToBling.pdf?
   sequence=1. 
   
   

9.  Lewis, Lisa A. The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media. London: Routledge,
   2003.
   
   

10. “Teen Beat Magazine.” Etsy. Accessed March 22, 2023.
    https://www.etsy.com/market/teen_beat_magazine.
    
    

11. “Teen Vogue.” Keshapedia. Accessed March 22, 2023.
    https://kesha.fandom.com/wiki/Teen_Vogue.
    
    

12. “Teen Vogue.” Peppa Pig Fanon Wiki. Accessed March 22, 2023.
    https://peppafanon.fandom.com/wiki/Teen_Vogue.

13.  Wheen, Steve. “The History of Fandom.” distillery. distillery, October 3, 2019.
    https://www.wearedistillery.co/we-think/the-history-of-fandom