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INDYSTAR.COM THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2021 3H Swifties. Barbs. Army. Lambs. These names correspond to celebrity fandoms.

Swifties subsist on all things Taylor Swift. Barbs say to anything Nicki Minaj. Army go full-on militant for BTS, and Lambs live by Ma- riah Carey. Members of these groups may also be referred to as ultrafans that will go to any length to prove their devo- tion to the celebrities of their choosing. But such culture can lead to everything from to according to research and experts say such volatility should be re- evaluated.

important to not hold celebrities to impossible standards because these are fallible humans with inevitable and shortcomings, just like the rest of says Shana Redmond, a pro- fessor of English and comparative liter- ature at Columbia University. we see on social media is a small slice of who they are we substitute that glamour for the comes from the Eminem song of the same name, about a dangerous super-fan of the rapper. also is an amalgamation of and notes Robert Thompson, founding di- rector of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at the Newhouse School of Public Communications Syra- cuse University. Colloquially, the term imme- diately invoke a violent connotation. use of is slightly less sinister than the (original) says Kadian Pow, a lecturer in sociology and Black studies at Birmingham City Uni- versity in England.

usage is more along the lines of unreasonable obsession, but not necessarily crazed Fan culture, Thompson says, can be traced back much further, even to the gladiators in ancient Rome. In more re- cent history, look no further than the iconic shots of women screaming and crying over The Beatles on Ed Sul- livan Back then, go home and write fan letters or read fan maga- zines but it was mostly one-way com- munication. Now, celebrities and fellow stans are more accessible. And the viral nature of social media means platforms can become powder kegs for radicalization. has a inten- sity when a celebrity can be virtually ac- cessed any time of day, any day of the Redmond says.

Fans can quickly mobilize to get an music climbing on the charts think Mariah I Want for Christmas Is But they also can make even bigger waves, as when the K- pop community may have ex- pected turnout to one of former Presi- dent Donald rallies last year. Or worse, go after anyone who they per- ceive insulted their favorite star (see: Lady Gaga fans and Ed Sheeran). There is a psychological component though to the idea of lebrity Research by Dr. Randy A. Sansone Dr.

Lori A. Sansone, published in 2014 in in Clinical found that so-called worship- might concerns about body image (particularly young adoles- cents), be more prone to cosmetic sur- and could display features, dissociation, addictive tend- encies, stalking behavior, and compul- sive Studies revealed that those with intense celebrity worship levels were more likely to struggle with their mental health. Gayle Stever says three types of ce- lebrity worship exist: This per- tains to the everyday fan. items on their scale that indicate this type of ce- lebrity worship are with my friends about my favorite celebrity is a good Stever says. Intense, personal: Stever adds phrases such as, favorite celebrity is my soul and my favorite ce- lebrity were to die, I want to this is where celebrity worship becomes Borderline pathological: This is someone says that if their favorite celebrity asked them to do something il- legal, they would do Stever says.

my own observations, most persons who engage in celebrity wor- ship at the borderline pathological level were probably already from some sort of mental illness before they became so engaged in celebrity wor- says Stever, a professor of social and behavioral sciences at SUNY Em- pire State College. The saturation of celebrity culture in media provides some explanation for public interest. as human beings are from birth to be attracted to familiar faces and voices. So, what happens when an individual watches constantly the faces and voices of attractive celeb- rities on a daily Stever says. theory is that attachment forms that is much like the attachment one might form to any familiar person, such as a friend or family Some level of celebrity worship, then, is inevitable.

But that mean it will always reach the level. Stan culture is because people are How can you expect some- one who is talented at singing, for exam- ple, to be great at everything? really, really admire my urologist because he was able to get kidney stones out of my Thompson says. do not also, therefore, think my urol- ogist is completely free and perfect in every other While does imply unwavering support that mean such tion is indestructible. the object of adoration does the wrong thing, that iteration can very quickly shift to says David Schmid, associate professor of English at the University at Some fans stood by R. Kelly and Michael Jackson after sexual abuse allegations surfaced, for example.

But other fans were crushed. Such letdowns unexpected. Schmid says some celebrities get involved more directly with their fans in an to not bite the hand that feeds them. always demanded a lot from celebrities for them to be absolutely unlike us but also relatable a con- founding contradiction. celebrity cannot possibly satisfy both of those requirements at the same Schmid says.

Still, celebrities could do more to rein their fans in. For example, anyone who talks negatively about Taylor Swift can expect to get skewered by her Swifties. talk a lot about the power that the stans have. But not talking enough about the power that the celeb- rities have over those Schmid says. I think that needs to be more front and center going culture can prompt star worship at its worst David Oliver USA TODAY The millions of Taylor superfans are called Swifties.

ANGELA IMAGES Mariah superfans refer to themselves as Lambs. EVAN.