Finding the Fangirlscape: Understanding ‘Fangirl’ as a Gendered Transfandom Category

Despite the field’s growth, a limited portion of audience studies work considers the way ‘fangirl’ categories create their own milieu distinct from ‘fandom’ or ‘girlhood’ individually. This entails the way particular media sites are designed for fangirls, an assumption of who these fans are and their beliefs, and a consideration for how we might best research these communities. This article theorises the ‘fangirl’, drawing on focus groups with pop music fans and TikTok videos sourced from participants to define and complicate the term. Beyond the popular stereotype, ‘fangirl’ functions as a complicated, intense, and expansive identity. I argue that exploring the fangirl as a distinct category allows us to better tackle topics in ‘transfandom’ dynamics, gendered fandom, discourses of age within fandom, and nuances to the negotiation of fan stereotypes.