The predominantly young women and teenage girls who coalesce around pop stars and celebrity idols are often disparaged as callow, emotional and apolitical. The fandoms they inhabit are equally dismissed as frivolous, inexplicable and irrational. As this book makes clear, such opinions are only possible in ignorance of the rigours of organized fandoms, where the investment in time, labour (manual and emotional) and creative energy is the equal of many full-time jobs. The relationships fans have to their idols may be imagined and parasocial, but the networks, coordination and rivalries are as demanding as those in the physical world. Furthermore, fangirls’ sincerity and commitment to promoting their idols’ careers and protecting their reputations belies the criticism that these relationships are “unreal.”
The crux of Ronggang Chen’s book, and one driver of subsequent regulatory intervention (which regrettably only commands a postscript-type mention), is whether the collective energy of Chinese fandoms has the potential to migrate from pop culture digital spheres into political arenas, in this case nationalism. The book foregrounds fandom cultures redirected into nationalist activism and fangirls as key actors sustaining, amplifying and advocating Chinese sovereignty. The context is the collective intervention by mainland Chinese fandom groups prompted by the anti-extradition protests in Hong Kong in 2019. Studying fangirls is described as a way to “illuminate the hidden voice of female nationalism” (p. 19), which the author achieves through multi-platform digital ethnography (primarily Bilibili and Weibo) and interviews with around 30 fangirls (plus a similar number of gatekeepers, intermediaries and adjacent actors).
The mechanism for explaining the migration of celebrity fandom into the defence of Chinese sovereignty is what the author calls “idolization.” It describes a process of transference (my word) wherein non-celebrities, inanimate objects and even conceptual categories are treated as if they were (human) pop idols. The author cites the unexpected fandom that formed around Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokespeople Hua Chunying and Zhao Lijian during the pandemic, before extending the metaphor to the Chinese nation itself. Accordingly, fangirls are described as having entered into a “fan-like relationship with the nation-state” (p. 139). In this telling, China is recast as a celebrity idol in need of promotion and protection, with fangirls repurposing their fandom-learned tools, skillsets, mobilization and solidarity networks to launch a robust defence of China’s sovereignty and image in digital spaces. The idolization thesis suggests a promising fusion of fandom and nationalism frameworks, but it is under-specified and, lacking delineation or reflection on psychology and motive, is not entirely persuasive. Certainly, in my reading, the idolization account is less effective than the book’s contribution to understanding the constitution of Chinese fandoms.
It provides, for example, further empirical evidence on how fandoms represent exclusive communities with their own principles, routines, etiquettes and taboos, and how fans are categorized by status and function within the group. The chapters discriminating professional and career fans, mamma and girlfriend fans, diehard, peripheral and fake fans and so on are especially insightful. We learn what it takes to become a leader of the “house” (the fandom) and to perform the role of “vacuum cleaner” (fans who constantly monitor the internet for mention of their idol) or “air conditioner” (fans whose job it is to minimize the reach of negatively valanced information about their idol).
Fandoms operate under the logics of digital capitalism, and fangirls seem fully aware of the exploitation of their platform labour. Interviewees acknowledge, and many embrace, their status as “female data labour,” accepting that membership in the fandom requires serving the dictates of the algorithm. A prosaic example is “clocking in,” the morning ritual of logging clicks on Weibo to maintain an idol’s status in the “hot topics” rankings. The book also cites examples of significant financial investment, such as fans buying sponsors’ products for the opportunity to vote for their idols in televised contests. These and many other examples of devotion and sacrifice beg the question “why do people do it?” While theories of participatory culture are invoked to frame fangirl behaviours, their motivations are not directly interrogated. Interview responses indirectly suggest the desire for a sense of purpose, within-group status and emotional fulfilment, all of which could equally be derived from supporting a celebrity or a nationalist cause.
Chinese celebrities’ obligations as societal role models and fans’ expectations are well covered in the literature. The fangirl accounts reported here corroborate and add texture to prior observations, for example in revealing unforgiving views on idols’ moral probity. Small deviations from political orthodoxy, minor behavioural indiscretions, tardy or insufficient demonstrations of patriotism and so on can be disqualifying. Yet, if idols behave without reproach there are no lengths to which fans will not go to support them. The idea that idols should demonstrate that they deserve to be idolized is a distinct feature of various Asian celebrity scenes. Among fangirls it includes expectations that up-and-coming performers eschew any form of romantic involvement, lest they give the impression of spending fans’ money on dating someone else. And so, spare a thought for Chinese celebrities, whose behaviours and every utterance are under constant surveillance by the state, opportunistic rival fandoms and even their own absolutist fans.
