Stan Culture

The term ‘Stan’ was born from Eminem 2000’s track ‘Stan’ which articulates a narrative of an obsessive fan writing letters which he then conveys to the rapper. In a turn of events, the letters never actually make it to the artist and the frustration sends Stan over the edge. The narrative concludes with Stan locking his pregnant girlfriend in the boot of his car and drives off a bridge to their deaths. By the time Eminem grants him with attention, it's all very much too late. Stan Culture, let's talk about it. 

The track gave us a new word which now embedded into pop culture and everything surrounding it. Stan blends ‘Stalker’ and ‘Fan’ into one. However stan culture is only ever now coming into the limelight from the evolution of Social Media and the power it possesses. Stan Culture most definitely been around for centuries with the likes of Hercules and the following of Jesus Christ. The Beatles had an obessive fan plotting John Lennons murder and Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson fans were so convinced that the two were dating that they created a sub culture ‘Larry Stylinson’ around it. The girlfriends presented to the fandom publically where classed as ‘Beards’/ fake and received endless amounts of death threats and hate from some fans.
​For us nowadays, stan culture creates a sense of hyperreality where fans are mesmerized by the infectious energy an artist can bring into their lives. It's almost as if the fans sees an artist as ‘God’ or ‘Angels on Earth’ which can have a negative interpretation as they overlook the flaws that humans all have. Fans almost possess the ‘ride or die’ mentality that is not easy to escape unless you take a step back or grow out of it. Stan culture is not just a Western phenomenon either, this subculture has travelled across the globe to the like of South Korea where fans are easily disheartened when their favourite member gets in a relationship and are quick to attack online and force the couple to split up. 


But can we go as far to say that Stan Culture owns some of the same qualities a cult has? 

Both have mass following and look up to someone of ‘god like stature’. Worship the ground they walk on and follow certain trends or even copy the dominant other.
I do not want to go as far to say that Stan Culture is terrfiying and we should all stay away from the internet because that would be stupid but it is important to note the similarities they both contain within one another.  

We are not trying to hate Stan culture because believe it or not we have been sucked into it one way or another depending on how deep you go. 


It is also important to vocalise that the harsh reality of Stan Culture is really only a small portion of a fandom and not the whole cohort.  Through the mixed emotions of this topic there are many positives to being in a fandom like this. Fans can connect to others globally using social media which allows them to be a part of a community that's bigger than themselves so they are never truly alone. I have seen endless amounts of people meet and have a great companionship with their ‘Mutuals’ on twitter all because they have the same common interest or interests. Being apart of a fandom creates a sense of escapism into sometimes a harsh reality of their own lives, focussing and admiring another can distract them and present a source of happiness. Having a fandom that is very dedicated can go hand in hand for an artist too, constant chart toppers, fan votes and more money in an industry/ record labels pocket for popularity of an artist. 

Stan Culture can also be taken lightly, using this as a common phrase in our everyday lives. Rihanna saying  “Why do my tits bother you? They're covered in Swarovski Crystals girl!” - um we stan! Anyone doing anything that has a ‘legend’ status - oh for sure we are going to stan them even if it is for five minutes. I catch myself dropping the word into various situations daily. 

With the positives, it is hard to ignore that some fans believe it is okay to throw endless amounts of hate at ‘rivals’ as there is no line in a digital blackhole of distaste, the reality of their actions are purely tossed aside once a keyboard is placed at their fingertips. The subculture which has stemmed off  an ever growing tree of stan culture is ‘cancelled culture.’ This culture invites fandoms to join together to ‘cancel’ a famous other which can put a strain on their career. For fans, this may seem funny as ‘stans’ tweet memes under a hashtag “soandsoisoverparty”. 
Stans on twitter wrote tweets such as ‘y’all mad bc were happy Ariana broke up with a pig? sad! #petedavidsonisoverparty’

Pete Davidson who broke up with Ariana Grande replied to the hate on instagram: 
“I’m doing my best to stay here for you but I actually don’t know how much longer I can last.” 

We cannot ignore the fact that what Pete Davidson wrote as a response to the hate he was given had purely impacted his mental health negatively and Pete is not the only one fans attack on a daily basis. Is this the consequences of social media nowadays? And did anyone ask to be given so much hate for living their lives?

Not to go as far as saying stan culture is a complete mistake because we can be led to believe it has evolutionised with digital culture and has only gotten worse due to globalisation and the power of the internet. But with everything in life, there are always going to be positives and negatives and we need to be able to understand this in our ever changing digital age. But for now, lets stan but also talk about it.