Sass, Class - I'm in love with Chuck Bass.

It takes a lot to admit that you're in love with a celebrity - let alone a fictional character. The reasoning as to why it is a struggle to admit this to not only yourself but others too is because it fulfils every single stereotype that people have of 'fans'. 

As Jensen states "These assumptions – about alienation, atomization, vulnerability and irrationality – are central aspects of twentieth-century beliefs about modernity." and they are. The majority of people fear admitting that they are fans of TV shows, bands, actors etc. due to all the negative connotations and before I started studying this module I feared that too due to the negative connotations, criticisms and exaggerated stereotypes. However, I have learnt that there are various different levels of obsession and different types of fans and there are people who are quite frankly, mentally unstable but this isn't due to being a fan. They were already unstable and happened to attach themselves to a fandom etc. and then it developed and got out of control. Jensen quotes Horton and Wohl whom believe "the fan, unable to consummate his desired social relations ‘normally,’ seeks celebrity contact in the hope of gaining the prestige and influence he or she psychologically needs, but cannot achieve in anonymous, fragmented modern society." (16) which breaks down into claiming that fans become that obsessed, infatuated and crazed by the love and adoration for a celebrity and this results in fans wanting to meet their idols. This attachment to a celebrity is apparently due to their exclusion from society but I argue this case. As I've stated in my title, I am 'in love' with Gossip Girl's rich bad boy, Chuck Bass whom is played by Ed Westwick. 

The word 'love' in this context does not connote that I want to meet him, marry him or spawn his lovechild, I simply am infatuated by his persona, looks and behaviour. This does not mean I am sitting at home with posters of him sprawled over my walls, I don't go to A-List events and camp outside for four days nor do I have a tattoo of his face on my back. I simply enjoy watching Ed's portrayal of Chuck Bass. His sex appeal is high, his charm does reach out to the viewer and entice the viewers. There are numerous forums devoted to the character whom obsess over the character but this doesn't mean that fans are going to find him and throw their panties at him. 
Here's an example of a forum:

Nobody on this forum has stated that they want his kids, want to marry him or even meet him. They just enjoy appreciating and talking about a character which they have grown attachment to. I'm not afraid to say that I cried when Chuck and Blair almost died in a car crash, or when they got married because quite frankly, I'd cry if my friends were in a crash, or got married so why is it so wrong to cry at a programme? They are made to be realistic, the whole purpose of a programme is to entertain - so why is it such an issue for people to enjoy, embrace and discuss the things we watch? 
Why is it wrong to be attracted to another human being?

IT ISN'T!!!! IT'S HUMAN NATURE PEOPLE. 
If he walked past me in the street, famous or not I'd go to my friends 'oh he's nice isn't he?" so why are celebrities immune to being attractive? 

I completely agree with Jensen whom sums up my view completely "Would I claim to be ‘in love’ with any of these individuals, would I offer to die for any of these preferences? Not likely, and certainly not in public. I would lose the respect of my peers." (22) the whole reason people don't express their likes and interests is due to the fear of losing respect from peers, hence why I struggle to write these blog posts. This fear is due to all the negative stereotypes mentioned above, stereotypes that are wrong and over-exaggerated. Any how, Chuck Bass is the man I would love to have as a partner, there's nothing wrong with having standards that you wish someone would adhere to, is there?

Jensen, J. (1992) ‘Fandom as Pathology: The Consequences of Characterization’. In Lewis, L. A. (Ed.) The Adoring Audience. London, Routledge, pp9-29.

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Squeeze & pop, you've hit the spot! Thoughts of a spot-popping fanatic.

This is probably my weirdest and most private 'fandom' that I'm a part of, and that fandom is fans of Dr Pimple Popper. Dr. Sandra Lee is a certified dermatologist from America who films and posts videos of her professionally popping people's cysts, blackheads, lipomas, dilated pore winers etc. Those words probably don't mean anything to most readers whom don't have any knowledge in dermatology. There are a variety of different "pimples" that the professional spot-popper has to tackle and remove which require different procedures. Sadly, no, I'm not a medical student so I have learnt all this vocabulary and the difference in these spots by simply binge-watching her videos which can very much be seen as "sad" and "weird", as William Shatner told his Trekkie's on the Saturday Night Live "move out of your [their] parent’s basements and to proceed with adult experiences" (10). This misconception of fans being social outcasts, recluses and obsessive weirdos who have no aspirations in live is very patronising, disrespectful and quite frankly, wrong. It's just a hobby/passion, just like playing Minecraft or going to knitting club - it's something people choose to do in their spare time. Watching videos of Dr Sandra Lee popping lipomas isn't going to turn me into a recluse or make me "emotionally unstable, socially maladjusted, and dangerously out of sync with reality" as quoted from a newspaper by Jenkins (13). Understandably, yes there are obsessive fans whom are driven to insane actions such as murder (John Lennon) but this isn't due to them being a fan. 

The stereotypes and assumptions of being a 'fan' do have very unrealistic and extreme connotations as Jenkins states (17) "Significantly, if the comic fan and the psychotic fan are usually portrayed as masculine, although frequently as de-gendered, asexual, or impotent, the eroticized fan is almost always female... the feminine side of fandom is manifested in the images of screaming teenage girls who try to tear the clothes off the Beatles or who faint at the touch of one of Elvis’s sweat-drenched scarfs, or the groupie servicing the stars backstage after the concert in rockamentaries and porn videos." 
This stereotype suggests that female 'fans' are all sex-crazed women who pleasure themselves over their idols, if this stereotype rings true this suggests that I pleasure myself over watching spot-popping videos and Dr Sandra Lee, I'm an outcast and will one day end up trying to murder my "idol". 
No. 
I enjoy watching these videos as they make me feel clean. As Shove states "Concepts of what's right and proper are unavoidable when thinking about how cleaning practices come to be as they are and how it is that weekly patterns of bathing and laundering have turned into daily routines." (79) and these videos make me appreciate my cleanliness, cleaning routines and practices. This may appear to resemble OCD however it isn't that I spend countless hours bleaching my floor and surfaces at home, I don't. But washing and being physically clean is something essential to me as I do fear waking up to find a cyst on my back. Despite this, I enjoy seeing that these spots are treatable. Due to my 'obsession' with personal hygiene I do have to pop my own spots - and peers as if I don't then it makes me feel dirty. 

Reading this back it may seem obsessive and peculiar but I didn't realise it was wrong to want to be clean?

If you're interested in learning the difference between a dialated pore winer, cyst, lipoma and blackheads then click the links below:

Blackhead
Lipoma
Cyst (the worst ones to watch)
Dilated Pore Winer (fave)

‘“Get a Life!” Fans, Poachers, Nomads” in Jenkins, H. (1992) Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture. London: Routledge

"Comfort, Cleanliness and Convenience: The Social Organization of Normality (New Technologies / New Cultures)" in Shove, E. (2003) Introducing Cleanliness: Morality, Technology and Practice." Berg Publishers. 

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RUDEBOYS RUDEBOYS! (i'm not a boy but okay)

Being a fan of something is a common occurrence nowadays however people don't understand how significant their fandom is, or even that they are part of one. I am part of the rudeboy fandom and The Specials are one of my favourite bands however I didn't realise this until I studied this course. People won't class themselves as being members of a fandom because of all the negative connotations that come with it, as expressed perfectly in People's Weekly (sourced from J.Jensen: 10)  "We’ve given the losers in life or sex a rare chance to express their dominance.' calling people who are fans 'losers' does automatically create a sense of exclusion and segregation within friendships, families, communities, workplaces etc. as Jensen states (9) 'Once fans are characterized as deviant, they can be treated as disreputable, even dangerous ‘others.’ and this fear and ostracisation of fans does create fragmented communities in wider society. However, it also helps create sub-communities and various sub-cultures. 

As said by Phill Jupitus in Horace Panter's book 'Ska'd for Life: A Personal Journey with The Specials' "To say The Specials changed how I looked at music would be an understatement." and I completely agree. The political messages, catchy rocksteady beats and bounds of energy that come from their music is enticing, there's nobody else out there like it. When you see them live you really do feel part of a community and it makes you proud to be a fan of such an amazing band. The beauty of being a part of this fandom is the variation in ages of the fans, there's 50 year old men standing next to 19 year old girls, all dressed in their Fred Perry polo's, Levi jeans and Dr Martens'. That's another thing that comes with the fandom, the fashion. It helps you identify other 'moon stompers' and 'rude boys' in public and so that you can acknowledge and identify with each other with a simple look. There's no hierarchy in the sense of a divide between older and younger fans, everyone is simply one big family. The rocksteady/ska movement - especially The Specials, helped break down many political and social barriers, specifically racist and sexist barriers e.g. in 1981 The Specials and Hazel O'Connor played a concert called "Peaceful Protest Against Racism" after a Sikh man was killed in Coventry by a gang of neo-nazi skinheads. These acts of defiance helped destroy barriers and help unify fragmented communities which is extremely admirable and significant for our local community as the band are Coventry born & raised. I am very proud to say I am a Specials fan and to be a part of such a loving fanbase. 
  

Jensen, J. (1992) ‘Fandom as Pathology: The Consequences of Characterization’. In Lewis, L. A. (Ed.) The Adoring Audience. London, Routledge, pp9-29.
Panter, H. (2008) 'Ska'd for Life: A Personal Journey with The Specials", Pan. (Foreword not in actual book).

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