I know the title is jarring, but it is true. Society loves to parade around sports as an acceptable hobby for young boys when in reality, many American men’s obsession with football is truly that, an obsession. If you are confused, think about One Direction and someone being obsessed with them. Who do you think about? People often associate fangirling with being childish and often foolish. Your childhood walls with One Direction posters are no different from having jerseys, posters of your favorite players on the wall, or even a shrine to your own former football career (yes, this happens).
It’s important to remember that we are all fans of something and fan culture can be crazy but also pretty cool. The Superbowl is the equivalent of someone like Billie Ellish or Harry Styles performing at Madison Square Garden. Have you ever heard a girl gets made fun of for saying she loves Taylor Swift? I have. Men love to talk about their favorite football teams, with no one telling them to not waste their time on something so frivolous. I don’t see any difference between stalking Taylor’s Instagram to see which album you think is next and trying to predict the NFL draft. We could stay as we are or look around and appreciate how dedicated other fans are.
To truly address this disparity in societal thinking about “fangirls” and men having hobbies, we need to address the main culprit: sexism. Women are taught that there are only a few socially acceptable things for them to like and are often judged for being “too girly” or even liking what men like. As someone who finds this topic fascinating, I remember when a famed quarterback Cam Newton was shocked and found it “funny” that a female sports reporter had a high-quality football question. This became national news as people were split.
This conversation extends beyond being a fan and truly addresses the idea of roles for men and women, especially when it comes to hobbies or careers. As someone who is close to entering the beauty industry, I have often been asked questions such as, “Oh, is that a stable industry to be in?” when the beauty industry was worth $511 B in 2021. This connects to the idea of hobbies; you could be a fan of an artist with a more heavy male audience and be questioned whether you really like that artist and could be a fan of an artist with a larger female following and then be judged for that choice.
For anyone reading this and wondering what you can do to combat these types of low-hanging insults, be fierce in who you are. If you love the Kardasians, embrace it. If anyone ever dares to question you on your hobbies, hit them with a, “what football player has as large of a business empire as Kim Kardashian?”. If you are ever questioned about being a Directioner, look them in the eye and say, “What is the difference between my poster and your jersey?”
Men are big fans of people, too. They usually are just not as open about it. This conversation is larger than hobbies. We are constantly scrutinized for how we talk, how we dress, things we talk about, etc., so why would our hobbies be looked at differently? The only true difference between these different “fandoms” is just a target audience.
Words by Annika Petersen.
Graphic by Fai McCurdy.