Oct 28, 2021
Opinion | ‘Stan culture’ needs to be radically changed, or stopped
The mental illness, or total idiosyncrasy that is ‘stan culture’.
More dramatics on Twitter. I’m sure you’re not surprised. From Nicki Minaj’s ballgate to Twitter being down the other week, there’s been continual madness on the platform. That type of madness is broadcasted on the mainstream media — but there is a certain aspect that isn’t being mainly focused on. Stan culture.
Stan’s definition, according to Google is “an overzealous or obsessive fan of a particular celebrity”. That’s exactly what a stan is. Stan culture is the unhealthy obsession with a public figure, almost always a musical artist. I wouldn’t say there’s a problem with being an overzealous fan of an artist, because that would mean that you are very supportive of that artist’s creations. That isn’t the problem though. It’s the toxicity that comes along with that culture.
Toxicity
Stan culture basically glorifies toxicity. For example, back in March of 2021, when Gaga and Ariana Grande’s “Rain On Me” had won an award against BTS’s first English single, “Dynamite” at the Grammy Awards, BTS stans tweeted death threats towards individuals on the site that were rooting for the female duo’s win. Their overzealous fans also personally attacked the artists themselves because the K-Pop band didn’t win. Meanwhile, BTS congratuled them for their win while their fans mentally attacked them and even went as far as visiting Ariana’s residence in Los Angeles.
That behavior is unacceptable and simply disgusting. What shocks me about this outlandish incident the most is they aren’t even doing it for a family member or an extremely close friend. They’re doing it for a music artist. It’s truly a mental illness to be so obsessed with someone that you’d go to the idiosyncratic of attacking someone because of an award won fair and square. Even BTS admonished their toxic fans.
Surprisingly, there’s a profusion of ‘stans’ on Twitter. Most stans aren’t overly extreme, but they still have somewhat bizarre behavior that definitely doesn’t deserve praise in any way, shape or form. Users who stan Nicki Minaj will often post hateful (yet comical, I have to admit) videos towards Cardi B, referencing her scandals in the past, including being exposed for drugging men and constantly modifying her face with plastic surgery — among other things. It’s the other way around for people who stan Cardi B — referencing Nicki’s scandals.
Stan culture is, sometimes, the immoral depiction of being an sociopath. Referring back to the BTS commotion, that involved a bunch of obsessive ‘stans’ losing their mental capacity and growing more churlish towards them by the second. My close scrutiny adds up to the conclusion that you read in the title — stan culture needs to be radically changed, or stopped altogether. If we want to get past Stan Twitter and it’s shenanigans, there are certain measures to be taken.
