Okay the fangirl on fangirl verbal violence needs to stop now. I’ve been guilty of it myself. It’s not cool, ladies. Guys, you aren’t so innocent either. Now is the time to stop judging each other on petty things and start enjoying Tom Petty together. When you act like you are a better fan than someone else you turn him or her off from rock and roll, and that’s not right. Stop the hate and spread the rock and roll. Now here are some major offenses we’ve all been guilty of.
1. “Smells Like
That’s The Only Song You Know”
Okay so this a problem amongst all fans, not just the girls.
To some, you aren’t a true fan unless you own the entire discography, know
every band member’s birthday, and can recite a complete list of B sides off the
top of your head. Now I will give you credit if you fill all of those criteria,
because you are indeed a very dedicated fan. Newsflash though: that person who
loves your favorite band’s one hit single that’s on the radio every other hour
and gets excited every time they hear it is a fan too. It doesn’t matter if it
is the only song they know. He or she is a fan of that song. If you go and tell them they aren’t true fans
though, guess what now they feel bad. Making people feel bad is not punk rock.
Most likely you started out hearing some of your favorite bands’ singles on the
radio too. How do you expect these people to get to your level of dedication if
you are discouraging them for liking one song?
2. “It’s a Band Not A
Brand”
This one is definitely more for the ladies. Even I’ve been
guilty of it in the past. Too often I see posts online about girls seeing other
girls wearing a band t-shirt and saying, “Do you even listen to that band?” It
seems even more prevalent if the girl is wearing said band t-shirt with a skirt
or in a fashionable way, or is wearing a lot of makeup. There’s some
deep-rooted girl hate that results in this but that’s for another blog. Personally I think one of the other problems
with this results from stores like Forever 21. They have a wide selection of Pink
Floyd and The Doors crop tops covered in studs and fringe. I’ll admit, I think
some are cute. Sometimes I want to look girly when wearing my favorite Jimmy
Page shirt. In the back of my mind though, I know there’s some other fangirl
shooting daggers from her eyes at me and questioning in her head, “Does she
even know what band Jimmy Page is in?” Sadly as well, there are some girls, and
guys, out there who wear band t-shirts for their looks. I think we’ve all had
the unfortunate fate of going up to someone in a Ramones shirt and saying,
“Hell yeah, the Ramones!” and getting a confused look and a ‘huh’ in return.
The lesson is though, don’t automatically assume a girl wearing her band
t-shirt with a hi-low, polka-dot skirt isn’t a real fan. Instead, go up to her
and compliment on the way she made that boxy concert tee look super cute and
tell her how much you love that band. If by chance she doesn’t know that band,
try to turn her on to them. Who knows you could turn her into a new fan.
3. “You Only Like Them
Cause They are Hot”
If I had a dollar for every time I heard this, I’d be a rock
star instead of just writing about them. This accusation often comes from the
male fans or from friends of fangirls who don’t get the appeal of rock and
roll. I’ll admit part of the appeal is the attractive guitarists. Is it even
half of it though? No. The first time I saw a picture of Led Zeppelin I
actually thought they all looked like extravagantly dressed hobos. Now, I get a
little light-headed watching Robert Plant move on stage. Part of the reason
fangirls get attracted to rock stars is that their talent makes them hot. First
and foremost we are attracted to the music. Physical attraction to their looks
comes much later, if at all. I love Rush but I’m sorry, none of those men are
the apple of my eye. It’s just another way people try to invalidate the female
fans. This goes back to the last point that us ladies only care about good
looks and lookin’ good. Which neither of those things are bad but they are in
no way the sole reason we like a band or a t-shirt.
Sorry, Neil.
4. “You Only Like
Them Cause Your Boyfriend Likes Them”
If
you combined the money I made from being told I only like a band because they
are hot with the money I make from being told I only like a band because my boyfriend
likes them, I could have retired at eighteen. I am lucky enough to have a
boyfriend who has a great taste in music and we have been able to get each
other into new bands neither of us would have checked out if the other didn’t
say something. Once again though, since Rock and Roll is dominated by the male
species, to some people it’s obvious that I only went to a Black Sabbath show
because my boyfriend is a fan. It’s impossible that I like Black Sabbath
because, I don’t know, my parents like them, or God forbid, I discovered them
on my own. That’s silly. I’m sorry; I’ll quit with the sarcasm. It just really
grinds my gears that people need to see female fans as lesser than male fans
and can’t like music as much as their male counterparts. Once again there’s
deeper issues buried beneath this, such as women only do some things for men.
If anything though, music is one of the most personal and self-indulgent things
out there. It’s difficult to get into a song or a band you don’t actually like.
Trust me, I’ve tried. It’s virtually impossible to be pretending to like a band
for someone else and actually be able to retain every lyric and guitar riff in
your head and then be able to belt them out at a live show as well.
Joke's on you guys, I don't even know who these men are.
We
all really just need to work together, and appreciate each other. Us fangirls
are important in the music scene. I mean if it weren’t for the ladies a lot of
the world’s greatest rock ballads wouldn’t even exist. Now stop bringing each
other down. And trust me, it’s fun to fangirl with other people so the more you bring others down the less fun we all have.
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