Para-kin dating between fans and you can idols: a great qualitative research of fans’ reasons for buying idol-dolls

Mission

The reason for this research is to try to see how “mommy fans” impact on the current patterns out-of parasocial dating ranging from fans and you may idols and to obtain greater expertise for the motives fundamental new acquisition of idol dolls. While doing so, by the such as the feel and perspectives from male idol fans, the research aims so you can develop the latest knowledge of partner choices and you can increase understanding of the brand new motivations operating idol-toy consumption.

Design/methodology/means

Delivering idol-doll people because the research things, this research held textual investigation as well as in-depth interviews to explore fans’ motivations for purchasing idol dolls.

Results

Idol doll purchases is actually determined because of the psychological connection, particularly among mom admirers just who attempt to introduce a feeling of handle and keep maintaining a moms and dad–child relationships. On the other hand, to get idol dolls also can act as a great disguise having girlfriend admirers to cover up its romantic dreams about their idols. Also, idol dolls act as semiotic identifiers, attracting particularly-minded fans and you may gaining community identification. It ought to be indexed one to men idol admirers, who are felt deviant about male normative, face scrutiny inside female-dominated teams, looking for subsequent evidence of authenticity.

Fundamental ramifications

This research promotes knowing the motivations behind idol-doll requests and can let advertisers from inside the providing with the emotional requires of fans, including mom admirers, by the designing and income dolls you to resonate employing wished sense out-of connection.

Personal effects

By acknowledging and targeting the positive regions of lover facts, this study causes the brand new constant means of de-demonization and you will normalization out of fandom. On the other hand, this research including seeks so you’re able to subscribe to an even more full understanding of one’s problems and you may emotional need of your own Chinese younger age group.

Originality/worth

This research explores the newest around-researched mom-lover group’s mental means as well as their reasons of buying idol-dolls. It also recognizes the brand new distinct perspectives and you can event off men idol fans, bringing a new and novel viewpoint towards idol-toy application.

step one Inclusion

” tabindex=”0″> according to celebrities’ appearances had been offered given that a special form to own Chinese ukrainare brudkostnad admirers to share their strong passion because of their beloved idols, resulting in the creation of a unique Chinese fandom neighborhood. With the Weibo (probably one of the most preferred social media platforms in the China), the web based community to own idol-doll-creators, customers, and you can idol admirers is now offering built-up more than 460,000 supporters which will be extremely feminine-controlled. About this program, extremely common for fans, who may have a huge collection of idol dolls, to create lovable photos and share the event for the dressing up and applying makeup to their “babies.” Depending on the most recent individual statement, one of many idol-doll professionals, the post-2000 generation signifies the highest ratio, getting together with 43 %, followed by the latest blog post-1995 generation positions second, which have a percentage at 26 % (“2021 Cotton Toy Users Belief Declaration” 2021). Thus, Age group Z, some body, individuals produced between your late 1990s together with very early 2010s (Priporas mais aussi al. 2020), definitely activates with idol-toy orders courtesy entertaining social networking systems.

Regarding point in time of participatory fandom and partner savings, fans’ consumption choice and their thought of reference to idols are particularly subjects of instructional search. Ways admirers interact with stars has been recognized as parasocial interaction-brand new nonreciprocal, imaginary communication between fans and media personae (Liebers and you will Schramm 2019; Yan and you can Yang 2021). Recently, fans actively stepping into the fresh new parasocial dating fantasize throughout the a virtually kinship having idols, so long as they could control, or perhaps possess an obvious level of affect their idols. For the Chinese social media, discover a pattern where admirers, especially lady, relate to by themselves since the idols’ mothers, aunts, otherwise siblings. If you are earlier in the day studies have generally looked at parasocial relationship predicated on heterosexual norms and fans’ personal goals throughout the idols (we.elizabeth., “girlfriend/partner admirers” away from idols), little might have been understood about “mom fans”,“Mommy fans,” consider fans (typically feminine admirers) who’re co-fostering idols/celebrities since their senior feminine friends. They state on their own since mother of the idol and so are indulgent in order to idols, bringing all of them just like the attractive, simple high school students who require their additional care (Yan and you may Yang 2021).