Para-kin relationships between admirers and you will idols: good qualitative investigation of fans’ reasons for buying idol-dolls
Objective
The intention of this study is to have a look at just how “mother fans” influence on the existing designs regarding parasocial relationship anywhere between fans and idols and get deeper expertise into motives root the fresh acquisition of idol dolls. On the other hand, by the such as the skills and you will viewpoints out of male idol fans, the analysis tries so you’re able to expand this new comprehension of lover conclusion and you can increase knowledge of this new reasons operating idol-doll practices.
Design/methodology/strategy
Getting idol-doll people as search objects, this research used textual data plus-breadth interview to explore fans’ motivations for buying idol dolls.
Results
Idol doll sales are passionate from the psychological attachment, such one of mom admirers which seek to establish a feeling of control and maintain a mother–youngster relationship. Likewise, purchasing idol dolls may act as a beneficial disguise having girlfriend fans to hide the romantic fantasies about their idols. Also, idol dolls serve as semiotic identifiers, drawing particularly-minded fans and you can wearing area identification. It must be noted that male idol admirers, that experienced deviant on the male normative, deal with scrutiny from inside the feminine-dominated organizations, searching for further proof credibility.
Practical ramifications
This study encourages knowing the motivations about idol-doll requests and can help marketers during the providing with the emotional requires regarding fans, like mother admirers, of the designing and you will purchases dolls one resonate along with their need feel out of attachment.
Public effects
By recognizing and you can concentrating on the good aspects of fan affairs, this research results in new lingering means of de–demonization and you can normalization regarding fandom. Concurrently, this study along with seeks to help you donate to an even more total knowledge of the battles and you can psychological needs of one’s Chinese younger age bracket.
Originality/well worth
This research examines the new not as much as-researched mommy-partner group’s psychological needs and their motivations of buying idol-dolls. What’s more, it acknowledges this new line of point of views and skills from male idol fans, getting another and you will novel view on the idol-toy use.
step one Introduction
” tabindex=”0″> predicated on celebrities’ styles had been offered given that a special means to own Chinese admirers to generally share their good affection due to their dear idols, leading to the creation of a different sort of Chinese fandom area. To your Weibo (probably one of the most prominent social media platforms inside the China), the online community to possess idol-doll-creators, customers, and you can ta en titt pÃ¥ den här webblänken idol fans presently has accumulated over 460,000 supporters and that is highly female-dominated. About this system, it’s quite common enthusiasts, that an enormous distinct idol dolls, to share lovable photographs and you may express its enjoy within the dressing and you can applying makeup on the “babies.” Depending on the newest user statement, one of many idol-doll participants, the blog post-2000 age group is short for the highest ratio, getting together with 43 %, followed closely by new article-1995 age group ranking 2nd, that have a percentage in the twenty-six % (“2021 Cotton Doll Players Perception Report” 2021). Therefore, Age bracket Z, some one, some one created between your late 1990s as well as the early 2010s (Priporas et al. 2020), earnestly engages which have idol-toy purchases compliment of entertaining social media systems.
Throughout the time regarding participatory fandom and partner cost savings, fans’ application choices in addition to their perceived connection with idols have become sufferers out of informative lookup. Just how admirers get in touch with famous people might have been recognized as parasocial interaction-the newest nonreciprocal, fictional communications ranging from admirers and mass media personae (Liebers and you will Schramm 2019; Yan and you will Yang 2021). Lately, fans earnestly stepping into new parasocial dating dream on the a near kinship with idols, as long as they could manage, or at least keeps an evident standard of impact on the idols. Towards the Chinese social media, there is certainly a development in which admirers, specifically female, consider themselves since the idols’ mothers, aunts, or siblings. When you find yourself prior studies have commonly checked out parasocial relationships based on heterosexual norms and you may fans’ intimate goals in the idols (i.elizabeth., “girlfriend/spouse fans” of idols), nothing could have been understood on the “mother fans”,“Mom fans,” relate to fans (typically feminine admirers) that happen to be co-cultivating idols/famous people because their elderly feminine family relations. They do say on their own just like the mother of your own idol and are also indulgent to idols, providing all of them since sweet, innocent kids who need the extra care (Yan and Yang 2021).