When it was released, I wanted to write an article about One Direction's new album. I didn't end up doing that because I honestly didn't think many people would read it, and those who did would assume, "She is probably just a girl that is crazy obsessed with them." They would not take the article seriously, much like they don't take boy bands seriously because of their predominantly female audience.
Being a fan of boy bands comes with its consequences. I am faced with so many judgmental comments because of the music I listen to, which makes me question why boy bands are deemed ridiculous and immature.
Whenever someone my age or older says that they are into a band like One Direction, they will get comments like, "Aren't you a little too old for that?" or "Oh, so you are like a crazy obsessed young teenager?"
You can be a teenage girl and be into music without being crazy. Society has created this stereotype of what a fangirl of boyband should act like: insane.
The lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Pepper, Anthony Kiedis, once said:
“You know what’s the worst? Being a 16-year-old girl who loves a famous singer, not solely for his looks, but because you truly believe he is talented and devoted and you agree deeply with his message. Because no matter how intelligently and fully you can express that, people will assume you’re just a silly teenager who thinks a famous guy is cute.”
Also, a boy band is automatically not taken seriously simply because their audience consists of girls. Because of this, fans of their music will sometimes try to either hide the fact that they listen to the band or to actually prove the talent of the band.
Back in 2009 I was a huge fan of the Jonas Brothers, and they had been nominated for a Grammy. When they lost against Adele I was extremely upset. Even though I now I know Adele deserved to win, I can still understand why I was upset. It wasn't necessarily because I thought that they were better than her or that they deserved it more, it was because I wanted to prove that the band I liked was so much more than just good looks and that their music actually meant something.
Over the years boy bands have been diminished simply because of the mindset that something a teenage girl listens to can't be good. But what makes girls less capable of listening to an artist they actually consider to be talented?
Julian Bunetta, a songwriter and producer who works very closely with One Direction, recently spoke to Rolling Stone about the band's new album. During the interview he commented on the fact that people dismiss music that young women listen to:
“Why is that? Why would people not approve of what young women enjoy? Why would people not want young women to be happy and dancing and smiling? Who are the people that say that whatever all these young girls are enjoying and living and dancing to — which is the f*cking light of the world — who is the person who is saying that that's not cool? Who is that person? Who is that voice? What a d*ckhead that voice is! Why would you wanna squash someone's f*ckin' smile?”
Next time I even have the slightest doubt of writing an article about a boy band because of my gender, I will remind myself not to let others tell me that my taste isn't legitimate. Music is music, people have different tastes, and that's completely OK. What's not OK is to tell somebody that what they like is not good music simply because of their gender. Young women can like a band because of their music and not purely just because the band members are good looking.
