Para-kin relationship between admirers and you can idols: an effective qualitative studies off admirers’ motivations for purchasing idol-dolls

Goal

The objective of this research would be to check just how “mommy fans” impact on the existing patterns away from parasocial relationship between fans and idols and also to obtain greater wisdom on motivations root new purchase of idol dolls. While doing so, by the including the feel and you can point of views regarding male idol fans, the analysis seeks in order to broaden the newest knowledge of lover behavior and increase understanding of the new reasons operating idol-doll practices.

Design/methodology/strategy

Delivering idol-doll people because the look things, this research presented textual study plus-breadth interviews to explore fans’ reasons for buying idol dolls.

Findings

Idol doll instructions try inspired from the mental accessory, particularly certainly mom admirers which seek to establish a feeling of handle and keep a father or mother–youngster matchmaking. In addition, purchasing idol dolls may also serve as a beneficial disguise to have girlfriend fans to full cover up the personal fantasies regarding their idols. Additionally, idol dolls act as semiotic identifiers, drawing such-minded fans and wearing community identification. It should be listed you to definitely male idol admirers, who happen to be felt deviant regarding the male normative, deal with scrutiny inside women-ruled organizations, searching for subsequent evidence of credibility.

Practical effects

This study encourages understanding the reasons at the rear of idol-toy orders and certainly will let marketers into the providing to your psychological requires from fans, such as for example mommy fans, because of the developing and you can selling dolls one to resonate making use of their wished experience from connection.

Societal effects

By the acknowledging and centering on the positive areas of enthusiast situations, this research results in the newest constant means of de—demonization and you will normalization out of fandom. While doing so, this research in addition to tries so you can subscribe to an even more full expertise of your own battles and you will psychological demands of your own Chinese younger age bracket.

Originality/worth

This research examines this new under-explored mommy-lover group’s emotional need as well as their motives of purchasing idol-dolls. Additionally understands the distinct perspectives and you will experience regarding men idol admirers, providing a and you will book viewpoint to your idol-toy consumption.

1 Introduction

» tabindex=»0″> centered on celebrities’ appearance was basically offered because yet another means to own Chinese fans to generally share its strong affection because of their dear idols, resulting in the creation of a different Chinese fandom people. For enda Turkmenistan dam äktenskap the Weibo (probably one of the most common social media programs within the China), the online people for idol-doll-creators, consumers, and you will idol fans presently has obtained over 460,000 supporters and is highly female-ruled. With this platform, extremely common enthusiasts, who has a huge line of idol dolls, to create lovable photo and you can share the skills during the dressing up and applying make-up to their “babies.” With regards to the newest individual report, among idol-doll participants, the new post-2000 age bracket stands for the highest proportion, getting together with 43 %, followed by the fresh new blog post-1995 age bracket ranks second, with a proportion on twenty-six % (“2021 Cotton Doll Members Perception Report” 2021). Thus, Age bracket Z, some body, people born between the late 1990s and the early 2010s (Priporas ainsi que al. 2020), definitely activates having idol-doll orders due to interactive social networking platforms.

On day and age from participatory fandom and you can partner benefit, fans’ use choice as well as their understood connection with idols are particularly sufferers out of academic browse. The way fans relate with famous people has been identified as parasocial interaction-new nonreciprocal, fictional communications between admirers and you can media personae (Liebers and Schramm 2019; Yan and Yang 2021). Lately, fans earnestly getting into the newest parasocial dating dream regarding a near kinship with idols, assuming that they may control, or at least keeps a noticeable amount of impact on the idols. Towards the Chinese social media, there was a trend in which fans, particularly ladies, relate to themselves as idols’ parents, aunts, otherwise siblings. If you find yourself prior research has commonly checked-out parasocial relationship predicated on heterosexual norms and you will fans’ intimate ambitions on the idols (we.elizabeth., “girlfriend/partner fans” away from idols), absolutely nothing has been known from the “mommy admirers”,“Mommy admirers,” make reference to fans (generally speaking women fans) that are co-fostering idols/stars as their older feminine household members. They state themselves since mommy of your idol and tend to be indulgent to help you idols, delivering them due to the fact lovable, innocent high school students who require the additional care (Yan and you can Yang 2021).