I would love to tell you that this topic of gender double standards came to my mind on its own, but I’ll be honest and say I actually got this idea from a random TikTok video I saw one night. The video showed multiple double standards — one being that men are applauded and positively acknowledged when they are passionate about something, but when women are passionate about something they are deemed obsessive or crazy. Almost immediately, the term “fan-girling” came to mind and how it usually has a negative connotation and obvious sexist qualities. With the football season coming to a close, we’ve seen a lot of what we call team spirit these past months, but why is that behavior tolerated more than “fan-girling” over your favorite pop star?

The U.S. is known for being extremely passionate when it comes to football, which is stereotypically a masculine sport, with only male players in the national league. From riots when their team loses (or wins) to epic tailgate parties that last all day, football festivities and the fans who hold them are held to high regard — they are a symbol of patriotism and united front. 

There are countless pop stars with wide fan bases just like football teams. Harry Styles fans are at the top of the list when it comes to who has the most super-fans. These fans are usually women or people who appreciate femininity and see no boundaries when it comes to expression. Too many times these fans are called out in the media for being immature, obsessive young girls, whether that be in SNL skits or TikToks. 

This difference in how our culture classifies fans of different genres of entertainment is damaging. It plays directly, without us realizing it, to gender discrimination and the patriarchy. These jokes or comments about feminine fans being annoying can seem harmless but in reality, they build into something bigger. What those comments entail becomes more harmful when masculine fans are seen as normal or even great.

It is fun and it feels good to be passionate about something with many people with the same interests. People should come together to appreciate a topic, hobby or interest on deeper levels. Football fans enjoy the technical side of the game as well as the flashy entertainment, and Harry Styles fans enjoy the poetic side of his music as well as his amazing dance moves. Any type of passion can seem outlandish to those who have different ones. So, we should get rid of the sexist, and frankly silly, negative connotation of being a fan for something other than sports, because in the end we all deserve to express our own passions, positively, together.