Para-kin relationships ranging from fans and you may idols: a good qualitative analysis off fans’ motivations for buying idol-dolls

Goal

The purpose of this research is always to see just how “mom fans” affect the current patterns of parasocial relationships ranging from admirers and you will idols and also to get higher insights with the reasons fundamental brand new purchase of idol dolls. Likewise, from the including the event and you may point of views regarding male idol fans, the research seeks so you’re able to broaden the fresh knowledge of fan conclusion and you may promote knowledge of the brand new motivations operating idol-toy application.

Design/methodology/method

Delivering idol-doll customers given that search stuff, this research held textual studies plus in-depth interview to explore fans’ motivations for buying idol dolls.

Findings

Idol toy sales was determined by mental accessory, particularly certainly mommy fans just who seek to expose a sense of manage and keep a parent–child relationship. At the same time, to invest in idol dolls also can serve as a good disguise to possess girlfriend fans to hide the personal goals about their idols. Moreover, idol dolls act as semiotic identifiers, attracting instance-oriented admirers and you may wearing neighborhood detection. It needs to be listed you to male idol admirers, who happen to be sensed deviant from the male normative, face scrutiny when you look at the female-controlled teams, needing subsequent proof of authenticity.

Basic effects

This study encourages understanding the motives behind idol-doll commands and can help advertisers within the providing on the mental demands away from fans, including mother admirers, from the designing and you will purchases dolls you to definitely resonate the help of its wished sense out of accessory.

Societal implications

From the recognizing and you may concentrating on the positive aspects of partner things, this study results in the fresh new constant procedure for de–demonization and normalization away from fandom. Concurrently, this study plus tries in order to donate to a far more complete information of your own struggles and you will emotional requires of the Chinese younger generation.

Originality/worth

This research explores the fresh less than-explored mommy-fan group’s psychological requires as well as their motives of shopping for idol-dolls. In addition it understands the new type of views and you can feel off male idol fans, taking a fresh and you will unique thoughts into idol-doll use.

step 1 Inclusion

” tabindex=”0″> centered on celebrities’ appearances was marketed once the a new mode having Chinese admirers to share the good love for their dear idols, leading to the production of yet another Chinese fandom people. Into the Weibo (probably one of the most common social network platforms for the Asia), the net people to have idol-doll-creators, buyers, and you may idol fans presently has amassed over 460,000 followers and is highly feminine-dominated. With this platform, it is common for fans, that has a vast distinctive line of idol dolls, to publish adorable photographs and express the feel during the dressing and you can applying make-up on the “newborns.” According to the most recent consumer statement, among idol-doll members, the brand new blog post-2000 generation represents the best ratio, getting 43 %, followed closely by the fresh new post-1995 age group positions next, having a percentage during the twenty-six % (“2021 Cotton fiber Doll Professionals Belief Declaration” sexiga mongoliska kvinnor 2021). Therefore, Age group Z, somebody, someone born within later 90s and the early 2010s (Priporas et al. 2020), actively engages having idol-doll sales due to interactive social network programs.

In the day and age off participatory fandom and you will enthusiast benefit, fans’ usage preferences in addition to their detected connection with idols are sufferers off informative lookup. Just how fans connect to superstars could have been recognized as parasocial interaction-the new nonreciprocal, fictional correspondence ranging from fans and you may mass media personae (Liebers and you may Schramm 2019; Yan and you may Yang 2021). Recently, admirers earnestly entering the brand new parasocial matchmaking dream regarding the a close kinship having idols, assuming that they may handle, or at least have an obvious degree of effect on its idols. Into Chinese social media, there is certainly a trend where fans, specifically females, consider on their own since the idols’ moms and dads, aunts, or siblings. If you find yourself earlier in the day research has commonly checked parasocial relationship considering heterosexual norms and you may fans’ close hopes and dreams regarding idols (i.e., “girlfriend/spouse admirers” from idols), nothing has been known on “mommy admirers”,“Mom admirers,” make reference to fans (generally feminine admirers) who will be co-cultivating idols/superstars because their older female family members. People say themselves because mom of your own idol and are indulgent so you can idols, getting all of them because the adorable, simple high school students who are in need of the special care (Yan and you will Yang 2021).