Boy Bands
(& their predecessors)
Masculinity & Fandom
Mac 351
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overview
• History
• Definition
– Qualities of boy bands
• Fandom
history
• label “boy band” not coined till late 1980s:
– New Kids on the Block
– New Edition
– Boyz II Men
• Next generation 1990s & beyond:
– Take That, Backstreet Boys, Boyzone
– NSync, Westlife, 98 Degrees
– Busted, Jonas Brothers, JLS
* However, the seeds of the modern boy band were
around before these bands
definition
• a derogatory term?
– http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=boy+band
• So what IS a boy band?
• Boy bands are usually classified as such based on the
following criteria:
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–
–
–
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Authenticity
Masculinity as spectacle
Performance
Marketing
Fandom
authenticity
boy bands often aren’t taken seriously by
music press or society in general. Why?
• Inauthentic
– “Manufactured” music
– Manufactured appearance- very stylized
– Emphasis on image
• Criticised for being too “surfacey”, superficial
• No depth
women’s media
More reasons boy bands aren’t taken seriously:
• Appeal to (young) females
– Industry is still very male-dominated
– Girl fans pose a threat to the authority of the male rock critic
• The “agency” that girls fans possess and express may be threatening to
patriarchal culture
• Example: Beatlemania
– Women’s media has always been marginalized as being inferior to
other types of media
• “Trashy” romance novels
• Soap operas in America (female audiences)
• The “women’s film”
• Associated with the feminine
– Physical appearance effeminate and “soft”, pretty
– Lyrics to songs: usually about love or heartache
masculinity as spectacle
• The male body
– Posters on teen girls’ bedroom walls
• “Safe” way for curious adolescent girls
to view/admire male bodies
• Laura Mulvey and ‘the male gaze’ in
film: women’s bodies are to be looked
at, men’s aren’t
• Instability of the male pin-up
– (Richard Dyer “Don’t Look Now”
Screen 23, no. 3/4 (1982), 61-73)
» Males look up and away
– Dyer’s theory does not necessarily
apply to boy band posters
» Males look directly at viewer,
acknowledging them and
inviting them to look more
masculinity as spectacle
• The poster pin-up in video form:
– Clip: Take That “Do What You Like”
• Bondage, nudity, yet playful & safe
• “Feeling and Fun: Romance, Dance and the
Performing Male Body in Take That videos” (Sheila
Whitely (ed) Sexing the Groove)
masculinity as spectacle
• Feminization and androgyny
– Clip: 1980s: Duran Duran
• boyish playfulness hinting at sexuality
– Alternative sexuality, often also appeal to gay
men
– Growing acceptance of homo-erotic imagery
(Suzanne Moore)
performance
• Dancing emphasised (as opposed to playing
instruments)
– Clip: Boyzone’s First TV appearance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr2ZKhV6eKc
• Humour, “camp”
– Dance as safe form of sexual expression for
teen girls, and participation in “community”
performance
• Body language
– Represents romantic longing, romantic loss
– Yearning: the arching and stretching of bodies and looks
at the camera present and perform the romantic
‘problem’ in the lyrics
• Flirtatious yet safe eye contact (not intimidating)
– Explanation:
• Clip: Take That “On the Couch”
– Example:
• Clip: Duran Duran
“Is there something I should know?”
masculinity as spectacle –
water & sexuality
• Explanation:
– Clip: Take That “On the Couch”
• Example:
– Clip: Backstreet Boys video “Quit Playing
Games”
marketing – personality
• Various personalities are marketed to appeal to
the varying personalities of fans
– The shy/sensitive one, the bold one, the funny one
– Clip: Backstreet Boys video “Everybody”
• Performing roles, showcasing differing personalities
as well as their supposed actual (yet “constructed”)
personalities
• Style/image
• Humour
• Dance
marketing – power of video
• Video is key to boy bands’ success because
of their emphasis on image & style
• Clip: MTV History: the discovery of the
power of video to promote
marketing – teen magazines
• Teen magazines further emphasized varying
personalities & a ‘squeaky clean’ wholesome
image (albeit constructed)
• Clip: Smash Hits covers
stars vs. fans
• Fan “mania” – not new to pop music
– Beatlemania
– Were The Beatles the precursor to the modern
boy band? Early Beatles: appearance/style,
lyrics
• Clip: Take That fans
reality: behind the
‘constructed’ star image
• ‘Growing up’ in a band: pressure, dysfunctional group dynamics,
drugs/rehab, tabloid press – makes it hard for bands like these to
have longevity
• Members quit, bands split
• Departing members (such as Robbie Williams) make big
news
– Clip: The Split
– Clip: Look Back. Don’t Stare (Gary v. Robbie)
• Such stories are not unique to Take That, consider the hysteria
surrounding other boy bands whenever news like this hits the
press
reality: the fan’s perspective
Why do boy band fans do what they
do?
• Fan “agency”
• Clip: Samantha Who?
reality: the fan’s perspective
• “A lot of junk has been written about the teenage crush, and almost as
much junk on the middle-aged matron-crush, but between these two
periods of hormonal lunacy (adolescence and menopause), women are
supposed to give up their crushes on famous people – especially rock
stars. It’s a sign of maturity to pack up the posters, photos, magazines,
scrapbooks, and unauthorized biographies you so lovingly collected
and shove them in the back of the closet... until you reach the age when
everybody thinks you’re crazy anyway.” (Cline 1992, p. 70-71)
Clip: Something you should know
Current Research on boy band fandom:
www.fangirlsonline.org
further reading:
Andrews, M. & Whorlow R. (2000). Girl power and the post-modern fan: the 1996 Boyzone
concert tour. In: Andrews, M. & Talbot, M.M. (eds.) All the World and Her Husband:
Women in Twentieth-Century Consumer Culture. London and New York: Cassell, pp. ?266.
Briggs, C. (2006). The Lasting Legacy of Smash Hits. [online]. 2 Feb 2006. Available from:
BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4673850.stm [13 Jan 2007].
Ehrenreich, B., Hess E., & Jacobs G. (1992). Beatlemania: Girls Just Want to Have Fun. In:
Lewis, L. (ed.) The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media. London:
Routledge, pp. 84-106.
Garratt, S. (1990). Teenage Dreams. In: Frith, S. & Goodwin, A. (eds.) On Record: Rock,
Pop, & the Written Word. London: Routledge, pp. 399-409.
Kidder, K. (2006). She Bop: Passing Out and Acting Up with Young Female Music Fans.
Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture. 32 (Summer), pp. 82-86.
McRobbie, A. (1991). Feminism and Youth Culture. London: McMillan Education.
Wald, G. (2002). I Want It That Way. [online]. Available from: Genders Online Journal:
http://www.genders.org/g35/g35_wald.html [13 Jan 2007].
Whiteley, S. (2000). Women and Popular Music : Sexuality, Identity, and Subjectivity.
London: Routledge.
boy bands:
masculinity & fandom
• Questions?