'My whole world shifted': Identity and transformation in becoming-a-fan narratives. (1st September 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Riddell, Kathleen Ann
• Is Part Of: Journal of fandom studies. Volume 9:Number 3(2021)
• Page Start: 195
• Page End: 211
• Publication Date: 2021-09-01
• Subjects: Fans (Persons) -- Periodicals; Subculture -- Periodicals; Popular culture -- Psychological aspects -- Periodicals; 306.1
• DOI: 10.1386/jfs_00041_1
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2046-6692

Abstract

Based on a multi-site ethnography and participant interviews with fans of The Beatles (primarily John Lennon) and Johnny Cash, this article discusses transformational accounts of becoming-a-fan narratives. Fan interviews took place during two intervals: in the fall of 2013 and winter 2014, and in winter and spring 2019. A primary focus is Sandvoss's conception of the 'extension of the self' concerning the object of a fan's devotion. Extensions of the self operate to reaffirm the fan's sense of self and inform identification with the celebrity. To clarify this concept, this article considers 'becoming-a-fan' narratives as a way to illustrate how the self works in the lives of fans and how a turn towards fan identity helps to refocus a previous emphasis on becoming-a-fan as similar to religious conversion. I argue fans of The Beatles and Cash relate to one or more values embedded in the celebrity and, in combination with socialization to the fan object, transition to a fan identity. Harrington and Bielby's notion of texistence helps to explain what maintains this identity over the life course. In conclusion, I consider whether this new-found identity reveals an important dynamic about the way people transition to fandom.