Stan Twitter
Stan Twitter is a community of X (formerly Twitter) users that post opinions related to celebrities, music, TV shows, movies, video games, social media, and others. The community has been noted for its particular shared terminology but also for incidents of harassment and bullying. Usually, Stan Twitter revolves around discussing public figures — primarily those in the entertainment industry such as actors and musicians.
Background and description[edit]
The origin of the term stan is often credited to the 2000 song "Stan", about an obsessed fan, by American rapper Eminem featuring British singer Dido.[1][2] The word itself was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2017.[3][4] The term was originally a noun, but over time evolved and began to be used as a verb as well.[5]
Stan Twitter has been noted by The Atlantic as one of the "tribes" of Twitter.[6] Polygon has described Stan Twitter as "an overarching collection of various fandoms",[7] and additionally as a community that "[signifies] individuals congregated around certain, specific interests ranging from queer identity to K-pop groups, and added that "Stan Twitter is essentially synonymous with fandom twitter."[8]
The Daily Dot wrote that "Stan Twitter is essentially a community of Extremely Online like-minded individuals who discuss their various fandoms and what they 'stan'."[9] Stan Twitter has also been noted for its common overlap with LGBTQ+ Twitter communities.[8][10] The Guardian noted, for example, that "Gay male culture has always coalesced around female pop stars, from Judy Garland to Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande."[10]
Mat Whitehead of HuffPost described stans as "volcanic", and added that they are "organised, ... dedicated and—at times—completely unhinged."[2] Whitehead went on to describe stans of recording artists, writing "stans aren't just superfans, they're a community of like-minded souls coming together, unified under the banner of wanting to see their chosen celebrity flourish. Friendships are made, bonding over a shared love of an artist, their work, their achievements."[2]