The economic and relevancy power of the fangirl.

Hi, I’m Toni and that’s me on the right. This is my ode - in defense of the Fangirls, not that they need any defending whatsoever. And this movement all started with a simple TikTok.

In the music space, female pop fans have long been portrayed as sad, hysterical, and sexual predators - even though many of them are under-aged (go figure). We have seen this same phenomenon in sports too. And I’ve increasingly seen this in F1 and I’m pissed.

This negative reputation is purely down to society's sexist double standards. Male fans can be just as obsessive over things, but their behaviour is tolerated and even expected. The general and repetitive message goes a little like this: male musical or sports appreciation has to do with a deep, thoughtful, smart and complex understanding of the industry. Women (but especially young girls) are blindly driven by craze and lust.

The term fangirl is often equated to crazed groupies when in reality the female fandom in music, fashion and sports is full of experts with deep knowledge and understanding of the topic - they might come at it differently, their knowledge may be different but they absolutely know what they are talking about.

More importantly, they wield great power - both economically and in terms of relevancy - on the athletes, teams, and the sport they champion. They are the number one consumer buying your merch and products, tickets to your events, creating word of mouth and getting their friends involved…

They self-organise - gather online and offline. They take up space, make a lot of noise, build communities and through all of this, they create relevance, more so than any other consumer group. And they know how to “love [something or someone] without apology or fear” says Yve Blake.

And regardless of all of this, they are still dismissed as ditsy, crazy, obsessive, desperate to the point where they are ridiculed. Let’s also not forget that it’s often grown adults humiliating young women. When a fangirl dares to declare herself a fan of F1, for example, it can only be because “she’s interested in the drivers”. And simultaneously asked to prove herself with some random facts and historic knowledge of the sport.

Sexism is obviously part of the problem, but the constricting gender roles that society has spent decades pushing on us certainly plays into this narrative too.

My take on the F1 fangirls is that they are most likely one step ahead of everyone else. They have the finger on the pulse and are aware of what will come next for the sport. I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say that the teams and players that take note and respect this consumer will win - and win big.

Finally, these fangirls push the industry to have the conversations that should have been taking place a long time ago - conversations around sexism, racism, LGBTQ rights, racial justice, sustainability... And their mere presence is a pivotal point for the sport.

The F1 fangirls deserve all of our respect. And we should be paying close attention to them.

Toni