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5 stages of a fangirl

Johannesburg – Fangirl: a term used to describe a person who is obessesed with a celebrity, either fictional or real. 

Fangirling: The reaction the fangirl has when the object of their desire is brought up in conversation, shown on television or talked about on radio, which usually includes screaming, crying, proposing, and fainting – sometimes in that order. 

Let’s face it, with social media becoming all the more popular, and celebs becoming hotter by the day, we all run the risk of turning into a fangirl. So to make sure you never cross that line, check out the five stages every fangirl goes through. 

1. Discovery

So there you are, channel hopping on a Saturday afternoon when, bam! “Who the heck is that?” You lay eyes on a hot new celebrity. Everything about him/her screams “we belong together!” At this early stage the celeb is usually just referred to as a “crush.” 

2. Attachment

After the crush has been established, a long Google search usually takes place. This includes said celebs real name, number of siblings, marital status, and date of birth. It’s not unlikely for fangirls to start drawing up similarities between themselves and their crush at this point. “Oh he likes dogs? I like dogs, too. We’re so made for each other”. 

3. Joining the fandom

No more obsessing in silence. Joining a fandom means that you can share your undying love for your favourite celeb with thousands of others. The crush stage is behind you now, and with every retweet, like, and mention, you grow closer to becoming a fangirl. 

4. Obsession

This is usually when fangirls are at their scariest. We’re talking getting tattooed scary. At this point you don’t feel the need to hide your love anymore (kind of like these fans). The celeb of your desires will be your future lover and whoever says otherwise will suffer the wrath of your tweets. You talk about him/her whenever you have the chance, and have every one of their pictures you could find (even baby pics). 

5. Denial

“Me? A fangirl? You must be crazy. I just think he’s really talented.” Sound familiar? The fifth and final stage usually sees the fully fledged fangirl denying how obsessed she truly is. Every crazy incident can somehow be explained away. 

While these stages of a fangirl may be apparent to the person enduring them, they may not be so noticeable to family and friends. If you’re concerned that someone close to you might be turning into a fangirl, here are some symptoms to look out for.

·      They always have data. Even in tough times, fangirls will always have enough data to tell their fave celeb how much they love them.

·      Overload of pics. Ratio of family pics to celeb pics, 1:10. 

·      Fangirls prefer social media handles with their celeb crush's name in them: @celebnameisbae.

·      To accompany that handle, the fangirl will usually have the celeb crush as their display picture on at least one social media site.

·      They bring up their celeb crush whenever possible, no matter how inappropriate.

·      Becomes aggressive when someone else has never heard of their celeb crush before. Usually saying words like, "don't even..." to said offender.


If you notice any of these symptoms, seek medical attention immediately. Unless you're fangirling on us, then it's cool.  

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