“Porque essa mulher mudou a minha vida”: consumo e identidade de gênero em comunidade de fãs de Lady Gaga no Facebook

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between the consumption of Lady Gaga‟s music and public image, as well as related merchandise, and the construction of gender identity among members of the Facebook fandom “Little Monsters da Lady Gaga”. To that end, we appeal to methodological tools from netnography. Our data consist of posts from the fandom, collected over a two-month period. As to the analysis framework, we consider three categories – consumption, fan behavior and gender identity – together with the use of field journals and surveys. The description and analysis of the data reveal the preponderance of young participants in the fandom, as well as homosexual males. We observe that members attribute the status of family to the group and their fellows. They also purchase CDs as a means to affirm their identity as fans. Finally, we find that posts about gender identity constitute a small fraction of the sample, although a sizeable share of the relationships on the community touch on gender issues. We highlight that the association between the consumption of Lady Gaga and gender identity is results from the singer‟s stance in her fans‟ eyes as a source of recognition and welcome. By bringing these fans together, she allows them to develop a critical view of homosexual citizenship, which borders the question of fan activism.