I used to be ashamed of being a fangirl. Now I see how joyous and creative it was

The summer of 2009 is here. I have my back to the window and am typing a letter to Lady Gaga while the sun is shining. The two-page-long document is full of personal details and intimate thoughts, such as the worry I will never fit in at school. I swim in her dopamine hits after pouring my heart out to her.

I didn't tell anyone about my love for Lady Gaga because of the way I looked. Back then, I had no idea how to show my obsession without looking crazy.

Thanks to a wave of literature exploring exactly that dynamic, I now know what it means to be consumed by pop culture. There are a number of books, films, and memoirs that celebrate the heights of female obsession. The stereotype of a frivolous, gullible, hysterical teenage girl is being pushed back against by writers and academics.

Some of the insights come from former obsessive girls. The author of " Everything I Need I Get From You: How Fangirls Created the Internet as We Know It" was once a fan of One Direction. Maria Sherman's celebration of female fandom, Larger Than Life: A History of Boy Bands, is the basis for a documentary directed by Gia Coppola. A person is crying. The person threw up. The Pixar film, Turning Red, tells the story of a 13-year-old girl who loves a boy band. Female obsession is being reclaimed, showing that it can be joyful and offer emotional support to many women.

"Teen girls are viewed as too much, as they are too emotional, too passionate, too invested, and so on and so forth." Observers are subject to many of the most negative and damaging stereotypes about fans because of their age and gender. It isn't that teen girls are devoid of sexuality, it's that society has built an absurd caricature of teenage girls who idolise musicians. In reality, I played the music videos on repeat before school. This was perhaps the most earnest way to appreciate someone and fancy them at the same time.

Society has built an absurd caricature of teenage fangirls

There is a perception that screaming girls at a concert were undressing the band. The group who enjoy the welcoming community that exists when you love the same thing is erased. There is a camaraderie and trust built from obsessing over the same person or thing and these communities can be a key way to explore gender identity or sexuality as they find people going through the same experiences.

Girlhood and teenage life has not historically been seen as having any kind of value or direction.

Young girls' obsessions are reduced to: "Harry Styles is so hot; I will buy anything he sells." Teenagers are thought to be robbed of objectivity and taste by being attracted to these figures. Many young girls internalize these derogatory, sexist stereotypes and feel a sense of shame about their obsessions, despite the importance of them to their daily life and their sense of self.

There are still big barriers to how boys and men can experience their obsessions. The difference comes from long-standing rules about what people can and cannot do. Football and boybands have similar levels of emotional investment, but the men's response to sports is more socially acceptable.

Tiffany says that being a teenager is a rich environment for obsession. The bedroom culture is enjoyable. During the 90s, it included sitting in your bedroom, listening to your CD player, and writing in a diary. Within the four walls of their bedroom, girls might be creating installations and regurgitating inspiration in countless formats, from glitter-adorned photographs to handmade cushions.

Many obsessive teenage girls have a level of creativity similar to Gaga. They have a lot of creative potential. This could be expressed through the creation of artwork, writing and distributing fan fiction, or the development of technically sophisticated fan videos or websites dedicated to what they love. Fanfiction narratives are delivered within weeks.

One girl’s viral hashtag created a fanbase for Ed Miliband

I made a replica of Gaga's Pokerface accessories in the run-up to her concert. I have no doubt that it was more Poundland than Picasso but, more than a decade on, I am still amazed at the joyful way I assembled it.

Tiffany believes that obsessive girls have influenced a large amount of online culture. Someone is either a hero or a villain on the social networking site. Any moment can become a meme with everyone declaring they are either a fan or against the characters involved. It is normal for people to respond to a TikTok or an election with "I'm a fan"

The Gif, the short animation or moving image frequently re-shared on social media, originated on the Tumblr blog of countless teenage fangirls, who developed it alongside new languages to declare their fandom. It owes a lot to the creativity and passion of the teen girls who are obsessed with their interests.

Girls with obsessive tendencies are also political. Tiffany said that they can lend their weight to causes they believe in and make them visible. A generation of young voters were engaged by the then Labour leader Ed Miliband's popularity because of the meme started by a teenager. The communities realized what was needed to make a message trend and for it to spread through densely connected networks. The format that most teen girls could do in a second is being attempted by businesses and political parties.

Tiffany says that everyone, including political activists, understands how to achieve internet virality, and fans were the first group who were trying to do that.

Seeing this cultural shift is a redemption for a former obsessive teenage girl. I don't think the stereotypes that existed a decade ago have disappeared, but I do think it's nice to see obsessive women in this position. Younger girls are surrounded by media that shows the joy of obsession. They might want to shout about their passions as well.