K-pop vs. Orientalism: "All asiatisk framgång måste bortförklaras." : K-popfans förhandlingar av kön, idolskap och fandom i sociala medier.

K-pop is the latest in a long line of example of ways East Asian cultures have been constructed in the West. Over time this has created generalizations about K-pop as a phenomenon and as a music industry. Furthermore, it has also contributed to a specific narrative about K-pop fans and how their experiences are justified. The discourse around K-pop fans is founded in stereotypes around gender, age, race and culture and social norms around how female fandoms and subcultures are seen as pathological. In this study, racism is seen as an analytical framework that is positioned within the research fields of postcolonial feminism and critical whiteness studies. This study aims to examine how K-pop fans use social media as a tool for negotiating space and to take back power regarding shaping the public image of themselves and their idols. One of the main goals of this project has also been to complicate the perceived notion of fangirls. This study draws data and empirical material from fan forums on the platform Reddit. By studying the interaction that takes place in these forums, this study shows how discourses about orientalism, authenticity and gender create a hegemonic discourse of K-pop in the West. Also, how fans create counter-negotiations against these discourses by questioning how Asian cultures are portrayed in the West