Beliebers

Belieber


Beliebers refer to fanatical devotees of the Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber.[note 1] Use of the term predates 2010, and the existence of the community is a result of the Internet, dating back to Bieber's early YouTube videos. Beliebers are mostly pre-teen and teen girls who have a clear sense of community, but the fandom also includes widely sought after "Boy Beliebers", who aregenerally loved by their female counterparts due to their rarity. Many beliebers strictly defend and support Bieber and may resort to extreme methods to protect him against anything they deem as a threat, such as issuing death threats to women connected to Bieber, and defacing Wikipedia after he failed to win a Grammy. There are a number of documented celebrity Beliebers.
Contents
1 Etymology2 Demographics
3 Media and academic coverage
4 Mobilization
5 Anti-Beliebers
6 Notes
7 References
8 External links
Etymology

Bieber fans are called Beliebers.] Belieber was one of the best new words of 2010. The Canberra Times defined the word as: "belieber blend of Bieber-believer, a fan of pop star Justin Bieber".[3] Another definition for belieber offered by New York Times "OnLanguage" columnist Ben Zimmer is "belieber: a fanatical devotee of the pop singer Justin Bieber". Usage of the word predates its inclusion in dictionaries.
Love of Bieber by Beliebers has been named "Bieber Fever."[6] Bieber Fever is described as an addiction to Justin Bieber that may start out as a crush on him before escalating over the course to a point where other views the addiction as harmful.Demographics

Beliebers have a clear concept of themselves as a community,[8][9] which Bieber acknowledged on Twitter by using the word, and by claiming one day he could fall in love with one of his fans. "I love all my fans," he declared, "but I've never been in love with one."

The early Bieber fanbase developed on YouTube, and predated the release of Bieber's first album. Fans viewed hisvideos more than 2 billion times on YouTube, with Bieber becoming the first person to reach that number on the site.He established a personal relationship with them, through Twitter, and answering questions from fans on a radio show.
The fandom has developed several components which co-exist uneasily. One aspect of the fandom can be self-mocking, and is willing to pay a lot money to be part of it.The other part does not like the association with problematic fans and is less willing to buy into the more overtly commercial parts of the fan community, such as purchasing concert tickets. The community sometimes has issues and rival factions inside fandom have been known to attack one another. In one case, a Twitter account shared "alleged direct messages from Justin scolding the authors of[a] blog for writing lies about him."Despite these issues, being a fan of Belieber provides fans with access to a community that may help them through tough times, and is over 20 million strong.
Most of Bieber's fanbase is composed of young girls in their pre-teens or teens, however there are still many young men out there who support him. His fans have been described as patient and doting by theToronto Star. Bieber fandom offers its female fans "a way not only to subliminate romantic and sexual yearnings but to carve out subversive versions of heterosexuality."] Inside the fandom, Bieber is almost always viewed by fans as 100% heterosexual. Some of his fans have expressed an interest in having sex with him, and there are documented cases of fans asking the media to pass along messages toBieber suggesting the There was a situation in the fandom where a fan tried gain access to Bieber for this reason by claiming she was Bieber's personal stripper.Fans will also express their love of Bieber by sending him messages on social networking sites like Twitter. Fans may have shrines dedicated to Bieber in their bedroom. X-Factor contestant Drew Ryniewicz was described as being a "true"...