The book starts from the awareness that we need critical discourses on idol fandom. We need discourses about fandoms because they shape our perception of particular objects, determine evaluations, and influence behavior. Idol fandoms are shrouded in prejudices that envisage troops of female fans who are hell-bent on defending their male star, female fans who are crazily obsessed with a male star, and cult-like hordes of young and immature girls. While the history of idol fandoms is already over 20 years old, and despite the progressed maturity and transformation of fandom culture, the prejudices remain and stem largely from society’s rigid views on women, teenagers, and consumer culture. Hopefully, this book’s careful observations of the dynamics inside the fandom will underline that it’s time to remove the shallow stigmas that were attached to idol fandoms, and invite insightful criticism and assessment by reasoning. Lastly, to the fans who accepted me?an Aca-Fan?as a member of the fervent and dynamic world of ARMY, I send my gratitude in the words of cultural studies scholar Henry Jenkins:

And most of what I am writing about here I know from the inside out.