What distinguishes fans from general audiences? Who is most likely to become a fan? What lies behind the stigma of fandom? This collection of essays explores the complex relationship between fans, stars and the media industry. The contributors (a fan writer, a team of popular journalists as well as eminent academics and researchers) argue that fandom is a coherent and important subject for critical inquiry. The book breaks traditional stereotypes of fandom and reveals how fans actively influence and produce popular culture.

With stories of hysterical teenagers and obsessive fans killing for their heroes, fans and fandom get a bad press. "The Adoring Audience" looks deeper into fan culture, particularly as it relates to identity,

Examining the videos and careers of female musicians Pat Benatar, Cyndi Lauper, Tina Turner, and Madonna, and their appeal to female audiences, this book challenges the idea that MTV presents only negative and sexist images of women. It shows that these artists have appropriated music video as a vehicle of feminist expression.