Teenybopper
Encyclopedia
The term teenybopper was invented by marketing
professionals and psychologists
, later becoming a subculture
of its own. The term describes a young teenager, particularly a girl, who follows adolescent trends in music, fashion and culture. The term was introduced in the 1950s to refer to teenagers who mainly listened to pop music
and/or rock and roll
and not much else. "Teenybopper" became widely used again in the late 1960s and early 1970s, following an increase in the marketing of pop music, teen idols and fashions aimed specifically at younger girls, down to 13 years.
The narrative fantasies
elaborated around teenyboppers serve as distractions from boring, unrewarding, or demanding aspects of life, such as school or work, and as a defensive means against the authoritarian structures at school. When shared with other teenyboppers, it allows for defensive solidarity. It allows its members to define themselves apart from younger and older girls. Their groups, like all girl groups, will rarely go above four, unlike boys, who prefer bigger numbers.
It has a commercial origin and is "an almost packaged cultural commodity", emerging from the pop business and relying on commercial magazines and TV. As a result, it has fewer creative elements than other subcultures.
Membership has very few restrictions, does not require elaborate spending, and requires much less competence and money than certain school activities. Due to its female members not having as much freedom as their male counterparts, the subculture is suited so that it can be followed at school or home, and a party can be made with just a bedroom, a music player and permission to invite friends.
music school, but molded by it. It was no longer written by the old established songwriters of Tin Pan Alley, but by extremely young talented people. They helped to establish the new teen idol
s and wrote the so-called "teeny bopper songs", which "blends soft rock
with pop ballad, is not explicitly physical and only hints at sexual interaction.
The difference that the 70s' "Teeny Bopper syndrome" had with prior idol phenomena was that these new teen idols were directed at even younger girls, down to 15 years old, who were too young to have heard The Beatles
and were not attracted to the new hard rock
music of the time that their elder siblings listened to. This new market has a quick turnover potential and it boosted the benefits of many broadcasting companies.
The teeny bopper idol image is that of the young boy next door, with its key elements being self-pity, vulnerability and need. Their music is consumed by young girls, who collect posters and pin ups.
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
professionals and psychologists
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, later becoming a subculture
Subculture
In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...
of its own. The term describes a young teenager, particularly a girl, who follows adolescent trends in music, fashion and culture. The term was introduced in the 1950s to refer to teenagers who mainly listened to pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and/or rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
and not much else. "Teenybopper" became widely used again in the late 1960s and early 1970s, following an increase in the marketing of pop music, teen idols and fashions aimed specifically at younger girls, down to 13 years.
Subcultural aspects
According to some sources, the subculture is exclusive to females, not allowing male entry. As a subculture, it is a "retreat and preparation", allowing girls to relate to their peers and "practice in the secrecy of girl culture the rituals of courtship away from the eye of male ridicule", also having no risks of standing out or personal humiliation, and serving as a retreat to avoid being labeled sexually. It also allows young girls to participate in semi-masturbatory rituals, since they don't have access to the masturbatory rituals common among boys. While the subculture allows them to have a space of their own, the subculture magazines offer an idealized relation with the teen idols, always implying a subordination of the female to the male, anticipating that the subordination will keep being present in their future relationships, and presenting an idealized form of marriage.The narrative fantasies
Fan fiction
Fan fiction is a broadly-defined term for fan labor regarding stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator...
elaborated around teenyboppers serve as distractions from boring, unrewarding, or demanding aspects of life, such as school or work, and as a defensive means against the authoritarian structures at school. When shared with other teenyboppers, it allows for defensive solidarity. It allows its members to define themselves apart from younger and older girls. Their groups, like all girl groups, will rarely go above four, unlike boys, who prefer bigger numbers.
It has a commercial origin and is "an almost packaged cultural commodity", emerging from the pop business and relying on commercial magazines and TV. As a result, it has fewer creative elements than other subcultures.
Membership has very few restrictions, does not require elaborate spending, and requires much less competence and money than certain school activities. Due to its female members not having as much freedom as their male counterparts, the subculture is suited so that it can be followed at school or home, and a party can be made with just a bedroom, a music player and permission to invite friends.
Musical preferences
In the 1960s, a new type of music appeared, different to the Tin Pan AlleyTin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century...
music school, but molded by it. It was no longer written by the old established songwriters of Tin Pan Alley, but by extremely young talented people. They helped to establish the new teen idol
Teen idol
A teen idol is a celebrity who is widely idolized by teenagers; he or she is often young but not necessarily teenaged. Often teen idols are actors or pop singers, but some sports figures have an appeal to teenagers. Some teen idols began their careers as child actors...
s and wrote the so-called "teeny bopper songs", which "blends soft rock
Soft rock
Soft rock is a style of music which uses the techniques of rock music to compose a softer, more toned-down sound. Soft rock songs generally tend to focus on themes like love, everyday life and relationships. The genre tends to make heavy use of acoustic guitars, pianos, synthesizers and sometimes...
with pop ballad, is not explicitly physical and only hints at sexual interaction.
The difference that the 70s' "Teeny Bopper syndrome" had with prior idol phenomena was that these new teen idols were directed at even younger girls, down to 15 years old, who were too young to have heard The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
and were not attracted to the new hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
music of the time that their elder siblings listened to. This new market has a quick turnover potential and it boosted the benefits of many broadcasting companies.
The teeny bopper idol image is that of the young boy next door, with its key elements being self-pity, vulnerability and need. Their music is consumed by young girls, who collect posters and pin ups.