‘You’re born to be brave’: Lady Gaga’s use of social media to inspire fans’ political awareness

Through interviews with 45 self-described Little Monsters, we explore fan identification with Lady Gaga’s interest in and messages about politics and philanthropy, Gaga’s influence on fans’ attitudes toward activism, and the role activism plays in the Little Monster community. Our findings suggest both that fans can be deeply impacted by celebrities’ political values and actions, particularly when expressed through social media, and that the online, networked fan communities that develop around celebrities are socially supportive and politically engaged. We assert that fans’ identification with celebrities’ political values and actions, and the engagement of networked fan communities, demonstrate that the enforced distinctions between ‘audiences’ and ‘publics’ are outdated.