“Where there is love, there is money” is a common slogan in idol fandom, reflecting the belief that genuine affection for idols naturally translates into financial support. In this context, love and money are treated as equivalent. This research examines how fans navigate between emotional expression and structural exploitation. Initially driven by affective dedication and voluntary participation, fan activities have gradually been absorbed into the capitalist framework, where love is quantified as labor and financial support. Using a qualitative approach that combines semi-structured interviews and online textual analysis, this study explores how Chinese digital idol fans engage in practices of consumption, content creation, and emotional labor, all of which blur the boundaries between personal devotion and commercialized participation. While fan communities once showcase creativity, mutual support, and subcultural agency, these same practices are increasingly mediated by market logics and algorithmic infrastructures. The fan economy, though rooted in affect and voluntarism, has evolved into a system where financial contributions and digital productivity become markers of legitimacy within fan communities. This dynamic creates moral pressures and internal hierarchies, complicating the ideal of unconditional gift-giving. Rather than framing fandom solely as resistance or co-optation, this research highlights its ambivalent nature: a negotiated space where empowerment and exploitation coexist. It questions whether affective authenticity can be sustained under increasing commercialization, and calls for more nuanced understandings of fan agency that recognize both the possibilities and limitations embedded in contemporary fan culture.

Authors:
Qingyu Ma, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Malaysia

About the Presenter(s)
Ma Qingyu is a third-year Ph.D. candidate in social and behavioural science at the University of Nottingham Malaysia, exploring “Idol Fandom Community in Modern China: Passion, Identity, and Cultural Participation.”

See this presentation on the full schedule – Monday Schedule

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