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The Larries are a group of shipping conspiracy theorist fans, centered around the idea that two members of the boy-band One Direction, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson, have some sort of secret romantic relationship. A fundamental part of this idea is that the two, name blended as "Larry Stylinson" ("Larry" for short), has been closeted by homophobic corporate interests. Vox wrote in 2016 that this "ship" is "one of the largest elements of the One Direction fandom, which itself is one of the largest fandoms on the internet" and that " it often dwarfs other branches of the One Direction community." General One Direction fans are called "Directioners".
One Direction formed in 2010 and the self-called Larries formed soon after, inspired by the pair's close and public friendship. Creating desired couples is a common element of real person slash fiction, but many Larries believe "Larry" is real.
Academics Clare Southerton and Hannah McCann connects the fan-group to phenomena like queer reading and queerbaiting. While noting the conspiracy theory and "hysterical fangirl" aspects of the Larries, they say that "While accusations of fake news focus on a concern for the real, what we are proposing here is that the real may be beside the point. In this way, whether fans really believe that Larry is real or pretend for pleasure is moot: what is at stake is how Larry fan practices work in queer ways."
The fandom exists on social media like Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter and TikTok. Larries have bullied and harassed of Styles' and Tomlinson's girlfriends and, according to Tomlinson, hurt their friendship.
Further reading
- Tiffany, Kaitlyn (2022). Everything I need I get from you: how fangirls created the Internet as we know it. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-53918-4. OCLC 1264273710.
References
- ^ McCann, Hannah; Southerton, Clare (1 March 2019). "Repetitions of Desire: Queering the One Direction Fangirl". Girlhood Studies. 12 (1): 49–65. doi:10.3167/ghs.2019.120106.
- ^ Romano, Aja (2016-04-18). "Larry Stylinson, the One Direction conspiracy theory that rules the internet, explained". Vox. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
- ^ Southerton, Clare; McCann, Hannah (2019). "Queerbaiting and Real Person Slash: The Case of Larry Stylinson". In Brennan, Joseph (ed.). Queerbaiting and fandom: teasing fans through homoerotic possibilities. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press. pp. 161–163. ISBN 9781609386726.
- Lucas, Jessica (2022-05-10). "Meet the TikTokers obsessed with Harry Styles' 'secret' love life". Input. Retrieved 2022-06-11.