Larrie

Synonyms:	Tinhat, Dark Larrie, truther
See also:	Larry Stylinson, Larry Is Real, Anti-Larrie, Big Larrie, Directioner
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

PPOV: Some opinions or a particular focus may take up more space than seems justified by the length of the article or by the issue at hand. Please change and expand the focus by adding to the article and check out our Plural Point of View policy. When in doubt, discuss your concerns on the talk page of the article.

Larries are One Direction fans who believe that bandmembers Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson (whose ship name is Larry Stylinson) are a real-life couple.

Compared to other fandoms with "tinhat" ships, Larries make up an unprecedented proportion of the greater One Direction fandom^{[citation needed]}, though they are often not well-received within it due to the negative attention they have attracted from other fandoms, mainstream media, and members of the band themselves.

Fans who ship Harry/Louis together without necessarily thinking they are together in real life are often referred to as Larry shippers. This can be a confusing distinction due to the number of fans considering themselves both, as well as conflation of the meanings of the terms, particularly outside the fandom.^{[citation needed]}

Over time, many declinations of the term Larry have appeared to delineate between various factions of the group.

Who are Larries

In 2014, acafan H.L. Dare-Edwards wrote:

Larry Stylinson fandom cannot be understood as just one thing; it is fragmented, ‘performed’ differently in various online spaces, and operates according to different (internal) politics even within the same spaces.

Not all fans who think that Larry Is Real adopt the term Larrie for themselves. This may be due to not identifying with the Larrie community, not wanting to be associated with the negative views surrounding the name or wanting to avoid attention of fans who disliked Larry, among which Anti-Larries.

The reluctance to use the word Larrie may have decreased over time and an increase in self-identified Larries^{[citation needed]} possibly resulted in another phenomenon: self-policing over the term Larrie, often excluding fans who may think the theory is possible but not proven (Weak Larries) and as well as fans who think they were previously in a relationship but broke up (Houies).

The first to believe that Larry was real were among the earliest Directioners.^{[citation needed]} As years passed and the band became immensely popular worldwide, Larry became more visible and more One Direction fans as well as outsiders were drawn to the theory.

Larries have been generally considered to be to be female teenagers, and many, possibly most, have been.^{[citation needed]} But older fans have also been around since the beginning and, in 2014-2015, with the surge in public visibility of Larry Stylinson and what some suspected at the time was an imminent coming out, more older fans joined the fandom.^{[citation needed]} These included fans who claimed to have careers in law or public relations and contributed supposed "insider knowledge" to theories and analysis.

In a move typical of the way the outside world views fandom in general, the presence of older fans has often been erased in outsiders' discussions of Larry. The idea of older professionals numbering among Larries was met with derision by Harry's sister. Some Larries claim that may be a tactic to discredit the theory that Harry and Louis are together. In discussing Louis's PR team's response to fans' criticism of his promo, one Tumblr user echoed the frustrations of many Larries as well in writing:

When you see these people refer to or classify all of Louis’ fans as “lunatic” teenagers, “deluded fangirls”, or many of the other variations- what they are seeking to do is to delegitimize those fans, and therefore their knowledge and experience.

They are relying on systemic bias to discredit our opinions.

For example: “Jane, a marketing director, thinks SJPR is full of shit and bad at his job.” vs. “Jane, a crazy teenage girl, thinks Simon, an Adult Male, is bad at his job.”

It’s a lot easier to get away with shit if the only people calling you out publicly have already been disregarded.

"I really love Simon Jones' assumption that all of Louis' fans are teenagers or uni students...", ^{Archived version} posted on Tumblr on 3 Jan 2018. (Accessed 11 Sep 2019)

Origin of the Term

Fans who shipped Larry and fans who believed Larry Is Real did not have separate identifiers until years after the fandom took off, initially both calling themselves Larry shippers.

Over time, the term "Larrie" was adopted to identify fans who believed Larry was real, though the boundaries can still be blurry, especially outside the fandom.

It is not clear whether the term was coined by Larries themselves, or whether it was first used by people who did not believe in the theory and later "reclaimed" by Larries.

It existed as early as the summer of 2014:

Okay, I went back and checked my own usage. The word "larries" first appeared on my blog here - note my tags:

[soleilouis:] ngl it's so funny when Things happen and ~anti-h/l people are like OH GOD HERE WE GO THE LARRIES WILL MAKE THIS A THING!!! like pal I hate to break it to you but that's you acknowledging it as a weird thing lmao

#'the larries' omg can we start calling ourselves that it's kind of hilarious #7.13.14 #fandom psychology

And then in September/October 2014, we started using it broadly, talking about reclaiming it, joking about it left and right. And @1dfansgive started designing merch that included it.

One thing I’m not sure about, based on this, is whether soleilouis was actually the very first person to use the term, and then the antis picked it up as a mocking thing, or whether the antis were already using it and soleilouis’s post reflects that.

genuinelybelieve-blog, 2015

The #larries Tumblr tag turns up a fan asking, on September 23, 2014:

are we officially called 'larries' now or

#PEOPLE CALL US LARRIES #IT'S CUTE NAME TBH #MINE #LARRIES

isthatyoularry, 2014

On twitter several 1D fans commented on the recent adoption of the term larries in late September 2014, with varying opinions:

• "so now its not "larry shippers" it's "larries" ok"
• "ARE WE REALLY CALLED LARRIES? omg im so happy rn its like we finally became a fuCKING FANDOM! #larry #larries"
• "I preferred larry cult tbh it at least sounded kinda exclusive and exciting. Larries sounds like a symptom of laryngitis or the flu"
• "Wait do people really call us "larries" I feel honored"

During a 2016 Tumblr discussion between non-Larry fans, someone suggested that the term was popularized on 28 October 2014 after Harry made a tweet using the word "larents," in reply to someone's typo about their parents:

i’m just seeing this now but that’s definitely where larries came from. after this tweet everyone was like OMG HARRY AND LOUIS ARE LARENTS AND WE’RE THEIR LARRIES!!! i looked back on my old instagram and found a post where i had explained it because everyone was confused about the origins even then since harry’s tweet was a reply and not a lot of people paid huge attention to it. writing things that larry did with ls attached to the front of the word started in full force then too, like lairport and larriage. obviously a lot of those terms aren’t used much anymore but larries stuck around lol

lramblings, 2017

Origin Stories

Larries are often the first to acknowledge their own disbelief at coming to believe in what many consider a conspiracy theory.

Many Larries were Harry/Louis shippers first, but a number report that they were not introduced to Larry via shipping but by friends, YouTube videos or mainstream news coverage of Larry Stylinson. Some, but not all, of these Larries have become shippers as well.

I found them only a week ago. I knew of Harry before but I stumbled across a Larry video while watching videos of Harry performing. And holyyyyy shiiiiitt, I’ve never seen two people more incredible than him and Louis. So I fell into the Larry hole ObVIousLyy and I can truly never go back.

one fan said, in reply to another Larrie origin story on 4 May 2019 (Accessed 9 Sep 2019)

One came to Larry via Sacha Judd's One Direction tech talk, ^{Archived version}.

A few fans have also claimed they were brought in by either seeing Harry and Louis together or hearing insider information.

See also: Larrie origin stories, ^{Archived version} compiled one by one Tumblr user

View of Larries

See also: One Direction Fandom Wars - Larries vs Non-Larries

Within 1D Fandom

Larries have historically been poorly received in the One Direction fandom, likely due to some engaging in what is often considered bad fan behavior.

Common complaints have included their high public visibility breaking The Fourth Wall; social media harassment of band members' friends and families; continuing to discuss Larry theories after pushback from the band members; expressing what have been perceived by some as homophobic attitudes towards closeting, beards and stereotypically gay mannerisms; having a cult-like culture based on conspiracy theories; and engendering the public perception that all One Direction fans are crazy.

Both other fans and the public have sometimes associated all Larries with believing the most outlandish-sounding conspiracy theories.

A number of fans have simply complained that Larries take up too much space, "making everything about Larry."

"Larries Ruined X"

Non-Larrie fans often complain that "Larries ruined" various aspects of the fandom. Examples of things they feel were tainted or ruined by Larries include:

• Harry and Louis' friendship/relationship (by making them self-conscious/putting them in an uncomfortable position/driving them apart)
• Rainbow flags (see also: Rainbow Direction#Controversy)
• Certain songs (such as "Home," "Little Things," "18" and more by One Direction, "Secret Love Song" by Little Mix, "Two Ghosts," "Golden" or "Sweet Creature" on Harry's solo album) by making them Larry evidence or saying that they were written about Larry.

Larries frequently repeat this phrase, either to refute it, or ironically when captioning what they see as Larry "proof."

In Wider Fandom

In addition, Larries have been often been poorly received within greater fan culture in general. Larry Stylinson arrived after the rise of bandom, RPF shipping and tinhatting in the 2000s, and, with its unprecedented public visibility, shoved stigmatized ways of performing fandom into the public eye.

One fandom studies scholar also wrote (note that the term "Larry shipper" here appears to refer to fans who believe that Larry is real):

Dare-Edwards (2014b) notes that there is little tolerance for Larry shippers, partly because “Larry supporters are discounting or questioning official PR-driven narratives about the boys’ relationship” (p. 6) and partly because some Larry shippers sent questions, sexually explicit theories, or fan art to the band, thus breaking the fourth wall, which deconstructs the boundaries between fans, creators, and the objects of fandom.

Fan Conflict

Conflicts between Larries and non-Larries are frequent instigators of One Direction Fandom Wars, and bullying both by Larries and of Larries has been reported.

The large number of One Direction fans over the years who've believed that Larry Is Real means that there is significant diversity of behavior and beliefs. At the same time, a common assumption both inside and outside the fandom is that the few most publicly visible fans are representative of all Larries.

The practice of generalizing the behavior of a few with the whole goes both ways. Some Larries may refer to all non-Larries as Antis and assert that all Antis engage in harassment.

Although Crazy About One Direction prefaces the section on Larry with the rejoinder that some fans have a “funny way” of expressing themselves, the girls interviewed actually presented a far more nuanced view of Larry than was subsequently suggested on social media sites. Discussions ranged from shipping the boys as a bromance versus a romance, demonstrating a complex understanding of different kinds of relationships, to Larry’s status as “part of the band,” there from the beginning and (arguably) encouraged by the band’s management. As Mark Simpson (2013) writes, “You could argue that the Larry shippers are only joining the dots that have already been drawn—very close together—by 1D’s management and the whole history of boy bands. As one girl put it, ‘I think the management secretly love Larry.’”

With the frequently contentious divide between Larries and non-Larries, many fan projects that may have been organized by or involved Larries have been criticized for promoting Larry. This has extended to ones that claim they are not about Larry or shipping, but are organised in part by Larries, such as Rainbow Direction, Project No Control and other charity drives.

Larries as Tinhats

Many non-Larrie One Direction fans have used the traditional fannish term tinhat to describe Larries, while some Larries consider the term offensive. See Larry Is Real - Tinhats for details.

Types of Larries

"are you a wellington larrie or a leeds larrie? are you a dark larrie or a chill larrie? are you an angsty fic larrie or a fluffy fic larrie? bonus question: are you an iicf larrie or a home larrie?" (posted on Tumblr, ^{Archived version} 10 Jun 2016, accessed 16 Sep 2019)

Terms like Weak Larrie, Dark Larrie and Demon Larrie are often used humorously, though fans have reported being bullied for being Weak Larries and the term Dark Larrie in particular may not come without some sigma, as it is closely related to tinhat and Anti-Larries often use it pejoratively.

Dark Larrie

Dark Larrie is a term with multiple meanings. It may have started as a joke among Larries after someone sent a Tumblr ask calling Larries "Dark Larries." Initially it meant an evil Larrie (Dark Larrie as in Dark Lord or Dark Harry), but evolved to mean a secret Larrie. In this sense, Liam Payne, Nick Grimshaw, and others have been called Dark Larries.

Confused fans asking about the definition of the term have also been told that it means a hardcore Larrie interested in the minutiae of the conspiracy theories. While some consider "Dark Larrie" and "Larrie" to be synonyms, in general Larries themselves do not as there are Larries who do not believe in or are not interested in investigating the related conspiracy theories.

A Demon Larrie is an extreme Dark Larrie.

Calling Harry, Louis and their bandmates Dark Larries is a common meme.

Louis and Harry will ALWAYS be the darkest Larries.

posted, ^{Archived version} on Tumblr on 18 Jun 2018. (Accessed 16 Sep 2019)

Chill Larrie

A Chill Larrie is the opposite of a Dark Larrie, i.e. a Larrie who isn't hardcore obsessed or interested in conspiracy theories.

Others believe that whether or not Larries post Larry-related comments on the social media accounts of the band's friends and family members determines who is a Chill or Dark Larrie.

Some people, however, have expressed that there may not be a meaningful distinction between Chill Larries and Dark Larries. One fan remarked, "'I’m a chill larrie' is the 'not all men' of this fandom."

Big Larrie

A Big Larrie is a Larrie blog with a lot of followers. See Big Larrie.

Weak Larrie

A Weak Larrie is a Larrie who has doubts about whether or not Larry Is Real.

Ex-Larrie

"Ex-Larrie" refers to a fan who once expressed belief that Larry was real but later changed their mind.

A prominent Big Larrie who became an ex-Larrie in 2015 explained:

Anonymous asked: how/when did you stop believing in larry? (sorry if you've answered this before)

In May I think? It was shortly after Elounor broke up but before anything major happened. And it wasn’t because of anything that had happened at that time, it was because I started talking to @glitterbootsandyellowshorts who was very patient about answering all my questions about “Larry proof” and showed me that there are other narratives that are plausible other than Larry.

Honestly as soon as I realised that, I was out of there. I spent a few days euphorically going through everything and re-evaluating it, and was very pleased to learn/realise that I didn’t have to believe in Larry, there were other very reasonable explanations and possibilities. Because honestly I was sick of being a Larrie, it was stressful and nothing ever went the way I wanted, and it was sad and frustrating and unpleasant.

posted on Tumblr on 2 Oct 2016 (Accessed 9 Sep 2019)

It is not uncommon for ex-Larries to report that they were harassed by other Larries, both before and after they left the fold.

Another said after leaving:

I think I've developed a phobia of the larry ship, I've been feeling so angry and betrayed and guilty and ashamed and disgusted by the shittiness I used to be part of as a larrie, that coming across larry stuff (footage, manips, fic, etc) now just infuriates the fuck out of me. Like, I wish larry had never interacted ever, that larry should never have existed.

Others have also asserted that the Larrie side of the fandom is like a cult:

I have been brainwashed for a long time and when you’re damaged like that, it’s hard to exist in a completely different part of the fandom other than the larrie side.... This is how badly i’ve been manipulated by the big larries. they are a cult.

Some ex-Larries have become Anti-Larries or set up support groups.

Houie

A Houie (a later term derivative of the alternate smooshname "Houis") is a fan who believes Harry/Louis were in a relationship or had feelings for each other previously but aren't/don't anymore. Some believe this was due to self-closeting by Louis. The term and its definition appear to be used by Larries derogatorily more often than they are used as self-descriptors by "Houies".

Bluegreener

A"'Bluegreener"' is a term often used to describe Larries who are disrespectful or who take things "too far". A bluegreener is likely to believe in things associated with Larry deemed untrue or unlikely by mainstream Larries. See also Blue and Green.