Stan LOONA

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Meme
Synonyms: Stan LOOΠΔ, #stanloona
Date Started: 2016, went viral around 2018
Related:
See Also: LOONA, Loonaverse
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Stan LOONA is a phrase used to describe the South Korean girl group LOONA. It is usually a sign of promotion or support towards the group, or an attempt at trolling.

It is not uncommon within K-Pop to use the word "Stan" followed by the group the fan supports. However, "Stan LOONA" extended beyond K-Pop, turning into a viral meme, that appeared into fandoms and tweets unrelated to LOONA.

This was due to LOONA's fans (nicknamed "Orbits"). They were infamous for using memes and guerrilla marketing tactics to promote the group. They would comment and spam on various tweets, with the words "Stan LOONA", followed by a videoclip of one of their songs, (often Eclipse" or "Girl Front"). It resulted in a rise of popularity for the group (who were at first considered a nugu group, meaning unpopular), but also gave the fandom a negative reputation for trolling.

Origin

The origins of this meme are often associated with "Gay (or Queer) Twitter". A subset of Twitter users known for being LGBT and often a crossover with Western pop music, such as Charli XCX, Kim Petras, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift and others.

It went viral around 2018, among Twitter, though there were a few instances of "Stan Loona" being said before then. In 2016, the first tweet mentioning "stan loona" was posted by @lgbtluda, just 24 hours after the announcement for the group:

I'm ready to stan loona[1]

Queer Twitter

LOONA began gaining a devoted queer fanbase. In promotions for "Eclipse", member Kim Lip wore a pride shirt. More famously, the music video for "Heart Attack" received attention due to it's apparent queer storyline. As a result, LOONA become a LGBT+ icon and the words "Stan LOONA" were becoming frequent among gay fans.

One of the earliest mentions of the meme was by Kim Chi, in January 2018, a drag queen appearing on RuPaul's Drag Race, who would tweet about LOONA multiple times during their pre-debut, including one with the infamous catchphrase "Stan Loona".[2]

It was first added to Urban Dictionary on May 9th, 2018:

A popular phrase used by twitter gays under every popular tweet encouraging readers to stan Korean girl group LOONA. It is often accompanied by a video clip of their songs “Girl Front” or “Eclipse”, although it is not always exclusively these two.[3]

Since then it has been a staple of "Gay Twitter", known by many fans and non-fans alike:

i went out with some coworkers the other day, this guy asked me what kinda fanart i drew, i said kpop and he said “oh stan loona” i just stared at him before he was like ‘“i dont know what that means but im gay so i see it all the time”[4]

The meme has been covered by several news outlets, including MTV, Polygon, Babe, Vogue and others.

Examples

Some examples of "Stan LOONA" appearing in various different contexts:

  • Kim Chi, a drag queen who appeared on the eight season of RuPaul's Drag Race, telling her followers to "Stan Loona"

    Kim Chi, a drag queen who appeared on the eight season of RuPaul's Drag Race, telling her followers to "Stan Loona"

  • A troll replying to former US president Donald Trump, saying they would be 'more productive' if they stanned LOONA[5]

    A troll replying to former US president Donald Trump, saying they would be 'more productive' if they stanned LOONA[5]

  • Fans holding "Stan LOONA" signs at the Chile Pride in 2018. LOONA signs were common at Pride.[6]

    Fans holding "Stan LOONA" signs at the Chile Pride in 2018. LOONA signs were common at Pride.[6]

  • A fan with Stranger Things actors Millie Bobby Brown and Noah Scnapp, the latter is holding a sign that says "STAN LOOΠΔ"

    A fan with Stranger Things actors Millie Bobby Brown and Noah Scnapp, the latter is holding a sign that says "STAN LOOΠΔ"

  • An Overwatch fan holding a "Stan LOONA" sign in the background of Overwatch League. The lead writer for Overwatch, Michael Chu is also known to be a fan.[7]

    An Overwatch fan holding a "Stan LOONA" sign in the background of Overwatch League. The lead writer for Overwatch, Michael Chu is also known to be a fan.[7]

  • "Stan Loona" being included as a AO3 tag for a reylo fic, from Star Wars. No mentions of LOONA exist elsewhere in the fic.[8]

    "Stan Loona" being included as a AO3 tag for a reylo fic, from Star Wars. No mentions of LOONA exist elsewhere in the fic.[8]

Reputation

The meme was widespread and resulted in LOONA's fanbase gaining a negative reputation. Some fans found it annoying, especially seeing it spammed on unrelated tweets and posts. This even deterred fans from viewing LOONA's music.

Response from LOONA

The members of LOONA are aware of the meme:

Olivia Hye: We are very much aware of it, We look up all the videos, covers, and memes on Twitter and Instagram. When we see international fans write ‘Stan Loona,' it gives us a lot of strength. If our fans keep promoting us like that we’ll return that kindness by working harder and getting stronger.[9]

ViVi: Of course, we all stan Orbits! For international fans who use #StanLoona, that’s where we get our energy from, We take responsibility for the love we get; we’ve got to do our best. If fans keep #StanLoona [going], we’re going to try even harder and harder.[10]

Edward Avila (interviewer): But you know you have a lot of overseas fans right? But do you also know about that one thing, the #stanloona hashtag?

YeoJin: Yes, when we went to KCON [US] (chants) Stan Loona

Edward Avila: There's also that one thing lol where. It'll be some random tweet, but then they throw #stanloona. I guess since people want to keep promoting LOONA. Even on random tweets you see it.

HyunJin: I'm so touched... I'm going to work much harder.

YeoJin and Jinsoul: stan Orbit![11]

See also

Further reading

Resources

Articles

Reddit

References

  1. ^ "Tweet by @lgbtluda". Archived from the original on June 20th, 2021. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archivedate= (help)
  2. ^ Tweet, by @KimChi_Chic, on February 1st, 2018
  3. ^ Stan LOONA on Urban Dictionary
  4. ^ Tweet appears to be deleted, but is mentioned on this article by Polygon
  5. ^ From article on Polygon, posted on Aug 21, 2018
  6. ^ LOONA Is An Icon For Gay Pride In Chile on Koreaboo, posted on June 24th, 2018
  7. ^ Tweet, by @westofhouse, posted on May 21, 2019
  8. ^ See this fanfiction, on AO3
  9. ^ Stan LOONA: How The K-pop Rookies Are Striving To Become The 'Ultimate Girl Group' on MTV, posted by By MTV News Staff, on April 3, 2019
  10. ^ K-Pop Group LOONA Talks #StanLoona and Why They Love Orbits, posted by Erica Russell, in a Teen Vouge interview]
  11. ^ Getting my makeup done by LOONA - Edward Avila, posted by Edward Avila, on April 6, 2020
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