Watching the Paramount+ documentary “Larger Than Life” recently, I found myself fascinated by how perfectly boy bands illustrate our deeply human need to categorize and choose tribes. This wasn’t an original thought – the documentary itself pointed it out. But as someone who grew up during the peak boy band era, watching people choose their favorite boy bands played out not just in my own behavior, but in the entire fandom culture of the time. So why do we feel the need to choose between boy bands?
How We Define Our Favorite Boy Bands
As a lifelong Hanson fan, of course I had a strong reaction to the fact that they were included. It probably goes without saying that I never considered them a boy band. You know the thought, “But they write their own songs and play instruments!” My sense of surprise was strong when they included The Beatles as a boy band, too. Although, by the definition of “boy band” the documentarians use, it did actually make sense that they included The Beatles, Jackson 5, and The Osmonds. I had to laugh at myself, though – here I was, unconsciously participating in that very human need to put things in neat boxes.
This urge to classify isn’t unique to boy bands, of course. But observing it in action through this lens helped me recognize how naturally it comes to us. We seem to need these clear categories to make sense of our world, even when the reality is far more complex and nuanced.
Why People Pick Sides in the Boy Band Wars
Looking back, I can see how strongly this categorization played out in my own experience with boy bands. It wasn’t enough to simply enjoy the music – there was an unspoken rule that you had to choose your tribe. Were you Team Backstreet Boys or Team *NSYNC? I was firmly in the *NSYNC camp. (After clarifying that the best band ever and my absolute favorite was Hanson.)
What’s fascinating to observe now is how choosing a favorite boy band became part of my identity during those formative years. It wasn’t just about music preference; it was about belonging to a specific group and defining myself in opposition to another. The interesting thing is, I had albums by both bands and had fun listening to both. But at the time, admitting that felt almost like betraying your chosen tribe.
How Fans Choose Their Favorite Band Members
Perhaps the most interesting categorization happened within the bands themselves. Each member had to fit into a specific archetype – it was like we couldn’t process them as complete human beings with complex personalities. We needed them to fit specific roles.
I remember having lengthy discussions about which member was which “type.” There usually had to be a “bad boy,” a “goofball,” “the sensitive one,” heck, even “the talented one” sometimes reared its head. Hanson fans were no exception to this. It was normal to pick a favorite type, and each of your friends had to have a DIFFERENT favorite.
Understanding Why We Choose Favorites
Observing this pattern in action, without judgment, has helped me understand something about human nature. These categorizations served important purposes. They helped us:
- Make sense of a complex world
- Find our tribe and feel like we belonged
- Express our own developing identities
- Create connections with others who shared our choices
What Our Boy Band Choices Tell Us About Ourselves
What’s particularly interesting is how this pattern extends far beyond boy bands. You can see this happening in all kinds of areas – you’re either an Android or iPhone person, you either prefer Twilight or The Hunger Games, even picking favorites among coffee shops. It’s as if we’re hardwired to sort ourselves and our interests into distinct categories.
Recognizing this tendency doesn’t mean we need to fight against it. Instead, like observing any personality trait, we can acknowledge it with curiosity rather than judgment. Maybe understanding this aspect of ourselves can help us be more understanding when we see it playing out in other areas of life.
The next time I catch myself getting defensive about whether *NSYNC or The Backstreet Boys are better, I’ll try to smile and recognize it as just another example of this fascinating human tendency in action. After all, maybe the categories matter less than what they tell us about ourselves.
Except I’ll go to my grave insistent that Hanson isn’t a boy band. And that they’re better than both *NSYNC and The Backstreet Boys.
