"On 20 February 2012, Cote Arias met Morrissey at a fan meet-up in Santiago, Chile. The former Smiths frontman signed her forearm in spiky capitalised lettering, which Cote later had traced permanently on to her skin with ink. Her years-long plan for the tattoo, which had started with her founding Morrissey's Chilean fanclub, had worked. Morrissey had such an impact on me growing up, she says."
"I struggled with shyness and lacked confidence for much of my life, and his lyrics helped me feel seen while transitioning into adulthood. But in recent years, that inked signature has taken on more complicated associations for Cote. The tattoo is very visible, she says, so it's brought up many discussions regarding Morrissey's comments. Morrissey has publicly supported a far-right party, and made inflammatory comments about immigration, but denies allegations of racism."
"Fandoms have a way of pushing people towards extreme behaviour, to go to great lengths to pledge their loyalty and display their devotion. Fans will plaster their walls with posters, queue for hours in the freezing cold, shell out hundreds of pounds on merchandise and spend hours running dedicated social media accounts. At the more extreme end they'll throw phones at pop stars or end up in hospital with collapsed lungs due to screaming too much."
On 20 February 2012, Cote Arias met Morrissey at a fan meet-up in Santiago and had his spiky capitalised signature traced permanently onto her forearm. Morrissey's lyrics helped her through shyness and lack of confidence while transitioning into adulthood. In recent years the tattoo has acquired complicated associations as Morrissey publicly supported a far-right party and made inflammatory comments about immigration while denying allegations of racism. Cote's experience mirrors a broader reckoning as fans confront changing relationships with the idols they grew up with. Fandom behaviour ranges from collecting merchandise to extreme acts and has historical precedents.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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