NZ woman studies masters degree on One Direction

  • 18/08/2017
One Direction
A Dunedin woman is the first in the world to become a 'Master' of boy band One Direction.

New Zealand woman Millie Lovelock is the first and only student in the world who can call herself a 'Master of One Direction'.

The University of Otago student has finished her thesis on the boy band and the extensive global fandom the group spawned - this era's version of Beatlemania, for her Master of Arts in english and linguistics.

American fashion magazine Nylon interviewed the fan, who began her studies in January last year and submitted her final treatise to what was reported as a "near perfect" score.

The thesis focused on how "smart, empowered, and mostly young female fans have taken control of One Direction's narrative by re-imagining the member's identities and expressing their own identities".

The Dunedin student studied writings by fans, including a type of fiction where "Directioners" as they are known, imagine "homoerotic love between the band members".

Females make up the largest proportion of the 39 million One Direction fans on social media, "and they're incredibly illustrious", she said.

"They're like this grassroots activist thing, it's bizarre, but there's nearly 40 million of them, so it's immensely powerful."

Ms Lovelock previously told Fairfax she first became interested in the band after watching one of their films and seeing "all these screaming and crying teenage girls".

Other boy bands have been the subject of academic research, including Backstreet Boys and NSYNC, but she was unaware of any on One Direction.

Newshub.