English

Etymology

Coined in the 1950's from “teeny” (teenage) + “bopper” (one who dances to the form of improvisational jazz popular at the time)

Alternative spellings

• teeny-bopper

Noun

1. A person, especially a female, in her early teens who follows popular clothing fashions, music trends, and the like.

A teenybopper (or tweenybopper) is a vernacular socially constructed term by marketing professionals and psychologists referring to the age-span before a child hits their adolescence, particularly girls, who follows teenage fashion in music, clothes, and culture. Teenagers who haven't grown up or are still into music marketed toward younger people for nostalgic feeling are also referred to as teenyboppers.

The term was introduced in the 1950s to refer to teenagers and their music, as a result of the new phenomenon of a popular music aimed at and enjoyed by teenagers (rock and roll). It again became used widely in the late 1960s, when there began to be increased awareness of marketing in pop music and fashion aimed specifically at that age group.

The term was especially popular in the late 90's and was often used to describe the followers of less offensive rock and pop music, such as Britney Spears, The Backstreet Boys and N*Sync. The term teenybopper can also be seen as a teenager that watches inoffensive movies aimed at a preteen/teen audience, such as High School Musical. The term may also be used to describe teenagers who listen to almost all pop music. The term can also be used as to outcast a teen/preteen that is always being colourful, positive and cheerful.

See also

• Bubblegum pop
• Teen pop
• Subculture
• Adolescence
• Counterculture
• Generation Y
• Hipster
• Internet Generation
• List of subcultures
• List of youth subcultures
• Street fashion
• Teenybopper music

References

Babbitt, Middle American, Philistine, adolescent, anal character, babe, baby, bourgeois, broad, burgher, chick, colleen, compulsive character, conformer, conformist, conventionalist, cutie, dame, damoiselle, damsel, demoiselle, doll, filly, fledgling, formalist, frail, gal, girl, girlie, heifer, hopeful, hoyden, infant, jeune fille, jill, junior, junior miss, juvenal, juvenile, lass, lassie, little missy, mademoiselle, maid, maiden, methodologist, middle-class type, minor, miss, missy, model child, nymphet, organization man, parrot, pedant, perfectionist, piece, plastic person, precisian, precisianist, pubescent, romp, sapling, schoolgirl, schoolmaid, schoolmiss, sheep, skirt, slip, sprig, square, stripling, subdeb, subdebutante, subteen, subteener, teenager, teener, tomato, tomboy, trimmer, virgin, wench, yes-man, young creature, young hopeful, young person, young thing, younger, youngest, youngling, youngster, youth