Proceduralized Intimacy: A Procedural Rhetoric Approach to Idol Subscription in Chinese K-pop Fandom

Abstract

Using the framework of procedural rhetoric, this study combines the walkthrough method, participant observation, and in-depth interviews to examine how idol subscription platforms restructure fan–idol intimacy within Chinese K-pop fandom. The findings reveal that idol subscription platforms, exemplified by Bubble, operationalize intimacy through paywalled one-on-one rhetoric, asymmetrical interaction, and simulated directness. Fans purchase in Bubble is not merely exclusive content or information access, but entry into a structured scene of intimacy in which closeness is repeatedly experienced and confirmed. The article proposes the concept of proceduralized intimacy to capture how fan–idol intimacy is formatted, sustained, and monetized through platform procedures while preserving its imagined authenticity. It suggests that in the platform era, intimacy is increasingly becoming an object of infrastructural design, commercial extraction, and everyday negotiation.