Lisa A. Lewis, the editor of this collection, comments in the beginning that the book is a response to the stigma of fandom; instead, it looks at fandom as a response to difficult social conditions, which is an especially apt way to view the popularity of Morrissey and the Smiths. Lawrence Grossberg's essay "Is There a Fan in the House?: The Affective Sensibility of Fandom" argues that rock fans are bound together by a consumer sensibility that makes them desire pleasure. This idea is not entire correct for Morrissey's fans , as media and consumer ideals have had little impact on his fan base over the past two decades, but it is useful to understand another model of fandom to which Morrissey fans can be compared.