Toxic double standards are no longer something new to the Kpop community.
Imagine you’re a Kpop idol, but you’re not pretty - people call you ugly - you do
surgery and look better - people call you plastic monster.
Seems like you just can’t satisfy those people no matter what you do.
In today’s video, we will show you some of the most ridiculous double standards like
that in Kpop.
Make sure you won’t smash your phone after watching this.
1.Kpop idols must be skinny but must also enjoy good food
Is it true that we all love to see idols enjoying good food?
That’s why Kpop idols mukbang videos always gain a massive amount of views, because it
makes us happy to see them having a great time with their meals.
Remember when ITZY Yuna rushed into a bingsu store and binge ate her dessert in secret?
Or the time when BTS RM sneaked out to have a jajangmyeon?
More recently, TXT Yeonjun revealed that after he successfully lost 5kg in 2 weeks to pass
the company’s weight test, the poor boy immediately ran to a convenience store and
ordered 2 sets of noodles?
These stories break our heart, making us rage about the strict diets companies force on
their idols, and fight for the idols’ right to eat more of the food they like.
So touching!
But, things are not so heart-warming anymore when these idols start to gain some weight
because of that food.
They’ll start to see fat shaming posts everywhere on the internet, saying they should pay attention
to their eating habits, and that they are destroying the beautiful lineup of the group.
Their fanbase will experience a slower increase, if not decrease to be frank, and the worst
of all is when hardcore fans also grow tired of protecting their idols as they seem unable
to find a good reason defending their weight gain.
According to the current trend, the standard weight formula for a female idol is: Height
minor 120.
For example, if you're 163cm, the standard weight for you is: 163 - 120 = 43kg.
Well, if you meet this standard, I bet you will look like a walking paper in real life
and won’t have enough strength as well as stamina to do anything.
This is why we’ve heard of countless “starving diets” coming from female idols, which often
consist of poor-nutrition, poor-energy food with very little portion not suitable for
an adult’s needs.
For male idols, it’s a bit better because they are required to have muscles and can
eat a little bit more.
When knowing about such harsh diets idols have to follow, people often exclaim how cruel
the Kpop industry is, and ask the companies to let their idols eat well.
The thing is, if the idols eat well, they will not have a ‘standard’ physique and
will definitely get bashed by hypocrites.
This is probably one of the most typical double standards in Kpop that we have yet to understand.
2.
Craving for pretty visuals but getting upset with idols having plastic surgeries
Obviously to become an idol, one of the first and foremost boxes to check is having a pretty
face.
In fact, the look of an idol can totally project him or her into the brightest stardom regardless
of their talents.
So as a result, literally all idols must find one way or another to look as beautiful as
possible because if they are not pretty enough, they would immediately be bashed and asked
to do something to enhance their look.
Just with a few searches and clicks, you can already see a bunch of threads about famous
idols that are constantly attacked for being “ugly.”
What’s even more disturbing is that these lists even include some big names from idols
gen2, proving how the hate bandwagon has already been running for years yet no one bothered
to stop it.
The latest epitome of the crazy hate stemming from the alleged “ugly look” of idols
is ITZY’s Chaeryeong and even until now, people still couldn’t stop calling her out
for being the “visual hole” of the group.
Things went on for years that some new fans had to post on big forums, asking questions
like “Why do people think Chaeryeong from Itzy is so ugly?”
Yet regardless of how many threads were posted, the answer was always the same: Chaeryeong
didn’t fit well with the strict beauty standard of South Korea and so, she was criticized
because of the alleged ugliness.
However, when idols like Chaeryoung took the opinions of netizens seriously and reached
out for plastic surgeries to improve their look, they were immediately bashed again for
thriving for an unauthentic visual and implicitly promoted the unreachable beauty standards
among young fans.
People, and especially K-Pop fans, are so against plastic surgeries that even when the
plastic surgeries traces are as clear as day, fans still found one way or another to defend
their idols from the “getting under the knife” allegations because they themselves
just couldn’t accept the fact that most idols do get plastic surgeries though there’s
totally nothing wrong with that.
Considering the first cases where idols are thrown shades at for having plastic surgeries,
some typical examples to name are that of Park Bom, Chungha, APINK’s Naeun and Namjoo.
Most recently, Naeun has become the talk of the town for looking too different from her
initial image and according to netizens, she has become a Gangnam plastic surgery monster.
The thing is, it’s 100% true that she looked way different from herself before yet regardless
of all the solid proof, Naeun’s fans still did their best to deny it, saying that her
face changed only because of aging and it was a natural process of all humans.
According to a netizen, she could never understand why these fans are always get offended when
their idol getting plastic surgery and as noticed by her, this conflicting discussion
has happened not only to Naeun but to literally all idols and never once did it seem to stop.
3.
Idols must change their hair color frequently but also have to keep their hair healthy
If you’ve watched my video about idols that are criticized for “recycling their image,”
you probably will think that it’s a preference for idols to switch up their hair style frequently
because sticking forever to one color would make things unbearably boring.
However, this isn’t the case at all because when idols do too much with their hair and
end up getting it damaged, they will still be criticized for not knowing how to take
care of their own health.
Talking about the first phase of the paradox, it’s easiest to look at the way Cha Eun
Woo, Jisoo and Shuhua got bashed for the way they stick to their black hair most of the
time
Especially for Shuhua, she has kept her hair the same color and same length throughout
nine eras and literally her whole career.
While this obviously did no harm to netizens and in a positive light, this also showed
that Shuhua knows her style and her identity very well, she was still criticized heartlessly.
However, when idols change their hair too frequently and end up looking like wearing
cheap, straw-like wigs, they would become a concern for damaging their naturally healthy
hair and fans would bombard their DM with “caring” messages.
According to the famous hair stylist Goya who has worked with Park Jihoon, the male
idol used to receive lots of messages from concerned fans asking him to go back to the
dark hair.
Because of that double standard, people really don't understand what these fans want from
their idols.
4.
Idols must have a good long rest but must also come back frequently
Besides the paradox about idols’ hair color, K-Pop fans also confuse people when it comes
to their way of viewing how an idol should rest.
When idols are on a long break after working so hard, their agencies would get criticized
for poorly managing idols and not knowing how to promote their talents in the bloodily
competitive scene.
However, when idols comeback frequently to compete with other acts, their companies will
still be hated for overworking them, being unethical and nonchalant to the wellness of
artists.
The cases of BLACKPINK and TWICE are two solid examples for this.
For a long time, BLINKs have always called YG Entertainment out for letting BLACKPINK
rest for too long and for refraining the girls from showing their talents.
However, it was recently revealed by Jennie that she was mentally and physically sick
after the packed schedule in 2020.
Other members were also confirmed to have their sleep system breaking down, eating habits
turned upside down and for a year and a half, they didn’t even have a home.
Just with a brief sharing, it’s already clear how some so-called BLINKs have been
clowning themselves and blindly throwing hate though what they saw was the tip of the iceberg.
Or for TWICE, when the group willingly worked around the clock because the members didn’t
have individual activities, many ONCEs also bashed JYP Entertainment for not letting the
girls rest enough.
During that phase, the fact that Mina and Jeongyeon took a rest to take care of their
mental health was also the excuse for many ONCEs to pour hatred on JYP Entertainment
though to be fair, they still cared about the two’s health and had a fair agreement
with TWICE about the work schedule.
5.
Netizens bashing anti fans but when idols do the same, they are labeled arrogant
This is also one of the most ridiculous double standards in K-Pop because when antifans throw
shade at idols, netizens can freely bash these haters with all kinds of obscene words but
guess what, when idols stand up for themselves and straight up ask antians to leave them
alone, they would be hated for being entitled and arrogant.
This has happened lots of times to many idols before but the most typical case is Shuhua,
who is often labeled “low EQ” and “arrogant” because of her savage attitude to those she
doesn’t like.
Based on Shuhua’s competencies, many believed the only reason Shuhua managed to make the
cut was that other girls had constantly pushed Cube Entertainment for it.
For such a difference in Shuhua’s skills compared to other members, she has been constantly
labeled a filler member bringing nothing to the table and the black hole of (G)-IDLE.
The hate was so scary that lots of fans have been standing up for Shuhua, slapping back
haters though they also admitted that she would need to improve a lot.
However, when Shuhua herself did the same thing, telling antifans to stop watching (G)-IDLE’s
MVs if they find her face ugly, people immediately turned back to label her an arrogant and annoying
idol.
She is even said to be the most controversial member of (G)-IDLE and combining this with
her inherently lacking skills, not only netizens but many NEVERLANDs have criticized her non-stop.
So, which double standard that I mentioned is the most ridiculous to you?
And do you know any other ones that are equally annoying?