When asked about why they prefer KPOP over Western music, many Kpop fans say that the
former is less sexualized than the latter. But is that really true? While most KPOP fans
would say that they’re drawn into the genre by the bright, bubble-gum image of many groups,
a fact not everyone wants to admit is that they also come to admire the naively sexual
aura emitted by these female idols.
In 2019, a specialist one stated that over the past few years, KPOP has been excessively
sexualized and the current generations of female idols have always been carrying simultaneously
two images: naive and sexual. So how could all these idols could pull off the two contrasting
concepts as a piece of cake regardless of how demanding the MV and photoshoot can be?
Besides the undeniable fact that they’re all professional performers who could be in
disguise of whoever the public and the management company wants, this capability also stems
from their cultivated personalities.
While fans might look at the versatility of an idol and believe that it’s just who he
or she really is, in the eyes of experts who has spent years conducting research about
KPOP, they all state that the perfect constant switch between two polars of concepts: naive
and sexual, only happen because they’re all embedded in the female idols’ blood
during the training days. Pretty much like robots full of algorithms in the head, these
performers could pull off any concepts with just an order from either the audience or
the management agency. Plus, the experts also believed that KPOP has been hiring tons of
professionals every year just to help female idols give off the mixture of naive and sexual
feelings, attracting tons of attention and stealin everyone’s heart.
Naive face, sexy costumes and in-between expressions One thing should be noticed in KPOP is that
idols, especially females, often own a face that is way younger than their biological
age. Thanks to advanced technologies in cosmetics, spas, plastic surgeries and tons of other
things, a twenty-five-year-old female idol could act as if she is just fifteen. And of
course, no one questions that. In fact, not only fans have long been accustomed to such
backward-aging process of idols, but they also consider it a must-have thing if these
stars want to extend their career path.
Despite such a child-like visual, female idols often put on facial expressions, body language,
stage costumes that are relatively revealing and sometimes even inviting.
Even when the song, MV, photoshoot and promotional campaign apparently fall on the cute and bright
end of the spectrum, there are still a lot of sexual factors wisely hidden behind the
details that not many people really realize.
Take FIESTAR’s “I Don’t Know” for example. If you watch the MV without thinking
much about it, everything seems completely fun and cute. However, once you take the lyrics
and the progression of the MV into great consideration, another layer of meaning is unveiled.
Opening the song, when Fiestar sang “Why do you want to see me at night? Are all dates
supposed to be like that?,” there went another male voice in the background: “It’s like
that for all adults,” implicitly directing people at the dark, sexual activities. Despite
the bright and lovely theme of the song, the MV literally kicked off with the scene where
Jei took off her outer jacket, handed it over to the male friend and from then on, he started
to covetously staring at her chest.
Then all the toys in the room also went crazy about her figure.
Especially in the scene where Pinnocio’s nose went longer, the sexual implication was
even shown clearer because that image was actually telling how Fei’s male friend was
turned up.
On Quora, under the question that concerned “Whether KPOP is being overly sexualized?.”
A user named Juia Yang gave out a quite interesting opinion.
Instead of reasoning, Yang went straight to compare TWICE and Iggy Azalea as an example
to illustrate her logic. TWICE is composed of youthful members whose age range from 20
to 25, often dressed in student uniform but with the skirts that had been considerably
shortened to show off their body, while Iggy Azalea expressively showed her sexy figure
with a tight bodycon, high boots and heavy makeup look.
Of the two images, Julia Yang believed that the image of TWICE is what is considered “sexual.”
Why so?—You might ask. Though those cute love songs sung by innocent faces of the members
are nothing to be said about, when putting them next to the short costumes and somewhat
evoking dance moves, the whole picture gave off a sense of naively sexual.
However, when it comes to Iggy Azalea, since she directly showed the world that she would
be playing the role of a pole dancer and expressed her sexiness in an adult, mature way, there
was nothing worth debating about.
Besides, do you find the combo of innocent faces, revealing costumes and the in-between
expressions familiar? I bet most of the answers will be yes because it reminds everyone about
the famous fiction Lolita, whose main character is Dolores—a girl possessing an innocent
look yet always dressing in sexy outfits and having provoking actions with a mid-aged man,
Humbert.
There have been multiple times the public fall heads over heels for those female idols
whose visual is as pure as a dewdrop yet the skirt is only “five-centimeter long”.
Take Produce 101 for example, in the survival program, 101 contestants must compete with
one another to stand out, attract public recognition, and make it to the final debut lineup. When
watching their collective performance, it’s not hard to see how “sexual” are flowerily
referred to as “confident” and how all the contestants are well taught to be explosively
sexy to earn the admiration of the audience. However, because one of the unwritten demands
to debut is to perfectly showcase that grown-up appealing side, the contestants must not be
to blame at all.
The coercive sexualization Being sexy is in fact not only restricted
to the realm of regular choreography but it now has extended to a higher level of performance:
pole dancing. Nowadays, more and more girl groups start to bring pole dancing to their
stage with a hope to be recognized as more outstanding and remarkable compared to others.
While this type of sport itself is nothing controversial or reprehensible, in fact, pole
dancing is even recognized for helping dancers possessing the best shape regardless of age,
it’s the fact that many female idols are forced to do this concept at the expense of
their will and health that should be criticized.
In many interviews of After School, there were multiple times the girls had spoken about
how the producers would give them the concepts for the upcoming comeback and they would have
no choice but to obey, including the idea about doing pole dancing regardless of their
unfamiliarity with the sport. While a professional pole dancer must often take years to master
all the skills of pole dancing, After School was ordered to polish everything within the
span of 6 months only.
During that promotion, though the girls looked extremely alluring on stage, behind the spotlights,
all they had left were the bruises full on both legs because of over practicing. The
bruises were so big and apparent that they could even be seen from distances by bear
eyes. In fact, that was the exact case of Nana when she appeared on Star King because
everyone was super concerned about her wellness just by looking at her confused legs.
“That is the sign of idols’ being overly sexualized, the sign of coercive sexiness
put on idols instead of something that they truly want to pursue.”—wrote Yang.
External control over the idol’s body In one edition of the 2016 Herizons magazine,
Oh Ingyu, a professional working at the Research Institution of Seoul National University pointed
out that both male and female idols are expected to carry a sexy and sexual image. To meet
that demand, they dress in revealing costumes and dance arousing choreography, all of that
just to hype people up in an erotic way.
Fans often think that when an idol showcases their body, it is also synonymous with their
proving the power—the one coming from appearance and inner self. Unfortunately, that is not
the case. In fact, there is nothing to do with their power expression; instead, it only
showed how the idols have to pass the body control over to superior capitalists that
have been used to the idea of making money at any costs.
“And that act has never been within the willingness of the idol”—said professor
Oh, “That’s the authority of capitalists to control the body of male as well as female
celebrities. Who would monetarily benefit from the sexualization of these idols’ image?
No one but the powerful individuals that own the shares in their management agencies. They
have always managed to put tons of money into their pockets without having to take off the
clothes and showcase their chests.”
One member of Super Junior once said half in jest, half in earnest about the members
of SNSD that: “Even when they’re sick, they still have to ask for permission about
being sick. Their bodies don’t belong to them because they’re the ‘national treasure’.”
Obviously, that comment was made way less serious but once you consider it carefully,
you’ll see how terrible the situation of idols’ not having the control over their
body has become.
Regardless of whether a female idol is famous or not, their aura on stage is still pretty
much pre-defined by many strategic schemes behind the scene. That’s why more often
than not, the question “When is the suitable time to put on the naive or sexual disguise?”
will not be decided by the idols themselves, instead, it’s decided by the management
agency’s CEO, the outstanding capitalists’ brains that pilot the whole company, and of
course, the concept of the promotion.
“While people are attracted by the naive, cute image that represents a traditional South
Korean girl: polite, courteous, and pure, they are even more hyped up when this figure
is combined with a completely contrasting image: flashy, sultry and sexy.”—explained
professor Oh.
In KPOP particularly, while K-pop artists of both genders face sexualization and objectification,
female idols seem to experience a disproportionate amount. Why? According to many experts, the
root of this overly sexualization stemmed from the long-lasting gender inequality in
South Korea where women are subjected to the male gaze and implicitly required to be exotic
and submissive to their fans.
Before watching this video, have you ever thought that your idol’s personalities are
cultivated to be more attractive to the public, including you? Comment down below to share
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