Two times out of three, telling somebody that I am a fan of the seven-member Korean boy band, BTS, elicits a reaction rife with judgement, disdain, and snideness. Mostly, in these instances, I can know what assumptions these people harbour, because I have come face to face with it many times before, both online and offline. Things like oh, it’s just another boy-crazed teenage girl chasing after their silly pop songs and shallow, feel-good lyrics. It’s unlikely that she can even understand those lyrics, so why does she bother? But so what, it’s entirely in vain since they don’t even know she exists. Oh, and they’re probably gay anyway, I mean, what man flaunts around in that kind of makeup and acts like a girl? Hopefully, it’s just a phase.
All in all, these assumptions stem from many, many prejudices that have been built up about the Korean part of BTS, about the boy band part of BTS, about the they wear makeup part of BTS, and many, many more. Most of these factors relate to the fact that BTS do not necessarily conform with people’s ideas of what should be taken seriously, or even be respected. That is what I want to talk about today.
Because this post is about the fact that yes, it could just be a phase, but who are you to claim that impermanence equates to insignificance when everything about life contradicts the existence of a permanent state of self? On what grounds can you claim to define what masculinity is or is not for a stranger, and what right do you have to wield queerness as if it is a weapon against others? Why do you assume you know what their lyrics are like when you obviously don’t respect their Koreanness enough to read through their Korean lyrics? Finally, why do you insist on viewing things that teenage girls and women enjoy as nothing but insignificant? These are all questions that I intend to explore through this post.
It’s Not Just a Phase — or is it?
Throughout much of history and pop culture, things that teenagers have shown interest in have been brushed off as insignificant by adults, as just a phase. Oftentimes, a teenager, who may feel as though they are not taken seriously enough will respond with defensive hostility.
However, an overlooked idea is one that proposes that maybe, just maybe… the fact that something is a phase does not make it insignificant. After all, if you truly think about it, one of the biggest lessons that many people have to learn is that as scary as it is, change is inevitable. Life is about phases, about different chapters, and about learning and growing from each of them. So who is to say that it is any different, or less important, because the person going through it is a teenager? Just because we are a little more confused, and a lot less experienced in life, does not mean that there isn’t something to be taken away from our experiences.
So to those who try to ridicule teenagers for liking certain things, or Armys (the official name for BTS fans) for liking BTS on the grounds that it is a phase, consider the following:
Perhaps we will continue to like this for many years to come, and perhaps we will lose interest in it very soon. However, regardless of the amount of time someone spends on something, the lessons, opportunities, and even just instances where they felt an open, inclusive community, will not disappear. Often, the most impactful of events happen in the briefest of moments, so it is about time for us to retire the idea that it is just a phase means it is unimportant, and it will pass soon. If we all adopt the idea that impermanence is not insignificant, I believe that a lot of unnecessary judgement, regret, and clashes can be avoided.
An Outdated Definition of Masculinity (And Queerness is Not Your Weapon)
One of the ways that people most often try to ridicule BTS and their fans is through insults relating to their identities and masculinity. They ridicule them for the makeup and outfits that they wear, the way they carry themselves, and even things like their vulnerability in talking about things like mental health and self love in their music. Above all, the problem lies in the fact that people will stick labels such as “girly” and “gay” onto them, as though those are derogatory terms.
The issue lies within things like the perpetuation of toxic masculinity, misogyny, and the harmful stereotypes that lead to the emasculation of Asian men in the Western world.
Through the lens of toxic masculinity, BTS are treated as “less than” because they do not embody the harmful expectations that men should be physically strong but emotionally closed off, as well as aggressive, anti-feminist, and even discriminatory against those who are not cishet. This leads to the reasons why people slap the label “gay” onto BTS members; because through toxic masculinity and heteronormativity, gayness is seen as an insult. Through these standards, stereotypes like makeup and certain manners of dressing are immediately equated to queerness. Of course, if any of the BTS members happen to be queer, that is entirely alright and entirely their own, private, business. That is not the problem at hand. The problem at hand is that a bunch of people have it ingrained into their minds that being queer is a bad thing, and that is what we need to fix. Not to mention, slapping a label onto people that assumes that they are queer is a whole other problem regarding harmful assumptions, the loss of autonomy and their voice, and the possibility of outing someone when they are not ready or not in a safe environment to be outed.
Similarly, people jump to insult BTS with the use of misogyny, harming not only them, but many others in the process. The use of the word “girly” in a derogatory manner perpetuates the idea that girls and women are less than men, which is why being girly is seen as an insult. Though unfair to them, this has less of an effect on BTS themselves, who are entirely comfortable in their identities, and is more harmful to the public audience who may be conditioned into thinking that it is an insult to be girly.
Finally, there is the issue of the emasculation of Asian men. This dates back to the mid-19th century, when there was an influx of Asian, mostly Chinese people immigrating to North America. These Asian immigrants were seen as a threat to Western, eurocentric culture, and thus, the depiction of Asian men as emasculate, effeminate, and even asexual was started. This idea has evolved and faded somewhat throughout the last 150 years, but has still stuck in North America, especially in depictions of Asian men in media. In the 20th century, Asian men were often portrayed as weak or villainous, and even in our present-day media, there are long lasting stereotypes that paint Asian men as emasculate and unattractive. These issues are present in the lives of many Asian-American and Asian-Canadian men today, and when these same stereotypes are used as insults against figures like BTS, they only serve to do more harm.
The Implications of a Boyband
Throughout the last few decades, boy bands have risen and fallen in different parts of the world. However, if there is one thing they all have in common, it is that they are not taken very seriously within the music world. Even a legendary, world-renowned band like the Beatles were originally not taken seriously by most people.
Why, you may ask? Well, that is because boy bands historically have female-dominated fan bases, and that is the exact reason why people do not tend to take them seriously. I’m sure we’ve all heard, somewhere or another, the idea that boy band fans are just some crazed-teenage girls who only follow the bands because they are made up of attractive boys and men. These assumptions and implications were there when the Beatles became famous because of young women, and they are here now when BTS have become famous. Despite the fact that the majority of BTS’ fan base is made up of adult women in their 20s and 30s, they are stuck with the label that all their fans are hysterical, screaming teenage girls. Within that lies a few problems.
Essentially, the problem of teenage girls showing their enthusiasm and gratitude at, say, a concert in the only way they can, through screaming and shouting lyrics, is all but reduced to the idea that they are hysterical and not to be taken seriously. This idea of hysterical girls and women goes back to the idea that women are overly-emotional, and should not be taken seriously. This can be harmful in that when a woman or girl tries to voice her feelings and emotions, or tries to have a serious conversation about anything that she feels the slightest bit emotional about, she can be dismissed with the idea that she is merely hysterical, or her concerns being reduced to something like, “it’s probably her just time of the month.
As a last thought, here is an interesting observation. There are many, many similarities between boy band fans and sports fans. These are things such as a strong sense of community, screaming fans (at concerts or games), buying and collecting merch, intense passion and loyalty, and being emotional over teams, athletes, idols and bands. In most parts, both are similar, except for one interesting factor: sports fans tend to have a prevalence for violence. However, these shows of violence, such as rioting when a team loses, are dismissed even when a little screaming from boy band fans are deemed as hysteria. This is because while boy band fans are mostly made up of females, sports fans are mostly made up of males. And that, ladies, gentlemen and nonbinary folks, seems to make all the difference in the world.
Dismissal on the Grounds of Foreignness
Finally, the last topic I would like to talk about is the impact of BTS’ Koreanness. BTS are a Korean band, as we all know. All seven members of the band; RM, Jin, Suga, J-hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook (their stage names, not their given names. You can think of them like pen names that authors give themselves) were born and raised in South Korea. Their native language is Korean, and so they speak, write, sing and rap mainly in Korean. This seems to have an effect on the way people view them—namely, through lenses of thinly veiled racism and xenophobia, not that many even attempt to hide it in the slightest.
In February 2021, German radio host Matthias Matuschik commented on BTS’ cover of Coldplay’s song, “Fix You,” calling it “blasphemy” and proceeding to compare BTS to the coronavirus.
Just a few months later, in April 2021, a comedy program from Chile did a parody where they dressed up as BTS and took it upon themselves to mock the Korean language by speaking gibberish, compare BTS to the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-un, and yet again, joke about their connection to the coronavirus.
These are not the first, nor the last times that BTS have been victims of racism and the like. BTS are proud of their Koreanness, which they have spoken about in depth. In fact, in 2018, they were even the recipients of the Order of Cultural Merit, an award given out by the Korean government to those who have spread and promoted Korean languages, culture and customs around the world. However, these two examples out of many instances of hostility and racism speak to the fact that there is a long way to go. With the surge in anti-Asian hate crimes in the last few years, triggered in great part by the pandemic, it is more pressing than ever that we do not dismiss any of these issues.
As we have seen in this entire vlog, problems that affect BTS such as toxic masculinity, misogyny, racism and xenophobia do not only affect them, but the rest of the world as well. And by looking at the way that the members of BTS have approached these topics and issues through their music and their advocacy, we can all learn a few valuable lessons. It does none of us any good to dismiss something on such trivial grounds like stereotypes that are hardly grounded in facts. I do not think that everyone should love BTS and their music, in fact, I believe that that is impossible. Each individual has a different preference, and some do not even listen to music. It is unfair to ask that everyone feel the same way about something as I do. However, through acknowledging their presence in the world and the things they go through without the barrier of assumptions and stereotypes, I believe that we can grow as people and a society.
Hopefully, through this blog post, you have learned something new. Thank you for reading!