[Pannchoa] Knets talk about American "cool kids" view of KPOP

[Jikrytae]

On 1/13/2020 at 11:15 AM, bittermelon said:

It wasn't the cool kids who hated on kpop when I was in high school. It was just some basic plain white girls.

Lotta factors into why people don't listen to kpop, which are racism, xenophobia, dislike of boy groups(but that doesn't stop them from being successful), dislike of what teenage girls like, thinking kpop is gay(idk how girls lining up to throw themselves at bg members is gay tho).  Also people don't have to like or listen to kpop even if it's because of the factors i mentioned above.

Maybe this is something that happens elsewhere, but I've honestly never witnessed the word "gay" being used to insult female fans of anything. It's always aimed squarely at the male fans... and that's precisely one of the reasons why. The disproportionate popularity of boy bands in the industry, and the ways in which they're marketed to appeal to crazed fangirls. The entire boy band formula, no matter the culture of origin, has always revolved around catering explicitly to a female fanbase, and sexualization is one of the ways this is accomplished. The whole thing is practically designed to ostracize any potential hetero male fans right from the start. Boy bands have always been mocked by the general public for similar reasons, and I think it's why they always come and go like a fad, at least in America. Something has to be socially acceptable for both genders in order for it to maintain widespread appeal.

But people also stigmatize pop as a musical genre, so that a male following a "pop princess" or a girl group is still seen as gay if the music itself is too "girly," which frankly, it often is. Even when the female singers are also presented in a sexualized manner, it's not going to matter if the music itself is offensive to hetero male sensiblities. This is another thing that has always made pop music a difficult proposition for hetero male fans, and isn't a feature exclusive to kpop. 

And finally, there's the fact that a hugely disproportionate number of kpop fans actually are gay by the looks of it. They shouldn't be judged for this, but that's not exactly going to change the way others perceive the demographic.

As for racism, maybe I'm just being naive, but I honestly think this is a topic that gets too much play in kpop circles. I think the lack of mainstream success for kpop acts in America stems much more from cultural differences (like them not being able to speak English) and just a general lack of interest more so than racism or xenophobia. There are plenty of racists in this country, but that is much more true among the older generations, who are extremely unlikely to listen to these sorts of pop acts anyway. If you want to know why most young Americans don't listen to kpop, it would be wise to not jump to the conclusion that they simply hate Asians.

I think the main reason kpop acts don't go mainstream in America is that they simply don't try hard enough. The companies don't promote them to the degree needed to get noticed in this country, always half-assing it in some way, and the acts themselves don't learn English or re-record their songs in English. And yes, this is absolutely necessary. With the exception of our Hispanic population, Americans don't do foreign-language music. We just don't.

The only way to get any real momentum going is a media blitz like the one Blackpink received last year, but for a much longer duration. They will need to actually be in America, or whatever country they wish to become popular in, for extended periods of promotion and touring, putting their popularity in Korea at risk as a result. Would you be willing to see your favorite groups make that sacrifice, and possibly turn out like the Wonder Girls? Just how important is mainstream attention outside of East Asia?

[Jikrytae]

44 minutes ago, bittermelon said:

Perhaps I should have elaborated on this, but I meant that male kpop idols are seen as gay bc they wear makeup and stuff. Like you won't catch a straight guy sharing to his friends and gushing about how much he likes a boy group when the boy group is showing off their abs or hip thrusting in a mv. Guys would be like "gay~". Yet at the same time, pretty boy groups attract girls. So guys would be hating on boy groups for being "gay" while simutaniously hating them for attracting girls.

 

Edit: P.S. How many mainstream asian artists do you see in the u.s.? That's right, none. Charice, Far East Movement, Psy, they all had their moments. BTS is the only one who hit mainstream success in the U.S. and are still on top years later.

Effeminate guys are going to get made fun of regardless of who they attract. That's just how it is. 

Now... Mainstream Asian artists in America? As in artists literally from Asia, not Asian-American? I don't think there are any. If there are, I know for a fact that none of them are named BTS. I don't have anything against them, but those of you from other countries really need to stop kidding yourselves about their so-called "mainstream success" here. They aren't on top of anything, they're still a niche act. No matter how many public appearances their company pays for them to make on big shows, the reaction of the general public is always the same, "Who are these guys? And why are they singing in Chinese?" Any American, including the unbiased kpop fans like myself, will gladly tell you this. Don't let their rabid fanbase fool you. They perpetuate Korean fan culture, where an online popularity poll can have a million votes and half of them came from the same person.

There will never be a mainstream Asian act in the US until they make the sort of effort I outlined in my previous post. Performing on a few award shows and New Year's Eve isn't going to cut it. 

Edited January 16, 2020 by Jikrytae