I’m going to be totally upfront: I love KPOP more than I love myself. And I adore myself. I first got into it a couple of years ago when a dear friend showed me a video of beautiful superhumans dancing and singing in perfect sync with one another. I was never the same. I quickly fell down the rabbit hole of interesting visuals and compelling artists. I bought all the merch, listened to all the albums, cried over all of my posters. I even travelled to Los Angeles to see my favorite band live before I went off to college. I cherished every second.
In my years as a stan, I’ve always found one of KPOP’s most striking features to be the different aesthetics of different groups, ranging from soft and pastel to bright and loud. With every new album and concept, the looks that the idols, especially those of the male persuasion, serve can change drastically, but they tend to retain one key attribute: androgyny. Male idols act “cute” and wear heavy makeup, highlighting their more soft and delicate characteristics. The female idols cut their hair short and don suits, bringing forth their more overtly assertive side which contrasts with how women are often portrayed in South Korea.
While many see this a marketing ploy in an excessively competitive industry, the androgyny of these idols opens the floor for many conversations about gender and assumptions about sexuality to occur. More often than not, sexuality is presumed if an idol looks a certain way. If a male idol is more feminine and a female idol is more masculine, they’re considered to be gay based purely on their aesthetic (and sometimes skinship, but that’s for another article). One of the idols that have discussed the most is Amber Liu, a member of the girl group f(x) and an actual goddess, who is frankly one of the most beautiful humans I’ve ever seen.
Look at her and bask. With her styled short hair and tomboyish style, Amber plays jump rope with the line that often divides the genders in Korea. In an industry that encourages women to fit a very particular and traditionally attractive mold, Amber stands out as a perfect model of genderless aesthetic. In her song ‘Beautiful’ she also talks about how she’s happy to be her amazing androgynous self even though others may try and bring her down for how she looks. You go, girl.
Now we can’t forget about the boys can we? Although it’s more common to see feminine men in KPOP than it is to see the opposite, it’s still pretty amazing to see. In South Korea, men wearing makeup is becoming more and more mainstream in order to keep up with the harsh beauty ideals. Posters of male idols grace the front of makeup stores, endorsing different products and it isn’t a source of major controversy to see a male idol wear eye makeup when performing.
One of my favorite examples of androgyny in the KPOP world is Baekhyun, a vocalist for EXO, who I’m pretty sure invented the burgundy smokey eye. If you don’t believe me look at this picture.
A true king if I do say so myself. Known for his softer features and fey-like appearance, Baekhyun shows us a set of contradictions: not macho or even particularly masculine in the conventional sense, but displaying his idea of beauty for all the world to see. By embracing what many in the West see as out of the ordinary, Baekhyun and many male idols like his break out of the gender roles that have defined men and women for so long.
The KPOP industry will always be cutthroat, searching for new and exciting ways to make a bigger and better splash. However, we can’t ignore the implications of the androgynous style in the “real world”. As the arbitrary lines between gender and sexuality become increasingly more blurred then why don’t we throw them out altogether? Support gender fluidity and non-binary folks. Disregard the notion that gender and sexuality are intrinsically linked. Stop assuming shit based off of looks. Gender norms are so outdated, are they not?
Image Credit: Feature, 1, 2, 3, 4
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