First of all, what is feminism?
Feminism is a collection of movements and ideologies that share a common goal: to define, establish, and achieve equal political, economic, cultural, personal, and social rights for women.
It's important to know the actual definition and do some research before starting out on your 2000 word essay about how Hyuna is such an example of an oppressed female *ahem* slut.
What most people do nowadays, especially rabid, insane, jealous netizens, is hide behind the covers of a feminist and slut-shame these women. I would call that oppression. Isn't feminism about achieving social rights for women? One of these social rights is being able to have the freedom of wearing whatever the heck I want to wear without having a hoard of oppressive sexist beings attack me for my choices in life.
Let's take a look at a current example in the western world, Miley Cyrus.
It's obvious that many people call her a slut for her explicit behaviour.
But go ahead and ask any radical feminist out there about what they think about her behaviour and they'll reply back with "it's her body, she should be able to do whatever she wants with it".
Take this and put it with every girl group/female solo singer doing sexy concepts nowadays. They're encouraging people to fight back against dumb stereotypes and teaching girls to embrace who they are regardless of how much clothing they have on.
I don't see you netizens complaining when your oppas take off their shirts (and change on stage, ehm EXO) but the moment some girl shows some skin you all go all "feminist bonkers" on her.
The girls are actually hardass feminists in a sense that "I'm going to do whatever I want with my body, this is my body and I'm proud of it, nothing you say can crush me, in fact I'll just come back stronger" which is just what Stellar did after Marionette's criticisms.
Look, they're all radical feminists.
Unfortunately this theory applies to about 1% of female idols. This is when my argument breaks down due to the fact that, unlike Miley Cyrus, they don't get to decide, about anything. This leads on nicely to my next section...
Feminism is a collection of movements and ideologies that share a common goal: to define, establish, and achieve equal political, economic, cultural, personal, and social rights for women.
It's important to know the actual definition and do some research before starting out on your 2000 word essay about how Hyuna is such an example of an oppressed female *ahem* slut.
This little blog post will be separated into two sub-headings. A) Why Hyuna is a feminist (in theory) and B) Why you still shouldn't slut shame her.
To start with A! Why Hyuna is a feminist (in theory).
What most people do nowadays, especially rabid, insane, jealous netizens, is hide behind the covers of a feminist and slut-shame these women. I would call that oppression. Isn't feminism about achieving social rights for women? One of these social rights is being able to have the freedom of wearing whatever the heck I want to wear without having a hoard of oppressive sexist beings attack me for my choices in life.
Let's take a look at a current example in the western world, Miley Cyrus.
It's obvious that many people call her a slut for her explicit behaviour.
But go ahead and ask any radical feminist out there about what they think about her behaviour and they'll reply back with "it's her body, she should be able to do whatever she wants with it".
Take this and put it with every girl group/female solo singer doing sexy concepts nowadays. They're encouraging people to fight back against dumb stereotypes and teaching girls to embrace who they are regardless of how much clothing they have on.
I don't see you netizens complaining when your oppas take off their shirts (and change on stage, ehm EXO) but the moment some girl shows some skin you all go all "feminist bonkers" on her.
The girls are actually hardass feminists in a sense that "I'm going to do whatever I want with my body, this is my body and I'm proud of it, nothing you say can crush me, in fact I'll just come back stronger" which is just what Stellar did after Marionette's criticisms.
Look, they're all radical feminists.
Unfortunately this theory applies to about 1% of female idols. This is when my argument breaks down due to the fact that, unlike Miley Cyrus, they don't get to decide, about anything. This leads on nicely to my next section...
B) Why you still shouldn't slut shame them.
Slut shaming is very unfortunate. Women will always judge one another (men will also continue to judge women). Someone may as well be wearing the so called "slutty clothes" but on the inside they could be the sweetest person imaginable, so different to your expectations.
Netizens always point fingers at the female idols themselves for behaving in a "slutty" manner but if you disagree so much with her sexy concept you should point fingers at the CEO, the guy in charge. Who decides on which concept the group is going to do? Who has complete control over the members lives? None other than the CEO of course. Instead of blaming Hyuna (or whoever else you've decided to pick on today) remember that, if anything, the CEO was behind all of it, he is to blame. Hyuna was simply obeying her orders, otherwise she'll be kicked out of the company left to fend for herself. I reckon she doesn't want that to happen.
Many female idols are not actually doing what they want with their bodies (ditto here with male idols) so slut shaming them is like blaming them for something they haven't actually done. Just because you don't like a certain race doesn't mean that it's seen as acceptable to post a whole blog post about it. It's the same here. Sure do whatever you want but that doesn't mean that I agree with it, nor do I accept it.
(I could've added a paragraph here stating why the CEOs are the true feminists behind it all but I decided not to, no)
While I agree with you that female K-pop artists should NOT be shamed for doing exactly what the male artists do without receiving criticism, you don't really make your point clearly and there's a very large counter-argument that can be made here: not all of the idols, particularly some of the ones listed here, are in control of their concept or image. AOA is a very good example of this, as the sexy concept forced their original 'transformer' concept to the wayside without much regard for what the members themselves want or would choose for themselves. Of course, they want to be successful, so they don't fight the change, but it still isn't one made of free will. Hyuna is similar, in that while she feels comfortable with her sexy image, up until 2014, it wasn't an image she personally chooses or even feels entirely comfortable with (the article you chose even has her saying she feels embarrassed by it).
ReplyDeleteThe companies are responsible for the choices, and these companies are largely run by men trying to turn a profit; because of this, I have a hard time calling many K-pop idols 'feminist icons.' They are not in control of their image or sexuality the way someone like Miley Cyrus is.
However, this does not excuse slut-shaming them in the slightest, which happens quite often. There is nothing wrong with a woman being sexual and expressing herself in a sexual manner. 'Feminist' K-pop fans always attack the wrong target- rather than aiming their vitriol at the companies that produce and force these concepts onto their idols, they produce their bile in the direction of the members of the groups themselves. This is what needs to stop. These women who have sexuality forced upon them by men in higher position in order to better sell albums and their image are the victims of sexism, not the perpetrators.
Until people see this, our progress as a minority will continue to grind to a halt: women judging women in a very large problem in and outside the entertainment industry. Being a woman does not in any way mean that you do not engage in sexism toward women. It's a deeply ingrained societal "norm" that needs to be pointed out and done away with just as much, if not moreso, than sexism coming from the opposite gender.
I'm glad you wrote this, but I hope you also take this opportunity to understand some of the flaws in your argument, as well as look into some feminist texts and viewpoints. Unfortunately, something being someone's independent choice does not entirely make it free of the influence of systemic oppression and deeply ingrained misogyny, either.
This video is a pretty decent start: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOmIIAact4s