While it is important to accept that our faves are problematic, it is even more important to acknowledge their growth once they recognize it themselves. June 6th should now be celebrated by K-Pop lovers all over the world. June 6th is now a date in which K-Pop recognized the power behind their music. June 6th is the day BTS’s agency, Big Hit Entertainment, apologized for the group’s misogynistic lyrics.
While BTS is headlining articles for Buzzfeed, Billboard, and NBC News, they have just conquered a milestone for acceptance within K-Pop. In an industry in which men are celebrated for their dancing skills and women are criticized for the tiny clothes their agencies decide to have them in, to acknowledge misogyny, even if it’s just one group, shows just how relevant one’s idol can be.
The group’s agency released the following statement,
(Translation credits to allkpop.)
“Big Entertainment and BTS acknowledge that since the end of 2015, there’s been a controversy regarding the misogyny in BTS’s lyrics, and after reviewing the lyrics once again, we found out that a portion of the substance could be misunderstood to criticize women, which was not intended when it was being written, and made people uncomfortable. […] Regarding this, Big Hit Entertainment and BTS mulled over many things for a long time together, and the reason we had not announced an official stance all this time was in order to give sincere feedback […]
Through this discussion and review, we learned that because the creation of music is influenced by personal growth and experience as well as what’s been seen in society, we cannot be free from societal prejudice and error. We also learned that it could be undesirable to define women’s roles and values in society from a man’s viewpoint. […]
Even in the future, please continue to watch over BTS’s development, and if you point out the parts where we’re lacking, we will work even harder as we listen to the fans and society’s advice.”
I’ve been an avid BTS fan since their very beginning and I have also been one of the few that have pointed at their problematic lyrics and music videos. However, the fandom is not in agreement. While some are applauding both BTS and Big Hit for their statement, many found it upon themselves to defend the group, claiming that their lyrics celebrate women and said controversy was just an attempt on ruining the group’s image.
I’ll let you draw your own conclusion. Here are a few lines from Hormone War:
(Translation credits to yasuis.)
Because I’m a male, it’s because of females”
As a female fan, I found this to be the greatest opportunity to discuss Feminism and female objectification with a group that had dedicated their lives to be devoted to seven men: the fans. While BTS has an on-growing popularity among men for their Hip-Hop style, the smashing majority of their fandom is composed by females fans.
Fans tend to forget the importance of their own rights and morals above their idol’s. Having the men they admire so blatantly mention misogyny should be the best way of showing these girls that they matter. Making them understand that they are not to blame for their idol’s “manly instincts” and that they can too fight back and see results.
It personally saddens me that fans have decided to argue against the accusations. After the official statement was released, it no long became a matter of whether their lyrics were misogynistic or not; they had affirmed that themselves upon its release. This now became a situation in which a fandom could be educated and open minded. Sadly, that’s far from being what we saw happen.
While fans fail to acknowledge BTS’ evolution and learning experience, I still hope their statement is to be a new era of acceptance and female representation in K-Pop as more than sex symbols. Artists, take notes, this is how you properly recognize you’re problematic.
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