I kind of went on a tangent, so I had to spoiler. I’m more of a casual listener, so I’m not 100% on this. Hopefully I didn’t miss anything!
I would personally assume that the kpop formula is mainly appearance first + strong idol-fan relationship, followed by catchy music and choreography.
As mentioned before, the beauty standards and expectations placed on kpop idols are far more restricted than those in the west. Female idols are expected to stay slim, and this practice is brought up early during their trainee days with monthly weigh ins. Even idols who have a healthy BMI for their body-type and height can still be shamed by either their company or even the fans for still looking “too chubby”. Mentioned before, but this treatment can obviously lead people to develop eating disorders in order to keep up the image. Plastic surgery is also common, but it can’t really be forced on a trainee or idol. However, it is seen as giving yourself an advantage when on stage/doing photo shoots because the public will scrutinize every little detail regarding your appearance.
For the fan relationship, companies can put up a dating ban for idols in order for the fans to feel like they have a “personal connection” with the idol (which is honestly creepy and as a westerner I really don’t understand it). By having this illusion of a strong bond with the idol, the fans will not only buy the idol’s music but they can also go out of their way to advertise them to the public. However, idols usually date behind the scenes, and if they get caught, it can be considered a huge scandal and the fans could easily turn against them. They feel like their idol “betrayed” them (“We bought so much of their music and defend them from anti-fans for them to just be careless about our feelings and date?!” basically). It’s a weird type of entitlement over somebody who, in reality, has no idea who they are.
When it comes to sexiness in groups, it’s definitely more open in western girl groups. Some kpop girl groups/solo acts have a sexier image, but it’s never really known if they’re really comfortable with it or not (if they really want to have this image, or if they’re pushed by their company to do it). For example, a kpop act can have a sexier image and be comfortable with it/have control or a say over this image, but some girl groups that fail to gain popularity have been practically forced to take on a sexier image as a last ditch attempt by their companies to get attention (and possibly profit). For some acts, the sexualization can lead to a great amount of harassment that tends to stay more with female idols than male idols in comparison.
One weird thing, though, about kpop is that some acts sexualize innocence/purity (if that makes sense?). It’s hard to explain, and I don’t know if it’s a cultural thing, but some groups will do a concept that’s deemed as innocent or cute on the surface, but there will be sexual undertones either in the song’s lyrics, the stage outfits, choreography, or the intended audience of the song (this gets even worse when the idol happens to be underage
). Weird at “best”, disgusting at worst. Some female idols have started calling it out, but since a part of their audience/the public are those creepy fans, it usually has to be done subtly through either song lyrics or music video concepts (Can’t be straightforward and tell them to fuck off because companies gotta make that money at the end of the day. Along with that, the idol could be seen as “ungrateful” for disrespecting the fans that got them where they are in the first place).
As mentioned before, the beauty standards and expectations placed on kpop idols are far more restricted than those in the west. Female idols are expected to stay slim, and this practice is brought up early during their trainee days with monthly weigh ins. Even idols who have a healthy BMI for their body-type and height can still be shamed by either their company or even the fans for still looking “too chubby”. Mentioned before, but this treatment can obviously lead people to develop eating disorders in order to keep up the image. Plastic surgery is also common, but it can’t really be forced on a trainee or idol. However, it is seen as giving yourself an advantage when on stage/doing photo shoots because the public will scrutinize every little detail regarding your appearance.
For the fan relationship, companies can put up a dating ban for idols in order for the fans to feel like they have a “personal connection” with the idol (which is honestly creepy and as a westerner I really don’t understand it). By having this illusion of a strong bond with the idol, the fans will not only buy the idol’s music but they can also go out of their way to advertise them to the public. However, idols usually date behind the scenes, and if they get caught, it can be considered a huge scandal and the fans could easily turn against them. They feel like their idol “betrayed” them (“We bought so much of their music and defend them from anti-fans for them to just be careless about our feelings and date?!” basically). It’s a weird type of entitlement over somebody who, in reality, has no idea who they are.
When it comes to sexiness in groups, it’s definitely more open in western girl groups. Some kpop girl groups/solo acts have a sexier image, but it’s never really known if they’re really comfortable with it or not (if they really want to have this image, or if they’re pushed by their company to do it). For example, a kpop act can have a sexier image and be comfortable with it/have control or a say over this image, but some girl groups that fail to gain popularity have been practically forced to take on a sexier image as a last ditch attempt by their companies to get attention (and possibly profit). For some acts, the sexualization can lead to a great amount of harassment that tends to stay more with female idols than male idols in comparison.
One weird thing, though, about kpop is that some acts sexualize innocence/purity (if that makes sense?). It’s hard to explain, and I don’t know if it’s a cultural thing, but some groups will do a concept that’s deemed as innocent or cute on the surface, but there will be sexual undertones either in the song’s lyrics, the stage outfits, choreography, or the intended audience of the song (this gets even worse when the idol happens to be underage
). Weird at “best”, disgusting at worst. Some female idols have started calling it out, but since a part of their audience/the public are those creepy fans, it usually has to be done subtly through either song lyrics or music video concepts (Can’t be straightforward and tell them to fuck off because companies gotta make that money at the end of the day. Along with that, the idol could be seen as “ungrateful” for disrespecting the fans that got them where they are in the first place).
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