I think about this very often. Probably since I was looking for the main k-pop sub, and, due to forgetting to unfilter NSFW content, ended up on a very different but similarly sized sub. A bit later, a similar thing happened w/ NMIXX, and this was at a time when they were majority minors.
So obviously it’s something that exists- we all know it. It has been a part of pop music for years, especially the coveted idea of legality and innocence. But in Kpop, where artists don’t have any say over their image and most especially their expression of sexuality (from preforming homosexuality to attract yuri/yaoi fans to being forced into sexy concepts), it becomes less ‘Miley Cyrus, etc. lashing out against being a child star’ and starts to feel less ‘consensensual’ to observe in a sexualized manner. We all agree that minor idols need to be protected, but what about the rest of them? When looking at subs that treat idols no different than if they were anime girls, it can be seen both how much money is in this and how dangerous and dehumanizing it can be. It is another extension of the parasocial relationships that exist. Every move an idol makes is for the enjoyment (sexual or otherwise) of the observer.
But companies don’t and will not care. There is a reason waterbomb is so successful and attended by such a high caliber of idols. Companies think they can get away with endorsing the sexualization of their idols as long as they are above 18, but what really is the difference? People don’t reach full decision making ability until ~25, and they don’t magically gain it when they’re 18. Even if they have more legal rights many worker protections don’t apply to idols and they are frequently deeply indebted to their companies. Under coercion, they can’t give consent in these matters. No matter how much it clearly bothers some idols and their members, they have to deliver or else sink deeper into debt and risk an early end to their dreams.
So, sexualization. We all know it’s happening, it makes a lot of us feel kind of icky, but it’s not going anywhere unless the system itself gets fairer.
submitted by /u/clairdeloona_yt
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