Heteronormativity is a problem in our society and army fandom space is no different. However in past 5 years, things have become even weirder.
Korean celebrities always try to minimize interaction with opposite gender to avoid dating rumors. BTS members had to abide by this rules for a long time. Whenever they had any interaction with women artists, there were rumors about dating or dissatisfaction from y/n fans. With time, they started interacting with more female artists/celebrities. Now, most armys (at least international armys) don’t really care about bts members dating. Most of us are sane who understand that adults will date. But now, there’s a new problem. Whenever a bts member interacts with a woman, there’s a narrative being pushed that implies that they are only interacting with women because a. They are dating this person or b. This is to prepare armys for marriage/dating announcement. Most of these narratives are celebrated with phrases like “fandom cleanse” or “I’ll always support them even when they get married”.
These statements are so tone deaf and condescending. BTS members or any other Korean celebrities don’t need our permission to date. And the fact that they can’t interact with any female without being subjected to these faux supportive think pieces, is a disgrace. Most importantly, assuming their sexuality so casually without any setbacks from armys is extremely disappointing. I suddenly realized this behavior aligns perfectly with the pandemic era armys’ anti-shipping rhetoric. There’s so much crack down on armys on who create or consume shipping that focuses on creative work. But there’s absolutely no push backs for armys who assume their sexuality in real life and push the heterosexual agenda. Overall, very disappointed. I wonder if it’s the same for other fandoms .
submitted by /u/holdmyhandbaby
[link] [comments]
