The ageism is starting to become a major issue in kpop, where we are creating a definition of an individuals worth on being a kpop idol through the age systems, which are largely arbitrary.
It is becoming very concerning on how we are normalising this ageism and calling it protection, when it actually is erasure.
In recent years, we are consistently making harsh comments on young kpop idols such as “a 14 year old should not be debuting” and “a 15 year old is a child, and needs to be in school”, without realising the deep impact these have on their mental health, self esteem and self confidence.
We all know that kpop idols have worked extremely hard to get to where they are as trainees, and we all know how harsh, gruesome and demanding the trainee life really is. We all know that even when trainees become idols, they still live extremely demanding lifestyles. But those people go through those hardships to achieve their dreams of being a famous idol.
The 14 and 15 year old idols would have gone through the exact same struggles too as trainees, and go through the exact same struggles as idols too, but now they have to undergo an additional struggle after they debut, until they turn 18: ageism and infantilisation.
Random strangers they have never even crossed paths in their lives will be moral policing them, telling them that they are too young to debut and shouldn’t have debuted until they were 18, telling them that they’re still a kid/child and telling them to go to school, as if they shouldn’t exist as kpop idols. That alone would completely erode their confidence and self esteem, which will definitely impact them as idols. We would never truly know the behind the scenes, on how they would truly feel.
That is age discrimination, which is equivalent to issues such as racism, which should not be normalised. Discrimination should never be normalised in the first place, but it is shocking on how age based discrimination is so normalised, when it has the exact same effects as racism.
Now, let’s imagine a scenario. Imagine you were a kpop idol, who is 14 or 15. You’re so excited to debut after all the hard work you put in, and all the hardships you went through. You finally debuted, and you see comments on how you shouldn’t debut because you’re still a child. You see more ageist comments, where people start mocking you for your age, completely undermining your efforts.
If I was in that scenario, I’d feel extremely worthless. I’d literally feel like I want to quit completely and disappear. How would you feel? Please let me know below.
submitted by /u/According_Step7997
[link] [comments]
