Census Says 1 Out Of Every 6 Kpop Fans Are Dudes, And We Are Not All Gay.
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- Published on Tuesday, 30 June 2015 04:52
- Written by Arief Irsyad
Would you drive for hours to get your hands on a newly released music album? Memorise all the lyrics of their new song? All these antics would be standard behaviour for any diehard music groupie which is seen as 'cool' but when you throw in Kpop and fanboy into the equation, the first response you get is most likely homophobic.
For K-pop fanboys, life is hard for them because to some it is weird to see a guy 'fanboy-ing' over a group, member, or a singer from South Korea.
A Kpop fan boy by the online name Mike Messiah from Northern India shared the following 'confession' on onehallyu.com topic forum last May.
"So when I say I like K-POP people automatically think I am effeminate. Really?
"Like can a music genre be gender specific? seriously man sometimes I just wanna debate but we all know that in a quarrel/debate its not the strong points that win, but the words that are acknowledged by the people around them.
"Even girls who love K-POP are like "Ewww seriously?? Cmon, you are a guy, why do you like K-Pop, you should listen to rock,metal etc."
Yes, life is hard for the Kpop fan boy. How did this unfortunate 'stigma' come about?
The Korean wave or Hallyu hit our country with the drama 'Winter Sonata' back in 2002. Originally, Korean pop or K-pop was targeted for women and young girls but soon men and young boys started taking an interest in the genre. Hence, the 'fanboy' was born and there was no looking back.
The K-Pop Fandom Explained
All diehard Kpop fans, boys and girls included, express their appreciation toward their most beloved celebrity in ways that only stop short of unhealthy fixation as they tend to do things past what a typical fan would do.
Aside from purchasing their most loved artist CD, posters and going to concerts, they would purchase different merchandise items and some to the point of purchasing or using any items that the idols endorse.
They are generally seen on social networking sites. They make various Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram accounts devoted to their Korean idols.
There are many bad-to-the-bone fans out there that are doing things that are way past normal or typical behaviour.
Female fans all around the globe appear to overreact to the same activities done by their idols and they have adventitiously done comparable impromptu things that stun society without a doubt.
K-pop idols most of often than not have an official fan groups. Some striking cases: Super Junior's ELF, Girls' Generation's SONE and EXO's EXO-L.
Fans would take photos of their favourite idols at airport, at broadcast stations, and concerts. There are official photos of the idols during their concert tours and these fans would share with other fans across the globe via Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and many others.
What Sets A Fanboy Apart?
According to the 2014 Reddit Kpop Census, 1 out of every 6 Kpop fan is a male. So, while the Kpop fandom is still predominantly female, fanboys still make up a sizeable minority.
A fanboy shared the following observation on Reddit last year.
"My dad will sometimes make fun of me for liking Kpop but he's actually great about it. He drove me to wait in line for a concert at 3am and then posted 'B.A.P RULES!' on Facebook haha. He thinks it's dumb but he still takes me to the airport when idols come so I can see them. Sometimes he'll look for a Kpop playlist on Youtube and play it for me randomly.
"After almost three years my mother still thinks it's Chinese...She watched one episode of BTS's American Hustle Life with me and kept saying they looked like babies. But every time I try to watch a drama with her she finishes it without me because she can't wait. I also caught her singing 2NE1's I Don't Care a few times haha."
Perhaps what separates the fanboys from the fangirls are merely society's stereotypes. If a fanboy can do the dance moves as well as his favourite girl band, is he any less a man?
Or a fanboy going crazy over his favourite boy band? Perhaps society is uncomfortable with seeing boys publicly express this kind of infatuation.
Adam is a 20-year-old SONE (official fan name for girl group Girls' Generation) says that he buys most of Girls' Generation merchandise like calendar and folder.
"People do stare at me whenever I buy Girls' Generation merchandise maybe because they rarely see a Malay guy buying items with female celebrities on them.
"Whenever new music videos of Girls' Generation come out I would fanboy-ing over it and spazz a little.
"I spent most of time on the Internet cheeking my Twitter feeds. Yes I am addicted to K-pop. But hey better addicted to K-pop than drugs right?" he says who is still studying at an IPTA in Gombak.
So, basically fanboys and fangirls are merely gender specific terms but not behaviour specific. It is more the society perceives fanboys differently from fangirls.
Is It A Crime To Be A K-Pop Fanboy?
When contacted by Malaysian Digest, Nabil, a 25 year old student at Management Science University says his male friends would make of fun for liking K-Pop.
"They would ridicule me for listening to Korean music. So whenever I listen to my favourite K-Pop music I would listen to it by myself.
"I do have female friends who are into K-Pop like I do and sharing the same interest with them is fun. Sometimes I couldn't help but to wonder what would it be like to share the same interest with guys.
"Another stigma that I get when people know that I like to listen to K-Pop is people are quick to pass judgement calling me gay which I am not. I am 100% straight.
"Yes I do have favourite boy groups like Bangtan Boys, Exo, Big Bang, Beast, 2PM, to a name a few. I like them because of their catchy music and awesome choreography," he says who is also a fan of Exid, Apink's Eunji and Red Velvet.
Bangtan Boys (BTS) - Dope/Sick
EXO - Call Me Baby
Another fanboy also echoed the gay stigma that the society has put on fanboys.
"If you are a K-Pop fanboy you probably have to keep that fact to yourself if you do not want to be called gay. A lesson that I learned the hard way when I first entered the fandom back in 2009.
"I was showing to a friend a music video of Super Junior's 'Sorry Sorry'. I was expecting comments like "wow cool dance moves" or "it's catchy", but NO, instead he said, "why do you listen to this. It's not like you understand a single thing that they say. Plus they look kinda gay. Are you gay?"
"Since then I never hear the end of it. My friend keeps saying that I listen to some gay music and that I have swung to the other side, in other words, I'm turning gay.
"What I don't understand is why does liking another music genre has got to do with sexual orientation?
"Do straight guys have a music genre that they should listen to? Is it a crime to be a K-Pop fanboy? Music is music," says Nazrin a 26 year old writer who is a fan of Girl's Day and IU.
Music Should Be Universal And Transcend Gender
Apart from being labelled as gay, another stigma that K-Pop fans get is people call us as Korean wannabe.
Majority of fans will admit that they have interest to get to know South Korean culture like language and food. Some even take Korean language course so they could understand the lyrics better or watching interviews or game shows without relying on English subtitles.
However that does not mean that they want to change their identity to become more Koreans.
"The issue here is when a non K-Pop fans know that one of their guy friends listen to K-Pop, first they thought that you are gay when you are not.
"It is also frustrating when people know that you are a K-Pop fan, they tend to think that you are a Korean wannabe, which is not true at all," says Shahrul a 26 year old private sector worker who is a big fan of Exo.
Two points can be made here. First liking K-pop music sort of reflects the so-called 'gender expectation, meaning that girls are supposed to listen to this kind of music and boys are supposed to listen that kind of music.
Society seems to forget that music is universal and know no gender. People can listen and enjoy to any kind of music that they want to and gender should not be an issue.
Perhaps guys are having hard time from these stupid gender expectations. They are after all, the sex that is stereotyped to be the most 'macho', 'less emotional' or not the type that would be all touchy with their feelings, elements that most forms of K-Pop music tend to cater to.
Word of advice to all fanboys out there, stand tall and be proud. You should not get offended by such judgemental people especially when you are wrongly accused of being 'gay'.
--Malaysian Digest
Random image that no relation with the story above
Source: www.bing.com
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