It's kinda problematic how people wanna gatekeep kpop idols by the shape of their eyes or color of their skin

I don't really get why having a Thai idol debuting is so accepted, but an Indian or Jordanian idol debuting would get confused looks. They are BOTH asian, they are BOTH not native korean speakers, so why is the reaction different to both of them? Because they don't "look" like what a stereotypical asian looks like? Say that outloud and you will understand how problematic that sounds, you are literally gatekeeping people by their eye-shape and color of their skin.

Now I'm not talking about knetz reactions because we know how homegenous they are, but I'm talking about Inetz. A lot of them are insisting that kpop be for east asians only and I find that problematic as hell. They think by "limiting" as East Asian they are not being overtly racist, because it's just semantics. Hell nah, can you imagine if Victoria Secret never added asian models because "Well, Victoria Secret is for white models only. That's how it started out as so we will keep it that way. Non white models are free to make their own industry ." That's messed up.

This is how racism lives, by hiding it between semantics and wordplay, and arbritary rules and naming. You guys know what you are doing.

Anyway this is me ranting cos it's frustrating as a "non eastern asian" having so much love and respect for the kpop communnity and realising slowly that a lot of the members in that community hide inconspicous racisms towards you. I'm not saying that my opinion is absolutely correct, I could be wrong. Just wanted to get it out so this is more of a rant and not a debate and I'm not going to respond. But anyone who disagrees is free to comment why. A reminder to stan Eunchae the smiling potato. Literally sat on the hull of a car so her unnies could sit comfortably in their seats. A pure goddess she is.

LE_SSERAFIM_Fearless_Eunchae_1.jpg

P.S btw the REVERSE goes for the same. Any asian should be able to debute in bollywood or likewise, provided they know the language. Nobody should be gatekeeped based on how they look. . The reason I'm using the reverse example is because of how much more global kpop is than bollywood, I expect people to be better when something is more global and not more likely to stick to narrowminded ideals.

Quote from dummi

sure, Arabs can debut : ) but not when they are males and doing it in Arab countries where the main audience, women, are oppressed and expected to support them. (NCT Saudi I am ready to end you)

Honestly I get what you are coming from. I know some people are gonna take this comment as inflammatory but we can't lie anymore, some middle eastern and south asian countries treatment women horribly. There is no lie. However I will say, there are SO MANY MEN in those countries who don't support the terrible treatment of women. I mean look at Iran, so many men have stood up for their women, even been jailed or killed. There are definately men in those countries who are good and have the right to debut, infact they will be an inspiration . Just protect them from the terrible people.

Quote from Alex_Murphy

I don't think it necessarily has to with racism.

Yes it helps to be Korean looking or Korean adjacent because kpop groups operate first and foremost in Korea. The gp doesn't check where the idols come from, so if you don't look like a foreigner, people might not even suspect it.

Now I disagree with putting all foreigners into the same basket. Some countries and cultures are closer to Korea than others. Like Japan and China obviously. It can extend to other countries with a Buddhist cultural background too, like Thailand.

On the other hand, Jordan (that you took as an example) doesn't share much with South Korea, historically or culturally. So a Jordanian idol would have a higher chance to stand apart/stick out like a sore thumb, which can be for the better or for the worse when it comes to acceptance by the gp.

Me, as far as I'm concerned, I don't mind but I like my kpop to look and sound like Kpop (emphasis on the K). What I mean by that is that I don't want to see foreign ethnicities to be used as a gimmick to the point a group doesn't look a like a kpop anymore. Examples: Blackswan, Prisma. All kpop groups are manufactured to some extent, but these ones are the worst cases since it's obvious their companies are desperate to ride that global wave and appeal to the international audience.

But I don't care about the international audience. I'm part of it but I don't want a special treatment. I couldn't care less to see a French national becoming a kpop idol. That's why it's not racism. Unless you think I'm racist against my own people, which is a hard pill to swallow ngl.

TLDR: a few foreign idols, why not, I don't mind if they're indeed the best and most deserving trainees an agency has. However, if it's just a gimmick resulting in collecting ethnicities and nationalities like Thanos and the infinity stones, then it's lame and I don't see the point.

Display More

I'm not saying they won't stick out like a sore thumb, they will. But they should be allowed to stick out like a sore thumb if the company wants them to and if they want to, they shouldn't be told they are not allowed worst of all by inetz. For example I wasn't a big fan of z-girls at all and I'm not saying you have to be a fan of them, but saying "they can't debut" or "they don't belong" is much worse than just not being a fan of them. That's mostly what I am addressing.

Quote from dummi

I have no issue with them debuting elsewhere. They have no business trying to exploit arab women though, especially when they enjoy rights that their fans do not. And no, I will not be "protecting" anyone. The men that stand up for oppression are doing the bare minimum in a society that was built with their needs in mind. I only support arab WOMEN 🤷‍♀️

I understand your sentiment, I know you are upset and you have every right to be. I meant protecting the men that don't want to be the upper class, that don't want to reap what their society practices. Look at the protests in Iran for example, there are so many men also standing up. There's always going to be good men even in the worst of places. Sadly those men often get bullied and exploited by other men that are part of the system.

ALSO NCT SAUDI LMAO