I have always known that Kpop industry is very much favoured towards boy groups, and in most cases than not, boy groups see much more longevity than girl groups do. For every boy group that continues beyond their first contract and signs for a second, there's a girl group that disbands because GP interest has waned or their core dedicated fanbase simply isn't big enough to sustain them or women being idols beyond the age of 30 isn't really acceptable. The general reality is that boy groups' longevity is never in question while girl groups are. Case in point: the way Brave Girls got so many comments about promoting as idols in their late 20s and early 30s while veteran boy groups like SuJu and TVXQ rarely ever get such commentary despite promoting well into their 30s.
The fact that so many mid-tier and higher girl groups have numerous hit songs under their belt but still end up having smaller fandoms and less tours and album sales under their belt than a boy group with no hit songs and barely any public recognition. This obviously isn't correlated to success at all and I'm not trying to say girl groups are less successful, I'm talking mainly about longevity. I guess the Gfriend situation is only tangentially related (since we don't really know the reasoning for their disbandment) but it made me reflect on this growing reality that girl groups rarely see the same longevity that boy groups do.
The simple solution for girl groups having more longevity would be if they were to have more dedicated fandoms, which in turn means if they had more female support, but that usually doesn't happen. I've always questioned why girl groups don't have bigger fandoms and higher sales and bigger concert tours, and it's always ended in the fact that they don't have as many dedicated fans, and then the realization that not enough women are supporting other women. While big fandoms can't sway actual chart performance and public recognition (which girl groups excel at while boy groups do not), big fandoms do allow longevity.
As someone who ults a boy group but listens to a ton of kpop groups in general and casually supports them (EDIT: this includes girl groups, I listen to a ton of GG music and watch a lot of their content, I just don't stan anyone other than my one ult group that's a BG), I always feel this sense of personal guilt that I shouldn't be stanning a boy group. They already have a big dedicated fandom who will support them for years to come, these girl groups who make great music and are equally talented are actually in need of the fandom support so that they can continue making music for several years without relying on the whim of public support. I understand Kpop isn't charity and it's not possible to support 'strategically' - you just like the groups you like and it can't be helped. But still.
I wish I could get rid of this sense of guilt I feel, but it always sort of exists even though I don't think it's my burden to carry. It's always been a point of guilt I've had, that I should personally start supporting girl groups. Idk if this makes me sound pretentious or stupid.
This is not my opinion lol but reddit post
