just a Kpop tought:

Quote from selfmate

I would disagree...I think that ageism is an issue since the older the female idols are they tend to get replaced by newer "fresher" options or alternatively they don't really want to be idols anymore and want to start a family or children or otehr ventures such as acting...

I disagree because male idols face the same problem: the one of being replaced by fresher faces, the only thing that makes it more 'easy' to have a longer career as a kpop idol is because fan-girls usually spend more money on idols buying merch, tickets and album. With that said, it this current generation, girl groups are being targeted to a female audience more and more so we will see if those groups are going to have a longer career

Quote from zuzuhhaa

(ps my dad is in his 40s, not 30s)

well he is still very young, mine is in his 60s

Quote from zuzuhhaa

that's understandable, assuming that you're an adult and im not lol

well yes, I am still 19 but I have an older sister so it makes sense

Quote from selfmate

true to a certain extent but male groups have fans regardless of their age...

the issue with female idols is once they get older they can no longer hold their fans interest - would you say that's a far statement

I would it depends on how those female idols get marketed by their company. We have idols like Taeyeon and Sumni that are sucessful female idols and are in the game since they were teenagers. Sadly, as you said, not every companies knows (or wants) to keep their fans interest for more than ten years, but I think we are getting there

Quote from tenfour

What a great point.

Ariana Grande is the same age as IU, the "senior" singer.

I was shocked to know that Niki Minaj is from '82