[OP-ED] The War on āCuteā
You have every right to not like a group, but I canāt help but feel calling a girl group ācuteā and using this one descriptive word as a way to dismiss them entirely is a real popular, cop-out that makes it so people donāt have to clearly evaluate why they donāt like a girl group.
āI just donāt like girl groups a lot, theyāre so overly cute. I like boy groups more.ā
I wonder if most of the people that say this have ever given most girl groups a chance, multiple chances. I try to give all groups multiple chances because I know different group eras produce different sounds so even though I may not like recent music releases a groupās had, I may like something theyāve done in the past or vice versa.
And it must be tiring for the women in these groups to know they work so hard just to be dismissed so easily because they may have worn skirts a few times or done an aegyo face. That other females, people that should understand them the most, refuse to even acknowledge them because of this. That 9/10 times theyāll be tossed to the side for a boy group thatās been around for half as long and is filled with more visuals than members with contributing musical talents.
Also, I see plenty of people fawn over boys in their cute eras or just generally when boys are being cute. A new picture of a male idol will show up and people will comment āaw so cute~ heās so cute!ā But I thought cute was gross? I thought it was bad? Hmm, maybe you just meant the feminine, pastel colors and bows and whatnot that obviously should determine whether or not a group is any good.
I think itās about time we look past costumes and start seeing ācuteā girl groups for what they are, individual girls who have always been and will always be more than just ācuteā, hardworking women with dreams and aspirations and hobbies, women that may or may not like the color pink but even if they do, shouldnāt be demonized for it. Most of all women that enjoy singing and dancing for themselves and for their fans.
Girl groups all start somewhere and they all end somewhere and to smear their progression and existence by erasing their work with a word like ācuteā is more than a bit harsh. We should work with these groups, not fight against them or tear them down or straight up abandon them for all the boy groups.
After all, most groups donāt have control over their concepts. They canāt help that they have to do what theyāre told and be how theyāre told to be. Especially when girls are seen inherently as cute or sexy, to begin with. Itās considered a girlās job to be cute by society. Whereas guys have always been considered human first, with actual personalities and characteristics. Girls seem to just be characteristics to other people, not humans.
Male kpop idols have cute moments all the time and are still given attention and support but if a girl has just a few cute moments, she seems to be immediately categorized as annoying or aggravating, sheās no longer given any consideration.
You canāt tell everything about a group through videos and pictures, alone. You should look up members and lyrics, know that the song you thought was too cute or overly pop is a meaningful story about pain and relatable circumstances about growing up. You should participate in getting to know the female idols just as much as you know the male ones before you say you donāt like them at all.
And itās much easier to promote girl groups as cute because most kpop is aimed at younger people and a lot of girls in their teens want to be cute, they want to own cute things and experience cute things and have cute relationships. In Korea, a lot of that is hyped up. Thatās why thereās all the matching couple stuff and people get excited about simple skinship. You may find it dumb but to others, itās a big deal.
These girl groups donāt have much of a choice because most of them go from cute concept to sexy concept. A lot of the female idols are first of all, picked because of their looks and then given only roles that show off their looks. And when a girl group does have a somewhat ātoughā looking image, people still donāt seem to be completely satisfied.
When Global Icon debuted, for example, people started insulting them right away, saying they werenāt truly tomboys because they wore makeup or that their debut song just sucked in general (after they only listened to it once). People love coming up with excuses not to like girl groups, itās like a contest to see who can like which girl group the least without knowing anything about them.
It reminds me of girls in school that would say āugh girls cause so much drama, thatās why I like boys better. Thatās why I like being friends with boys more.ā Thereās a lot of subtle misogyny in kpop that isnāt cute at all.
Overall, I think itās ironic that people will complain about girl groups as if these same groups donāt know that a lot of people donāt like them. They know. They know every move they make is given three times as much criticism, in some cases theyāve straight forwardly come out and said being in aĀ boy group would be better.Ā No one is under more pressure than them, to full fill everyoneās wish while all these wishes contradict each other.
And there are girl groups that arenāt as ācuteā as theĀ stereotypicalĀ image of cute kpop girl groups is considered, you just have to work to find them. They do exist and when you find them, you have to support them so they can stick around and thrive and so companies know that girl groups can succeed without being ājust cuteā.
Please, stop being lazy with the criticisms though. Come clean, say you donāt like girl groups because they have girls in them. Donāt toss the word ācuteā out and think thatās enough for a group to deserve hate or think thatās enough for boy groups to deserve more attention.
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