There is a queerness to them that is undeniable and cannot be mistaken for anything. People try to explain it away as fanservice, queerbaiting, normal Korean brotherhood handshake.
Whatever you say it don't change the fact that they still very much come off as queer💀
I mean the fact they feel they have to explain it in the first place💀
The fact that they can't even say something as harmless and unproblematic about Jikook as THEY ARE JUST GOOD FRIENDS💀
If it smells like a duck it pretty much is a duck.
I've seen other western actors with smililar popular gay ships talk about how their shippers are misconstruing male friendships as homosexuality.
I've said this in my posts, over sexualization of ships threatens male platonic intimacy. Just because two men are close don't mean they are in a homosexual relationship.
Not all ships are alt ships and perhaps the fandom needs to stop treating every single ship as one.
Tae and Kook can be friends without being in a romantic relationship with each other. Same can be said of every ship in BTS including Jikook.
There are those who simply think they are just good friends and goofy dorks. That's a valid opinion to have.
It just so happens that I think they are more than friends and I have a blog dedicated to exploring that possibility and celebrating it. Free will free speech.
Is it delulu? Yes. But I like my odds. Gay ships exist in kpop and they wouldn't be the first.
I don't need to dismiss Tae Kook's friendship and act like it doesn't exist or that it exists purely to entertain an audience because that narrative reduces men to emotionally stifled anti social beings incapable of forming nonsexual intimate bonds outside their families which is simply not true.
And id you are a joker and Taekook threatens you then you have to admit to yourself there may be more to their relationship than you're willing to admit.
And if Jikook don't strike you as a couple then you don't have to force yourself to see them that way.
Whatever they have is beautiful. They've worked on it, nurtured it and value their connection. There's no need to disrespect or dishonor it by making up weird theories that dismiss and invalidate it.
And maybe some other ship isn't there yet and their dynamic is still in the process and needs work and nurturing. It's ok too.
No two relationships are the same. Some friendships blossom quickly and die quickly. Others are a slow burn. And some are old flames that need rekindling.
This whole fanservice queerbaiting debate is mute. BTS have said the staff intentionally match certain members in certain clothes and in recent times their stylists have admitted to drawing inspiration from queer artists.
Some go as far as to show them concepts from queer couples and what not. We are not crazy for seeing all these queer codes in bangtan and in Kpop.
As for the homoerotic fanservices which all the members participate in every now and then, it's pure entertainment like Tae says. It has nothing on their relationships.
They know which moments Army will go crazy over. He kissed Jin and said Army will like that. Whether that is ethical or unethical is a debate for another day.
If BTS wants to start a blog to defend male bonds I'd be happy to run such a blog for them for free:
THE DEHOMOSEXUALIZATION OF MALE BONDS| The liberation of male friendships from the thirsty straight female's homosexual fantasies.
At best, they set a good example and blue print of what healthy wholesome male relationships should be in a patriarchal society.
Because the current requirements of patriarchy has our men emotionally dead and disconnected from their feelings making it easy for them to hurt the women they are in relationships with.
Jikook are either queer or they are the best example of what male friendships should look like.
Either way I'm down with it and I'm proud of them. I will always celebrate them and be in their corner
