#or how stan twt used ‘but you stan ***’ like the celeb you’re obsessed with is a purity test for your own personal morals or whatever

[dmumt]

omg about that tik tok and body image post...there's something that's been on my mind lately, especially because of many teens and pre-teens on twitter. it's about how perhaps part of the reason kpop girls have become such a phenomenon, especially certain ones i rather not name, internationally and especially with youth is because their petite frames fit the skinny body image ideal to a t. i don't mean to claim these girls aren't talented, hardworking, and so on - they're of course fantastic - but i think part of the idol worship for k-girls comes from the fact that they represent a kind of body type that is so sought after that people attach and obsess over them. many young and impressionable girls who aren't even east asian idealize east asian features as the absolute body type (which is a whole other discourse) and mentally beat themselves up when they may not look exactly like their idols. these idols, themselves, literally have whole teams helping them diet, exercise, and take care of their skin. these teams beautify them with all kinds of make-up - not only for their faces but also other body parts, like legs - and dress them up in designer clothes that are tailored to make their features seem more appealing. these teams even place them in hip pads or push ups bras to get the skinny and curvy look that's hard to achieve but easy to sell to masses. and little girls see this and it definitely affects their own self images. it's kind of concerning how many k-girls are used as thinspo or the ideal standard in ed communities. i'm not faulting the idols themselves of course, they're just doing their jobs, but the way they're marketed contributes to skinny body type ideal so much, especially with kpop's growing international appeal. in fact, even with non kpop idols, or non east asian celebrities, it seems the people that become people's "kings" or "queens" are the ones who have the incredibly hard to achieve skinny ideal body type. in fact, stan culture, in general (at least mostly), always talks about body positivity but then idealizes this standard with no space for any other body type, and it's just so concerning to me. anyways sorry for the rant, but thanks for listening

don’t apologise!! thanks for sending this in, i totally agree with you. you’re right it’s not to do with the idols themselves but the way companies push idols to be incredibly skinny and make them lie about their weight that’s so damaging. i’ve definitely seen an increase in pro ed accounts on twt that are centred around these petite kpop girls and aspiring to get to their weight (although like you said using east asian people as an aesthetic is a whole other thing....). people hate to admit it but a majority of people stan or at least begin to stan certain people because of their appearance, and without a doubt a lot of these groups would not as big as they are if some of them were a few dress sizes bigger. kpop stans claim to care about body positivity but the second an idol puts on a slight bit of weight that’s all everyone can talk about and the moment some random fan gets doxxed for saying something about someone’s meow meow everyone’s ready to call them a “fat ugly loser.” i guess that’s just all celebrity culture though, fawning over people for looking “perfect” and aspiring to be/look like them as though the celebs don’t have a professional team working on them every day. and they have to keep it that way, because if celebrities don’t have that unattainable look that makes you feel insecure then they begin to lose their charm and people will lose interest and ultimately the companies behind everything lose money. it sucks but what can you do. like i said in the tiktok post i’m just glad i wasn’t a kpop fan when i was very young because i know for a fact it would have really affected me. (sorry my thoughts are a bit all over the place i’m on the train rn and i can’t really concentrate)

#tbh especially a few years ago i think it would affect me #and again it’s no fault of the girls in the groups but you can’t help but internalise that image #and when you’re someone like me who’s not skinny and short and delicate and pale it’s hard to not subconsciously compare yourself to them #i honestly think that’s one of the reason why i kinda detached from the gg side of kpop just because the focus on body image whether on #purpose or not was just really hard to get over #but that’s the same with everything like how often do you ever see any midsize celebrities #half the plus size celebrities are bullied into losing weight and the second they do everyone falls in love with them #idk what i’m getting at here but no one can tell me fatphobia isn’t real and that pretty skinny privilege doesn’t exist :// #ask box