hello! :-) before we begin, i'd like to mention that this article mentions body image, so if you find that triggering, please click off. let's begin I found kpop back in 2020 during the pandemic when my older sister introduced me to BTS. I was a fan of them for a year or so, but i quickly discovered other groups and got involved with the kpop community. I seriously have no idea where or what I'd be doing today if I didn't get into kpop.. i could've gotten into country music for all I know T-T But I didn't realize what a negative impact it could potentially have on me and every other kpop fan. The kpop industry, is essentially, an assembly line. you have to look beautiful and no exceptions. you only are successful if you're the "best of the best." it's a difficult industry- harsh d!3ts, pl@stic $urg3ry (which is like them essentially they'e saying, "this part of you isn't good enough, go fix it or you're out of the industry.") And so a majority of the idols have slim figures, beautiful faces, all of that stuff. Whether you mean to or not, their image gets into your head and you may start thinking you don't look as good as your favorite idol, you compare yourself to these idols. You need to realize that if they hadn't become an idol, chances are they wouldn't look like this. seeing as how almost every idol has gotten some sort of plastic surgery and has gone on terrible diets to become very thin, sometimes dangerously thin, you need to consider it. Because the things that they're doing isn't natural. And some people get so used to how thin these idols are and see average weight people as maybe overweight sometimes. Take Knetizens and Jeongyeon. She was called "overweight" when in reality she was a regular healthy weight. the Knetizens were just blind to it because they were used to seeing stick figure frames in other idols. Kpop as a whole is toxic. Not only can it put negative images or thoughts about yourself in your head, there's also toxic people. They'll say things without thinking and it can seriously hurt others. If you want me to make a project about toxic fans i can absolutely do so, but i'm not mainly focusing on this topic in this project. keep in mind there are young fans, and you're very vulnerable at that age. there's nothing wrong with enjoying the music and keeping up with the idols, but please don't fetishize them and try to be like them for your own good. it's unhealthy and all of this, whether you know it or like it or not, is slowly affecting you mentally, and maybe physically. Let's also get to the other mental part: you may not think you're a good enough kpop fan because you don't have enough albums or merch,, like that's absolute nonsense. The number of merchandise pieces you have doesn't define you as a fan. I have 3 albums. I could buy more if I wanted to, because i've been saving my money for a while. I don't WANT to though. Because just like my three other albums, they lay around in my bedroom and do absolutely nothing. It's a waste of money for me personally. And i know that my kpop phase is probably going to end sometime because.. it's literally a phase lol. And i don't want an excessive amount of merch laying around and it'll just pain me to give them away because even though I don't find that topic interesting anymore, it's still a memory that was dear to me. Anyways. YOU.ARE.A.VALID.FAN. as long as you enjoy the music and artist, that's all you need. Credits to wikipedia: A fan or fanatic, sometimes also termed an aficionado or enthusiast, is a person who exhibits strong interest or admiration for something or somebody, such as a celebrity, a sport, a sports team, a genre, a politician, a book, a movie, a video game or an entertainer. You are enough. You are valid. don't let these toxic things get to mind. yt: f4iryjeans
