Girl groups in K-POP have failed to impress me for the most part. There are, however, a few that I love dearly. I usually look to J-Music to fill my girl group void due to the freedom and creativity expressed by girl groups in the Japanese industry.
I think the main problem with the K-POP girl group scene is that it is geared more toward uncle fans than anything else. This explains why it's rare to see girl groups holding concerts in South Korea: uncle fans frankly aren't loyal fans.
Sexy and cute is what girl groups tend to stick with (due to their companies usually). And I'm all for cute and sexy, but the execution in K-POP is done moreso for the (uncle) fans than it is for the girls themselves.
Girl groups rarely own sexy and cute concepts. Usually they are just objectfied to gain interest: see Stellar. I'm completely against slut shaming but to deny the fact that these girls are being objectified would be ignorant.
Honing ones sexuality like Lee Hyori for example is on a different scale. It's done for the artist, not just to please the viewer. Girl groups I think that own their sexy concepts would be After School and Brown Eyed Girls. As for cute concepts the girl groups I think are so much more than just being cute girl groups would be Orange Caramel and Crayon Pop.
While cute, they do add dimension to what they do and transcend the label of being "innocent".
This whole catering to uncle fans issue should be taken seriously for the following reasons:
-For one the thought of old men fapping to underage girls makes my skin crawl
-Creativity is inhibited if the only way one can catch a viewer's attention is by catering to their fetishes. Examples of what I mean would be groups like EXID, Girls' Day, AOA and Stellar. Although from not very branded labels, they have stirred up a buzz after switching to a more uncle-fan friendly concept. Again, no shade to them at all, just pointing something out. Groups like GLAM, EvoL and Tiny-G, who continued to think outside the box usually end up disbanding. SPICA are still holding their own however and MAMAMOO seem to have surprisingly broken this barrier like After School did in 2009. Even so, the problem still exists.
-Talent is being severely sacrificed due to this because attractive faces become infinitely more important, perhaps even moreso than for boygroups.
-Expansion is being inhibited. Girl band scene? Non existent. I made a thread on the girl band scene in South Korea and none of those girl bands are remotely successful. I'm hoping Wonder Girls' band concept and AOA Black's comeback will allow female rock bands to become mainstream in SK.
-Expression is limited. Female choreos in K-POP are seriously underwhelming for the most part. It sucks really at the limited options these girls are given.
Ultimately there is clear sexism in the industry and I wish people became more aware of it aside from just the slut-shaming view point.
Girl groups are being restricted much more than boy groups are in how they can present themselves. This is slowly changing with more girl groups like 2NE1, Rubber Soul, SPICA and After School coming about, but there is still a lot of improvement there needs to be done.
I think the main problem with the K-POP girl group scene is that it is geared more toward uncle fans than anything else. This explains why it's rare to see girl groups holding concerts in South Korea: uncle fans frankly aren't loyal fans.
Sexy and cute is what girl groups tend to stick with (due to their companies usually). And I'm all for cute and sexy, but the execution in K-POP is done moreso for the (uncle) fans than it is for the girls themselves.
Girl groups rarely own sexy and cute concepts. Usually they are just objectfied to gain interest: see Stellar. I'm completely against slut shaming but to deny the fact that these girls are being objectified would be ignorant.
Honing ones sexuality like Lee Hyori for example is on a different scale. It's done for the artist, not just to please the viewer. Girl groups I think that own their sexy concepts would be After School and Brown Eyed Girls. As for cute concepts the girl groups I think are so much more than just being cute girl groups would be Orange Caramel and Crayon Pop.
While cute, they do add dimension to what they do and transcend the label of being "innocent".
This whole catering to uncle fans issue should be taken seriously for the following reasons:
-For one the thought of old men fapping to underage girls makes my skin crawl
-Creativity is inhibited if the only way one can catch a viewer's attention is by catering to their fetishes. Examples of what I mean would be groups like EXID, Girls' Day, AOA and Stellar. Although from not very branded labels, they have stirred up a buzz after switching to a more uncle-fan friendly concept. Again, no shade to them at all, just pointing something out. Groups like GLAM, EvoL and Tiny-G, who continued to think outside the box usually end up disbanding. SPICA are still holding their own however and MAMAMOO seem to have surprisingly broken this barrier like After School did in 2009. Even so, the problem still exists.
-Talent is being severely sacrificed due to this because attractive faces become infinitely more important, perhaps even moreso than for boygroups.
-Expansion is being inhibited. Girl band scene? Non existent. I made a thread on the girl band scene in South Korea and none of those girl bands are remotely successful. I'm hoping Wonder Girls' band concept and AOA Black's comeback will allow female rock bands to become mainstream in SK.
-Expression is limited. Female choreos in K-POP are seriously underwhelming for the most part. It sucks really at the limited options these girls are given.
Ultimately there is clear sexism in the industry and I wish people became more aware of it aside from just the slut-shaming view point.
Girl groups are being restricted much more than boy groups are in how they can present themselves. This is slowly changing with more girl groups like 2NE1, Rubber Soul, SPICA and After School coming about, but there is still a lot of improvement there needs to be done.