Here’s Why I Believe K-Pop Should Be Banned

K-Pop or Korean Pop music is taking the world by storm, including India. But K-Pop objectifies and sexualises women, making it harder for women to overcome gender stereotypes.    

K-Pop is not as popular in India, as it in other Asian countries or the U.S., but it is slowly picking up here. After the advent of Gangnam Style, everyone has become interested in this genre of music. K-Pop music has catchy tunes and is very addictive.

However, it is highly dangerous if it gets to popular in India and around the world as well, as I believe it will push back the struggles for women’s equality.

It has over sexualised choreography in its music videos

If you think Bollywood item numbers are perverted, then K-Pop videos contain young girls shoving their buttocks and breasts to the camera. They wear mini skirts, showing their underwear, and act like strippers. Men lift up the skirts of back up dancers and emerge from under it, grinning. It seem more like a soft porn video than a music video. It’s much worse than sexualised American music videos. They are videos that focus on selling sex, and violating women’s privacy, not music.

Misogynistic lyrics rule on K-Pop

K-pop lyrics are more or less suggestive, along the lines of: ‘Shake your brass’, ‘Give  it to me, the sweet-tasting ice cream cake’ and ‘Baby, you’re so fine top to bottom, front and back’. It reemphasises the misconception that women don’t mind you ogling at them, and that they’re nothing without men. It reiterates that catcalling and objectifying women is not wrong.

Encouraging women to hide their blemishes

Female K-Pop stars have openly admitted to plastic surgery, double eyelid surgery, and getting carbon dioxide shots to get perfectly shaped hips. The media highlights the blemishes of female celebrities like its a crime. While some women admit to their physical flaws and embrace them, female K-pop stars hinder this movement. They reiterate that you must ‘fix’ the imperfections in your body.

Imposing a very limited world view on women  

Female K-pop stars have to be either cute or sexy. If they don’t fit either of these categories, they are considered an outcast. Women who have low self- esteem are constantly reminded that they are not considered ‘women’ if they are neither cute or sexy. This makes them believe that they must behave in a certain manner to appear desirable to men. This could lead to the loss of personal identity and dissipation of a woman’s true self.   

Despite these several flaws, K-Pop is a fast growing market in Asia, America and even parts of Europe. Consumers of K-Pop music and merchandise are unaware of the ramifications of the content they are consuming.

As fans of K-Pop aren’t criticising its misogyny, music producers and choregraphers have sadly continued to sexualise and objectify women in every possible manner.

Top image is a promotional still of a K-pop band

Sanjana

An aspiring woman who is much more than her body type, selfies, shoes, looks and

Learn More