Nowadays, Korean Pop music is one of the most followed niches of music entertainment. Since the beginning of its influence, boys and girls groups are in the middle of this business. But currently, most Kpop companies, such as HYBE, YG and JYP have most of their investments in girl groups. This phenomenon is getting bigger every time a new group arrives in this market, but why is this influence being the favorite companies option for this music industry?
International influence
There are so many impacts in the market that sway around the mastery of girl groups, but one of the biggest is the international influence. It is a fact that most international fans focus on girl groups, like the famous and one of the first girl groups to become international in Kpop, Black Pink; such as Red Velvet with lots of trending songs from TikTok; Twice, with their famous world tour that hit countries in Latin America; and also New Jeans, a young group that is a hit among all fans.
The main reason for this to happen is explained by the personal preference of each person. Usually girl groups are more capable of getting a bigger international hit, and the influence strikes directly for the audience. On Reddit, a user of the platform asked international Kpopers “Why do some people like girl groups more than boy groups and vice versa?”, and most answers were based on their own tastes of music.
Sexualization
Unfortunately, most women in entertainment get a lot of sexualization, and in Kpop, this story is not different. Most companies of kpop invest on hypersexualization of their own girl idols, making the songs, music videos, clothes and performances look “sexier”. The main reason for this to happen is the bigger recognition that most groups receive. The environment getting recognized by sexualization of young girls, and the oldest girls being infantilized is why the public also prefers girl groups, than the boy ones.
Furthermore, the pressure most girl idols get by their own fans is also something that hits the industry. The idea of them to look extremely perfect and have unattainable beauty makes the audience judge and ask for more of that. It is clear that girls get more hate and pressure because they need to look perfect, and also act like a girl we don’t see very often. Perfect body and hair, being underweight and acting with grace is something that all girl idols have to go with.
A lot of pressure is beyond the universe of girl kpop idols and groups, and audiences still prefer them to admire. The songs and female voices are more attractive for the national and international public. For the future, the expectations of having even a higher number of female groups is very big, but what worries the most, is when the industries are going to stop treating human beings as merchandise for entertainment.
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The article below was edited by Fernanda de Andrade Silva.
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