I don't see why Alex needs to be in kpop, she had a good career in America and was getting ready to kill it over here. She doesn't speak Korean, she hasn't trained or anything and she seems like the female version of Chad Future. The Korean entertainment industry is a safe space for east Asians, and a lot of people are actually upset by it. Like Alex is great, beautiful and talented but a lot of people think she is overstepping. People like Lee Michelle, Nada and Tasha need more love.
Nobody is saying she needs to be in Kpop. The fact of the matter is, Kpop and Khip-hop are heavily influenced by and often times appropriate black culture and benefits from it. Their songs are written by black songwriters, their choreography is put together by black choreographers. You often see black back-up dancers and black style, and not to mention the fact that without black culture, you would have no Khip-hop or even Kpop. You can’t take from someone’s culture and then say they aren’t allowed in it because “this is a safe space for Asians.” It just does not work that way.
You would have a point if Kpop and Khip-hop benefitted and was influenced soully by Korean culture, but it’s not.
And do not compare her to Chad Future, please. That totally trivializes what he’s actually doing, and that’s trying to make money off of wearing someone else’s culture. Is Alexandra trying to look Kpop? No, in fact, RaNia is trying to be hip-hop, which comes from black culture, which Alex is black. She’s not wearing Kpop as an accessory, if anything, it’s Kpop wearing her and black people as an accessory a pretty good amount of the time (and this is not to say that all Kpop is influenced by outside sources, though most of it really is, and heavily, especially black culture).
Not to mention, you want to bring in the whole: she doesn’t speak Korean thing. Did Henry speak a lick of Korean when he first became a part of Super Junior? No, he didn’t. And he’s not part Korean either, he’s Chinese-Canadian. There are plenty of foreigners in Kpop who didn’t speak Korean when they first started out. She’s also mentioned she wants to learn more about the culture, and if she’s going to be an official member, I don’t doubt that they’ll be teaching her Korean. People are making so many assumptions about her already, saying she doesn’t know any Korean and assuming that if she doesn’t then she’ll never learn. Please stop with that argument.
The other thing that makes her different from Chad Future is that she was invited into Kpop. RaNia contacted HER, whereas Chad Future is trying to force his way IN.
And I find it very interesting that people are saying that because Lee Michelle and other half-black half-korean idols haven’t had it easy, Alex doesn’t deserve it either. And it also assumes that people supporting RaNia and Alex don’t already support those other idols (which I fucking LOVE Lee Michelle, actually, and do support her, so…).
So far, every argument against Alex is easily refutable, and all the points become moot when you remember that black people have a very heavy hand in Kpop as we know it today. Not only in their culture influencing the industry, but the fact that black people are writing and choreographing many of these comebacks. Like I said, you can’t take from a culture and then tell them they can’t participate because it’s “just for you.” No, this is not how it works. I understand feeling that way, but because Kpop often appropriates black culture and is heavily influenced by it, that point becomes moot.
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