Hey dear, how have you been? I've been pretty out of sorts lately. Several times now I've seen posts saying that Kpop fanfic is gross and shipping real people is too. I love my fanfic writing and these posts have upset me so much that my writing has suffered. Do you have any advice or thoughts that might help me feel better? Thanks as always for listening and being my friend.
This comes at a fortuitous time, because I was literally just thinking about this.
The issue with ANY real-person fandom is how easy it is to fetishize the subjects or fall into the trap of thinking you know them on a personal level or that anything within the fandom is real. It ISN’T, and this is the absolute #1 thing to remember as a member of any real-person fandom.
For me, I am able to separate this with kpop and other bandoms (I used to be in the NSync/BSB fandoms way back in the day as well) much more easily than with other RPF, such as actor fandoms. This is because these people are presenting a stage persona, and THAT is really what the fandom is about. Not their real lives and personalities, but the persona they present to the public.
When I write EXO fic, I think of the members as actors in a movie or TV show, NOT as real people really doing these things. I dissociate the real person from the character I am writing; only the name and extremely basic character traits remain the same.
Some things I do that help me keep this distinction very clear in my mind:
Always writing “alternate universe” fics, never “canon” (?! there is no canon, it’s called real life what the fuck) or any fic that could be construed as me making a statement about the idol as a person.
Not writing the same character the same way twice. My Chanyeols from Mr. Park, from Unwritten, and from Exodus would find each other as alien and strange as the real Chanyeol would find each of them. This keeps me from falling into the trap of thinking my interpretation(s) are in any way real.
Repeatedly reminding myself that Kpop is a JOB for an idol and nothing more, that the members are co-workers, and that every time they are in public they are presenting a face that is in some way different from their own.
Avoiding speculation about what the members are “really” like or gossip/speculation about what they do behind closed doors.
Avoiding anything that claims that any one ship is “real” (YIKES y’all). This even extends to me personally avoiding writing the same pairings too many times.
Not obsessing over merch or watching every little variety show or fan interaction helps, too.
A HUGE, HUGE chunk of the EXO fandom has fallen into the trap of thinking that THEY know who the members are, that THEIR interpretations of the member’s personalities or relationships is the right one, etc. This leads to some REALLY, REALLY GROSS-ASS STUFF, Y’ALL.
But here’s the thing - That’s the POINT of KPop. EXO, and every other KPop group out there, are ENGINEERED to make you feel personally invested. SM Ent WANTS you to feel like you know the members on a personal level, because that’s how they get you to spend all your money!
So it’s a very easy trap to fall into, but it’s STILL A TRAP. A trap that leads to Asian fetishization, mlm fetishization, or both. Or, in fact, sasaeng behavior.
TL;DR I write about the idol’s stage personas, not about the people behind those personas, because the real people are not mine to write.
I got a little off track, sorry. Hope that helps!
