I got one of those knitting packages with yarn and a pattern for socks in norway and I was fully ready to have to go to a local yarn store back home to buy those cable needles to knit in the round, just for the pattern to say to use dpn's in a size I already own, hell yeah
I got one of those knitting packages with yarn and a pattern for socks in norway and I was fully ready to have to go to a local yarn store back home to buy those cable needles to knit in the round, just for the pattern to say to use dpn's in a size I already own, hell yeah
My one boring tip to anyone in their 20s is to resist the temptation to rot in your room every time you get a free moment. Dismiss any neuroses you have about going outside and "being perceived". Be a dictator about it, plan your hangouts like they are binding commitments. No excuses! Go to the bar with your friends. Be kinda hungover at work. Socializing is like exercise; even if you don't feel like you want to, you should still do it because it's good for you.
every time I see katseye I worry simultaneously about their mental health and their backs, those pelvis tilts and arched backs are gonna cause so many issues
hey, can you talk in depth about their sexualities and your thoughts about being queer as an idol?
Ok yes hello, I've put off replying to this one because one I went through a horrible burn out and a bunch of heatwaves (36 degrees today too, boooooo) and then went on vacation, and also because I'm lowkey scared to talk about this because it's such a touchy topic for many people.
So to anyone who thinks we should assume all idols are straight out of respect, please stop reading here and kindly move on. Because this post will have all kinds of talk about queerness and also a lot of speculation about Ateez' members' sexualities.
(also small disclaimer that the burn out situation is still happening and I'm very tired so if this post seems kind of disjointed or nonsensical, that's why)
Now that we just have the fun people left, let me start off by saying I really hate the pervasive idea that being respectful = assuming everyone is straight. Nothing wrong with picking up hints and signs or reading into things a bit! Also nothing wrong with being queer! In the end, no one but the boys themselves know the truth (and that includes whether they're straight, too), and all we can do is speculate. Besides, as a queer person myself, I hate it when people assume I'm straight, and I wouldn't be surprised if there's some idols that feel the same (*cough* sung hanbin and also seonghwa *cough* )
So, first things first: what do I think Ateez' sexualities might be? (again, don't take this too seriously, I don't actually know them, etc etc)
Hongjoong: pan, and also mostly cis but just doesn't give a fuck about the concept of gendered clothing. or gender in general. Is actually kinda loud about it too if you actually pay attention to him
Seonghwa: queer as hell and very loud about it. Gay and genderfluid/genderqueer of some kind, and he wants us to know all about it
Yunho: straight and cis and lowkey sad about it. he wants to join in on the fun too!! let him in!! but alas nature has other (normie) plans for him.
Yeosang: aroace and kinda baffled by the concepts of romance and flirting and sex when it comes to himself. Absolutely not innocent in any way and loves shipping others, just not interested in participating
San: gay but I'm not sure he's aware of it himself. tbh I think he's so caught up in the whole "I'm an idol and have to act like it" thing he's not letting himself think about his sexuality because of the implications for his career. I also don't think it's necessarily stopping him from having (gay) sex anyway, I just think the compartmentalization going on there is probably insane.
Mingi: some flavour of queer but I can't quite put my finger on what's going on there tbh
Wooyoung: incredibly bi and incredibly loud and confident about it
Jongho: straight but just likes flirting so much he'll flirt with anyone just for the fun of it (also really enjoys riling people up, which can be done through flirting too).
but like I said, this is all speculation and I could be wildly off (and will accept it if I am), but we might never know because being queer as an idol is rough, to say the least. I'm not Korean (or even remotely close to it) but I have been into kpop for a long, long time and have Seen Things and while I do think things are slowly changing, it could easily still take years before we get an openly gay idol among the really famous and big names. Agencies shut down any hint of coming out real quick, and I think that's both a good thing and also a bad thing. It helps protect the idol and the agency from immense backlash - which is practically a guarantee in Korean society - but it also prevents any actual progress, or authenticity/agency for the idol in question.
That said, there have been a couple of people in less-famous groups coming out. Bain from JustB, Cocona from XG, Holland, just to name a few. Which is a good sign imo - the more people in smaller groups come out, the more it gets normalized and the big famous groups can start to follow.
There have also been some very big names saying and doing some incredibly blatant gay stuff and getting away with it, which has been fascinating to see. From Moonbyul's entire existence (including straight up talking about going on dates and following it up with "I've never gone out with a man"), to groups having drag queens or gay themes in their videos (Solar's "Colors", Moonbyul's "Shutdown", Mamamoo's "Hip". Actually Mamamoo in general has been incredibly gay). I don't know much about Nmixx but from what I understand Lily has been very openly supportive of queer people too.
ZB1's Hanbin as well as Shinee's Minho and also Seonghwa regularly post photos on instagram with rainbows/gay flags in them (and, in Minho's case, also while wearing pride sports gear). I'm sure there's more idols that do this, I just don't follow the entire industry. But even if it's only meant as support for the community and not a very subtle messaging, that's still acknowledging queer people exist and deserve support, which is in itself a dangerous thing to do as an idol, especially considering Korea's social climate where over 70% of men in their 20s voted conservative in the 2024 elections (that's going to include a LOT of idols too).
Idols get hate for any hint of feminism or queerness, and the hate can get very intense. I've seen idols get massive hate trains for holding a feminist book, or for making a gesture (there's a specific gesture that suggests men have tiny dicks and any idol who does it gets intense hate from the public. Which, by the way, Seventeen LOVES doing this gesture and they do it with really big grins, too.) The tiniest suggestion of leaning any specific way politically can cause massive problems for an idol and their group, so most of them are very, very careful about their image.
Idols are also some of the least protected workers in Korea. Idols are not considered regular employees, and most labour laws are not applicable to them for ??? reasons. They're almost always under incredibly strict contracts that limited their freedom immensely, and agencies are known to just leave them to the wolves whenever a scandal happens - or worse: idols are sometimes used as distractions when a political scandal happens. This lack of protection and care makes it even harder for queer idols, who are already unprotected as it is and are then at risk of getting thrown under the proverbial bus because of their sexuality just because someone else fucked up.
tl;dr: All we really have is hints, and our own interpretations of what they're trying to tell us. Queer idols are in a very, very difficult position, and I'm always impressed by how many of them manage to share their queerness with us anyway. It's always hard to discern between "is this person actually queer, being supportive, or doing this to look good as an idol for a specific audience" but personally I'll take it.
Same anon with the Mingi links 💁🏼♂️ there's also this post though it's very long and mostly focused on minsang, where op notices how Mingi always seems to be what the others need, be it Yunho, Yeasang, Jongho, Hongjoong, Wooyoung. And with Seonghwa in Troublemaker, because for once SH wanted to play a masculine role and instead of challenging him, Mingi fully embraced his vision and did all he could to change his dancing style to do what the performance needed
Heads up the next include criticism of Bad and talk about the sexualization of latinas, but they're worth checking out also bc of the parallels with Seonghwa's Skin 💁🏼♂️:
One thing is for sure: Mingi admires femininity. He likes it. He wants to be seen as feminine, especially lately (I've heard him call himself a Princess full of estrogen more times in the past 6 months than in the past 7 years combined).
He's an idol so there's the chance it'a all just a gimmick, something he does for attention and to highlight his incredible duality. But if he were not an idol, I would 100% say he's queer and playing around with gender to try and find what fits him best.
Even people who consider him 100% NOT queer saw Fix On as Drag King persona already, a way for him to get to be the hypermasculine, macho, fuckboy type that makes people bark for him, while off stage he's a sweet goofball. Then on stage in Australia he said "my girls, my boys, so beautiful". Then he slutdropped for gay men in Paris. Then Troublemaker and his dance in Bad happened. Then more videos resurfaced of him dancing sensually and in a feminine way, combined with clips where he calls himself a Princess. Then people also made threads about him taking pictures with BL actors and liking posts about BL shows and reading + recommending queer coded manga/animes. Then then then then!!!
Oh and there's also the little detail of him attracting the attention of male seniors so effortlessly that he was nicknamed the industry's dilf collector.
I'm not saying he is queer. But I am saying there is something going on here for those with the eyes to see 👀🤷🏼♂️
ohhhh interesting, thank you for sending all this!
this is slightly off topic but I do really find mingi fascinating as a person. I think it's pretty unique that we get to see so many different sides of a kpop idol. the drag king fix on persona on stage, the princess off stage, the party loving boy who keeps slut dropping, the musician with his own distinct style, the fashionista who used to make fashion videos on youtube and who modifies/designs his clothes sometimes, the soft boy who reads books and thinks deeply about everything, the incredibly smart boy who's interested in economics and investing. and he's so earnest in everything he does, in all these different facets of him, and so open (and loud) about his wants and his opinions. I've been an atiny for about 1.5 year now so I didn't get to watch it all happen, but looking back you can see the sheer amount of growth he's gone through over the years, how much he's settled into himself and become his own person with his own distinct style/branding, and I always really enjoy seeing that happen.
and then there's all the queer stuff, too. the bl shows and actors, the way he dances sometimes, the way he talks and thinks about gender. I agree there's something there for those with the eyes to see, though I also wish generally more atinys would see him as the full human he is and not only as the fuckboy Fix On persona.
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