DISCLAIMER: This is only my opinion and i do not own any videos/images. I’m not an expert and i don’t claim to be.  Just another kpop fan ranting on what they thought was interesting. THERE ARE ALOT OF FLAWS IN MY WRITING AS I AM STILL LEARNING, I HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND :D

Please read this on the actual blog because with the new theme, it looks BEAUTIFUL! :D

I love T-ARA’s Bo Peep Bo Peep, it’s freaking catchy and although it’s repetitive that’s what makes it so good! That song even won awards at music shows and it’s signature dance move is practically engraved in my mind.

So why am i talking about this out of the blue? Well the japanese version was released this year and i only came across some of the promotional photos the other day that startled me, thus watching the Japanese PV and i felt abit -> LOL WHAT?! :O 

Here’s the video:

Call it a concept but the extent of how far these women were sexualised into being less than human - animals- really got to me. The representation that women are less than human, the fact that they were dressed up in costumes of cats made them cute little animals or toys. Essentially objects. In the PV, you had your usual close up shots of each member, the group shot of the choreography but the rest of the clip had the members behaviour was very ditzy and playful like a cat. 

So the girls are dressed as animals? So what? It’s a concept? The fact that the girls were dressed as animals and that it was a weak animal (cat i assume)in my opinion is not a coincidence. This symbolises that women are weak and vulnerable which is backed up in the PV as they all just run around, play with toys, objects, fabrics and play fight. At one point a member even munches on fabric in her mouth? LOL WHUT 

Even though it’s aimed at T-ARA fans which consist of males and FEMALES, in my opinion it’s very obvious that the target audience is men. Not only is gender inequality still predominant in Asia but the song was written and produced by men as well: Shinsadong Tiger and Choi Gyu Sung. I tried to find out who directed the PV but i couldn’t find the information, but i can only assume it was under the art direction of a man aswell. The message in the video is clear: Women are weak, playful or feisty as animals. Women are the prey, men are the hunts. Men are human. The lyrics to me present a love hate relationship however in the PV it just shows a pool of hot girls acting cute and vulnerable then surrounding this one guy in bed. Sort of every fan boy’s fantasy (perhaps if they weren’t acting like animals too much lol).

Lol the above photo was what caught my attention in the first place. It freaks me out more than the actual live performances/mv itself. They look like creepy half women half animal dolls. Well pretty animal dolls, i can’t deny that.

Okay tell me i’m not over reacting but below is a photo inside the booklet that comes with the CD package: she’s eating a freaking shoe lace. LASGDLIYASGD?!! No one does that voluntarily, someone probably told her to do it to appropriately fit the concept or the intention of the art direction. WAEEEEYO!? THOSE THINGS GOES ON YOUR FEET! I don’t know about you but i feel abit degraded looking at it.. she was the only one in the photoshoot with something in her mouth, but really? a shoe out of all things? When was the last time you saw a male idol eating a shoe? I should reword.. when was the last time you saw an IDOL munch on a shoe? 

Coming back to the point that this media product was clearly produced and written by men FOR men. Not only do i feel that the concept was tacky and cheap but T-ARA were also ashamed of their KOREAN BO PEEP promotion costumes.

“For our first performance, when we received the animal costumes, we were extremely embarrassed. There’s something we absolutely need to explain though. When people saw our costumes, they would say things along the lines of ‘Are T-ara’s codi’s (coordinators) antis?’ But they have no fault at all. The Bo Peep Bo Peep costumes and accessories were all the doing of our company’s CEO, Kim Kwang Soo.” - Eunjung and Hyomin on Strong Heart. Source

Once again i’d like to point out that they stated themselves that the costumes and accessories were arranged by their CEO Kim Kwang Soo - who is also a man. Coincidence? I think not.

After watching Japanese Bo Peep i moved unto the Korean version.

Here’s the Korean version:

There was two different versions and i’ve selected the banned music video as it featured a love scene between a man and a woman…cat? Woman cat? Cat Woman? Woman with a tail? TROLOL? 

So not only do we have the members of T-ARA running around in costumes that resemble teenage Halloween bashes but we have an actual character whose a woman that is half human and half animal. It all starts out as the man and woman meet at a nightclub, cue the music, dancing and making out. The woman is revealed to have a tail and it is implied they have sex while she has crazy cat eyes. Love scenes are quite rare to see in mainstream KPOP music videos and to have one with a character that isn’t fully human? I’m not too sure but isn’t that edging on zoophilia (bestiality)?  

Anywho that led me to think about practically a whole drama surrounded by a similar concept minus the sex - the popular television drama “My Girlfriend is a nine tailed fox (Gumiho).”

SYNOPSIS: 

“On one day after Cha Dae Woong ran away from his grandfather, he accidently freed a nine-tailed fox who was closed in a painting for about 500 years. He didn’t realize what he has done, until the Gumiho (nine-tailed fox),who took the form of a beautiful woman, appeared in front of him. Dae Woong was really frightened that he ran away from her and fell on the riverbank.Since he was severely injured, Gumiho came to save him and gave him her most precious bead to share with him the mystic fox’ strength, as she owes him her freedom. Gumiho then asked him if he can help her become human and how to act like one. In return, she allowed him to use her bead for him to shoot for his dream action movie despite his body’s severe condition. As time goes by, their mutual relationship grew deeper as they start to fall for each other.” Source

I’ve never seen the drama before but have heard if it due to it’s explosive popularity. Judging from the synopsis the female character isn’t strong as she’s not only indebted to the male lead for her freedom but is also dependent upon him to learn how to act like a human. The female character is represented as less than human and has themes of being vulnerable and weak. I understand that it’s a television drama and of course due to the set up there is going to be character arcs/development but once again the man is the human and the woman is less than. The man is represented as a strong hero who rescued the wild animal (woman in this case).

Moving onto Brown Eyed Girl’s Sixth Sense we have Narsha representing an animal by crawling, sniping, scratching and rolling around on the floor. 

Her animal like gestures are juxtaposed by a shot of a black cat. This is perhaps for the audience to make an association between her character and the animal.

“Narsha represents the ‘sixth sense’ in itself, and embodies the animalistic lyrics in the song (such as “The tips of my sharp nails become embedded into your skin”). Since there is a recurring ‘jungle cat’ theme, Narsha was directed to act as wildly as possibly for the video. The melody picks up in pace during the parts where she emerges; it was a natural concept derived from both the music and lyrics.” - Lyricist Kim Eana <- who i might point out is a woman Source

Below is the MV:

Narsha’s character is animalistic as she sensually crawls around on all four legs similar to a cat. This is within context of the lyrics and the theme of the song/MV which was resistance is futile. I can’t really say much since all the women in the music video were either restrained or held back (DAMN GA-IN IN THAT CHAIR!) without sounding naive. Narsha’s gestures were much fiercer and powerful in comparison to the weak aegyo gestures that T-ARA did in their Japanese PV nevertheless an animal is still an animal. 

Now above is Miss A’s Suzy for Good Bye Baby promotions. Her costume is reminiscent of cat woman with the tight leather dress and the head band with cat ears. In context of the lyrical content for the song, the cat symbolises rebirth or resurrection since a cat has nine lives thus the girl recovering or walking away from a broken relationship (Goodbye baby goodbye!). I’m just abit miffed that a woman has to be represented as an animal to be perceived as liberated from her ex lover.

Concluding with the most recent example of our latest cat woman is Hyuna in Trouble Maker. Just like before, there’s also a close up of a cat but this time Hyuna’s sitting there stroking her metaphorical alter ego i guess?

“I will bite your heart and run away like a cat.” Hyuna says according to the lyrics. Surprise, surprise, Hyuna’s character is also represented as an animal aswell. Although it isn’t as obvious as Narsha and T-ARA, the blunt crawling on the floor and Hyuna’s fingernails clawing at the camera is good enough. It is through mise en scene, the costume consisting of leopard print that adds to the theme of the whole “Women are feisty animals.” Leopard print is a definite motif throughout the music video: leopard chair, leopard dress and leopard blazer. Leopards can be easily mistaken for cheetahs so this could be a pun for a cheater in a relationship? …. Nahhhhh~~~~keke

So after only getting shocked by a few of T-ARA’s Japanese promotional photos it led me on a wild rollercoaster pondering numerous examples of how women are represented as animals(less than human) in KPOP. Whether it is intentional or not, just a mere concept or artistic expression it is definitely prevalent with three examples from 2011 alone. Animal costumes/characters have been around for centuries but my concern is that it has ONLY been females in KPOP that have been represented as animals which may construe particular messages to audiences with themes of sex, power and vulnerability. 

Correct me if i’m wrong but the only time a male idol has been represented as animals is this…. 

Thanks for reading! I’m so sleepy at the moment so i apologise for grammar and incoherence. Il lfix up mistakes tomorrow lol

DISCLAIMER: This is only my opinion and i do not own any videos/images. I’m not an expert and i don’t claim to be.  Just another kpop fan ranting on what they thought was interesting. THERE ARE ALOT OF FLAWS IN MY WRITING AS I AM STILL LEARNING, I HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND :D

(Source: kpoprealitycheck)