Why I Support BTS Even Though I Don’t Like Their Music

How This South Korean Boy Band Changes the Presentation of Asian Men and General Masculinity

There’s no way I would know whether the above picture is truly BTS or not. For me, the current Korean boy bands all look so similar to me(and I’m Chinese). Sorry to all BTS fans, I might be still stuck in the Big Bang era.

I also can’t appreciate their music at all. I don’t understand what’s so exceptional about the single Dynamite that it can stay at the top of the Billboard for so many weeks. I watched their live performance on Stephen Colbert’s show and I enjoyed their dancing though.

Again, this is not an article about their music. I will support BTS in any case because as an Asian living in the West, I enjoy anything that challenges stereotypes about Asian men(of any kind).

What BTS has done exceptionally, however, is how they broke the stereotypes on both Asian males and masculinity itself. So Western girls (whatever that means), please continue to scream and fall in love with these young Korean lads!

Asian Men Stereotypes

It’s an unfortunate fact that Asian men remain the least popular racial group in online dating in the west. This contributes to the assumptions that they have tiny penises, they are most likely thought to be short, geeky and weak.

There are two problems with such stereotypes. One is that they are simply not true; and two, why are these features being frowned upon so badly. It seems like the general popular opinion is that black people’s penises are imagined to be too big, and Asian ones are too small.

We must recognise how much racial bias is naturalised in this narrative. In fact, multiple research has confirmed that dick size is not varied according to race. Tanzanian males have an average dick size smaller than the worldwide average, and Korean males are on average larger.

The epic performance skills of BTS are unquestionable. In tight black suits, these guys are bouncing and grooving with ease and sass. They can even rap and sing in English to meet the demands of the international fans, and they are charming and unfazed by the overwhelming attention which includes plenty of haters.

These Korean idols are cool, good looking, talented, tall, everything against the stereotypes of Asian men (I didn’t and will never ask about their dick sizes).

From taping a white man’s eyelid to portrait a Japanese man in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s, to restricting Asian actors’ roles to computer geeks in films and TVs, Western media has not done justice to Asian men. Thankfully, with the rise of Henry Goulding, Manny Jacinto, John Cho, the invasion of Asian male supermodels and athletes in the west and now BTS, this stupid stereotype will change.

Men stereotypes

The problem with Asian men stereotypes has a deeper and more erroneous root that concerns all people, that’s the fundamental problematic stereotypes on men and masculinity.

Enough James Bond, Captain America and Superman, enough! I love them but the lack of diversity in the discourse of masculinity is so archaic and has not changed at all.

Just look at the contestants in all reality shows, they are muscular, tall, full of hair and love the gym. For some reason, sensitive, skinny and pale guys always get loser, geeky roles, like Michael Cera and Jay Baruchel, who has been completely typecast. Even Paul Rudd has to transform to become Ant-Man, he is cool as he is.

The imagery of “masculine guys” has to change, in particular, we must acknowledge that alpha male is just one type of guys, and shouldn’t be the only ideal of guys.

Alpha male is actually problematic. They are obsessed with winning, ignorant on mental health and lack inclusivity. In some cases, they are merely bullies. They are probably told not to cry and act like a ‘man’ by their fathers, this kind of collective trauma and pressure has accumulated for generations, and screw so many boys up.

BTS’ rise to stardom is peculiar. Because they aren’t typical lads, they don’t just put foundation on, they have guyliners, shadows and glossy lips. That’s hardcore make up, and I love it. Perhaps it’s exactly because they are Asians they can break so many rules, but as they become an international phenomenon, their influence on male representation should extend globally too.

BTS encourages guys (straight or gay, doesn’t matter) to experiment with makeup and personalities. Masculinity doesn’t come from a superficial presentation but it’s a type of confidence it represents. BTS has suffered from bully online and offline and perseveres as an ‘outsider’ in the international music stage. This is strength. Their hard work in dance practice and perfecting their performance, that’s also strength. That’s true masculinity.

To push the boundary even further, the story of BTS, together with the prevalence of feminism and female empowerment, we should be clear that every man and woman have a balance of feminine and masculine energies in them. They are not attacked to gender/sex but ying-yang dynamics.

How did BTS come about to the western music industry? Why are they so popular? I don’t know. What I know is they are riding the curve of diversity in representation and this can’t stop.

So whilst I won’t sing along to BTS, I will always support them and the many more talents to come from all over the world.

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