Rania undoubtedly created an impact on the K-pop scene with their debut, as they’ve been turning heads with their provocative concept, earning them a lot of fans and a ton of criticism (as evidenced here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here).
The girls, their producer, and their company’s CEO have all been willing to stand by their sexy concept, while griping about regulations that did seemingly little to endear them to fans, both international and domestic. Reflecting over the criticisms though, I’ve found that many of the most common criticisms are rooted in sexism, racism, and xenophobia.
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Usually when we talk about the issue of sexism or misogyny, we refer to males looking down upon females as being the inferior sex; every time the issue comes up on allkpop, the women here take up arms and vehemently defend against any perceived slight, which is obviously understandable.
However, what doesn’t make sense is that the majority of the individuals who are labeling Rania as “sluts”, “whores”, “bitches”, or any other derogatory term used against females, are actually women themselves. The stark difference in treatment and response made me wonder what exactly was going on, because it made little to no logical sense.
What is it that makes women unite against men, but act utterly vile towards each other when it comes to respecting the choices of their fellow women? I just think it’s hypocritical for me to see so many women on this site fight for the rights and freedoms to be fierce and to be strong, but the moment another woman uses that platform to go out on an edge and say, “Here’s my sexual side”, she gets pummeled for it by other women.
Who’s holding who back in that case?
While there are admittedly many reasons that one could criticize a girl group (and believe me, I think I’ve seen them all by now), the level of nationalistic bias and overt racism towards those who back Rania is generally quite shocking, even for me.
While there are Korean girl groups who have used sexy concepts in the past and present, and while they do catch some heat, the level of vitriol that Rania gets just doesn’t match up.
Why?
Teddy Riley. Believe me, I wouldn’t make an issue about this if people didn’t spell it out for me, but with many of the harshest critics specifically mentioning the African American producer’s backing of Rania as a problem, it’s quite clear where their intentions lie.
With comments ranging from calling Teddy a “black rapist” to saying “America ruins everything K-pop stands for”, it’s quite clear that racism and nationalism are firmly in place. Now lest you claim those comments were outliers, they were taken from the top of Rania threads using the “Best Rating” (of which some were deleted, because please read the rules) sort option, so these are obviously not unsupported opinions.
Now I don’t need to tell you why automatically associating an African American with ‘rapist’ and ‘pimp’ is detestable, but what many of you need to realize is that criticizing his hip-hop and r&b background is to criticize K-pop as well, which, like it or not, is highly derivative of those two genres.
The argument about Americans ruining everything, and the disdain for the genres Teddy Riley comes from, is a perfect segue into my next point. There’s accusations abound that Rania’s American influence and seemingly Western stance on sexuality is the beginning of the end for K-pop.
To be frank, I find that stance absolutely ridiculous. For starters, K-pop, especially of late (do many of you even remember K-pop from a decade ago?), is already highly derived from American influences, and it’s not like Korean producers or artists hide that influence either. They openly recruit American choreographers and dance gurus, as well as cite their favorite artists as American performers; the fact that their music is so familiar to the Westernized audience is a big part of what powers K-pop’s international appeal.
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For those claiming that Rania are selling their bodies and selling their looks, well what exactly do you think pop music is? They sell it in a different way, sure, but all pop groups and idols sell their looks in some way as a method to gain popularity and monetary gain. If not, the industry would be full of vocalists, dancers, and rappers who are eons better in terms of pure skill, but not nearly as idol-looking as your favorites. Whether they sell sexuality, their face, their body, or their “innocence”, they are trying to appeal to your sensibilities through the same venue. If Rania are “prostitutes”, then you should re-consider what your favorites are as well.
Now if you want to be the morality police and tell everybody what can or cannot be done in K-pop or anything else, then consider how you would feel if your favorite idols were thrown into the same scenario.
Remember, morality is inherently subjective, so while it’s popular to throw down the gauntlet when the court of popular opinion is with you (as it seems to be with Rania), remember that everybody feels good about it until the hammer comes down on your idol.
That’s the problem with trying to police an inherently subjective topic, isn’t it? The grey area is huge since the facts are sorely lacking, and as such, those in power will use their position to push their own agendas, best interests of K-pop and the fans be damned.
Just because something makes you feel uncomfortable because you may not yet be prepared to deal with it, or because something is different, doesn’t make it inherently wrong, and it certainly doesn’t give you the right to drag down the discourse into misogyny, racism, and outlandish claims of an impending American-led K-pop implosion.
Don’t like it? Turn it off, it’s a free world, but whatever you do, don’t push your morality and your holier-than-thou attitude onto others. It’s obnoxious and unnecessary, and it reveals the ugly side of K-pop: its double standards.
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Note: This article does not reflect the opinions of allkpop, only of the author.
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