On #StopAsianHate, K-pop, and Amplifying Unheard Voices
Racism against Asian people isn’t new. Nor is it unusual. We have lived through the subtle glances across the room, and the mindless words spit at us, silently tolerating it. But over these last year, anti-Asian racism has increasingly had a major and cruel impact on people’s lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We see it on news and social media, on television shows and YouTube. We cannot ignore the racist rhetoric, recent attacks and hate crimes against Asian people anymore that has devastated millions of people all around the world.
I’m sure by now you must have heard of the hashtag: #StopAsianHate and #StopAAPIHate. The movement started trending on Twitter after a white man shot and killed eight people, who were prominently Asian women in Atlanta. It’s horrible to come to this extent of death before we realise that racism is not okay. It never was but it crept in silently. Once passed down from generation to generation. Words passed around by friends. Why are you so quiet? You should speak up more. It’s just a joke. Or sometimes racism comes in the form of a simple question: Where are you really from? Even though you were born in this country.
Amanda Rach Lee, a Chinese YouTuber based in Canada, shared her experiences of racism while growing up and as a content creator. She talked about the topic of microaggressions, which are casual expressions, often disguised or dismissed as jokes or questions. “And even though the name has micro in it, these small statements can actually build up to have a really large effect on minority groups,” she pointed out.
It made me think more deeply about the kind of jokes and statements that Asian people had to deal with, from being callled “Ching Chong” when you’re walking on the street to people denying your colour and race. These microaggressions communicate a message to us: You don’t look like you belong here. You’re different. Your skin colour, your hair. Not normal.
And now because of the pandemic, it builds up anti-Asian stereotypes and prejudice in the form of calling the COVID virus the “Chinese flu,” and physical violence in being spat at or pushed and shoved.
K-pop’s negative perception: why it’s racist
Now more than ever, people are speaking up. Celebrities, actors, politicians, musicians, however it’s not just in America. But in South Korea as well. At the end of March, BTS, K-pop idol group, released their personal statement against anti-Asian violence and discrimination, showing anger and grief at what has happened. They have faced their own share of racism in America. For being different. For being Korean. For being a K-pop idol. Seen in the West, BTS is something they’ve never seen before and so, they mock them speaking English and ask them dull interview questions.
I was recently in a conversation with friends and they happened to talk about K-pop. What I noticed was the negative perceptions of the groups and fandoms. How people pick apart groups for culturally appropriating. “The fans get offended by everything they say.” When we think or talk about K-pop in public, it’s often perceived as weird or strange. You’re such a koreaboo. No wonder fans don’t want the topic to be brought up in conversation.
K-pop seems to hold a bad reputation for cultural appropriation and crazy fans but does it actually exist? Well, there are some groups and companies who misuse other cultures in their videos, choreography and fashion to make their concepts cooler and on style/trend. For example, in Blackpink’s music video for “How You Like That,” a Hindu god Ganesha flashed on screen before a member rapped lyrics in front of it. After fans sent criticism online, the video was edited without the deity. Cases like this assume something about K-pop. Because news articles and fans’ SNS responses convey a negative portrayal of K-pop with cultural appropriation, it tells other people who have no idea about the genre that “K-pop is bad. It appropriates other cultures.” As a result, Blackpink is “cancelled” and adds on to the cycle of artists and celebrities who are impacted by trending/cancel culture.
On a Dive Studios podcast, DKDKTV (David Kim and Danny Kim) similarly shared how this trending culture can also be problematic in the sense of spreading fake news and sources. Journalism and social media has become so political in our society that our words hold value and impact on people’s perceptions of people’s race and culture. News media holds a central role in delivering truth and objectivity but sometimes, that’s often not the case with subjective opinions and biases.
DKDKTV said that they have seen a rise in Western media misrepresenting K-pop fans as people who are obsessive and crazy over “fighting for nothing.” Fanwars, cultural appropriation and racism gets called out. But when fans are loving and kind to others, give to charities and volunteer work, most of it isn’t reported on because it’s not bad news and won’t get that many views. They also pointed out a similarity with the sport world, where fans also argue about their sport teams - which one’s the best, who’s the G.O.A.T? It then begs the question: why are sport fans and their obsession not criticised in the same way as K-pop fans? It’s because K-pop fans are often female and thus, they are shamed for being a crazy fangirl.
Therefore, there’s this sense of Western media bias and ignorance about K-pop and fandoms that does influence how people negatively view this aspect of pop culture, just in the same way as my friends do.
Yim Hyun-Su, a business reporter for The Korea Herald, wrote an article exploring the media double standards about K-pop and how journalists prominently report on negative facets of the K-pop industry in South Korea and generalise them as a blanket statement. People create narratives and stories about the music industry without understanding the deeper context of culture and the country itself. That’s not to say that issues like cultural appropriation, idol exploitation or suicide should not get reported on. Companies and artists should take responsibility for their actions/mistakes but reducing K-pop into a category is adding onto the conversation of K-pop being something different, bad, exotic, etc.
Amplifying unheard voices
When particular voices are silenced and generalised into a box, it contributes to people tend to further internalize race and ethnicity. When we judge someone for liking something that isn’t normal or in their own culture, we are saying that it’s weird to be different. Just because we have a different skin colour and hair, that doesn’t justify the attacks and insults thrown our way as we walk on the street, go to the grocery store, to churches and sporting stadiums. People of all ages and genders - elderly, young people, women, men. We deserve to be respected.
Racism, microaggressions and the news media’s role in conveying particular messages and voices all play a part in the makeup of culture and society. And as people, we should amplify unheard voices that aren’t represented enough and speak up for others who can’t easily do it themselves.
This is what we can do right now. Educate yourself on #StopAsianHate, read articles and resources, defend those who are powerless, and be that voice around your family and friends to encourage support and solidarity with the Asian community. When you consume, watch and read aspects of Asian culture like K-pop, show appreciation for it and accept the variety of different cultures in Asia.
We all matter. Our voices matter. So let’s try to listen to each other and lift each other up.
