i find it so interesting the way kpoppies will ship groupmates and act supportive of queer people and then ignore OnlyOneOf
like, if its about not liking the music, that's one thing. You're allowed to have your own opinions. It's when it's clear that theyre uncomfortable with sexuality being expressed.
It's not about their mature concepts either.
Because I know these aren't the same people streaming Red Lights (legit has bdsm in it, sorta) or listening to 3D (hopefully the alternate version) or even Bite Me... like i get it.
It's harder to fetishize something when you are confronted with the reality that this is something real people experience and you can't distance yourself from that. I get you.
Also, shout out to Holland because hes a sweetheart and deserves support and respect.
I started Ocean Likes Me this afternoon and I'm on episode 3. I was skeptical at first, but then two things happened: Holland showed up and I let go of my need for logic. Now I'm embracing this charming little fairy tale world of nonsense and plot contrivances.
Holland and his character really do make the show.
Here's a playlist I made on Spotify of every single K-Pop idol, group, and soloist who are openly LGBT that I could find. If I find more, I will update the playlist with that artist's work added in. If I don't find any other openly LGBT K-Pop artist's work and I do happen to find songs that have LGBT themes instead, I will update the playlist with those songs.
Would anyone be interested in a playlist with openly LGBT J-Pop artists too?
This playlist includes the following (so far):
Harisu, the first trans female idol in K-Pop. She's the OG. She was an entertainer during first gen. It's only appropriate that all of her music is here.
Choi Han-Bit, a trans woman who was formerly from the second gen girl group Mercury. She's a singer, actress, and model.
Lady, the first and only girl group made up of all trans women. They're from early second gen and were fairly short-lived. They were inspired by Harisu.
Maman/Magolpy, the first openly LGBT idol ever. She's a lesbian. Maman got kicked out of the entertainment agency she was under due to her coming out. She has not been active in the music industry since 2015.
Jiae, a soloist formerly from the girl group Wa$$up. She's openly bisexual.
Som Hein, a soloist from School Idol. She's openly bisexual.
Holland, a soloist. He's openly gay. He's probably the first idol you picture when you hear "LGBT idols in K-Pop." He's the best known one on this list.
Marshall Bang/MRSHLL, a soloist. He's openly gay. He's another fairly well-known LGBT artist in the K-Pop industry.
Aquinas, a soloist. He is openly bisexual.
LIONESSES, the first and only boy group (so far) made up of all men who are openly LGBT. All the members are hidden except for their leader, Damjun. Kanghan, one of the members, is a drag queen.
QI.X, the newest one on this list. The first group in K-Pop where all the members are openly genderqueer. All the members, aside from JiGOOK (who uses he/they pronouns), use they/them pronouns.
The only openly LGBT artist in the K-Pop industry that I couldn't find on Spotify is Kwon Do Woon. He's a Korean trot singer who's openly gay. He came out during his tenth anniversary. Do Woon was the first active celebrity to come out as LGBT since Hong Seok Cheon, an actor who came out in 2000 and is still the most prominent openly gay celebrity in Korea.
What happened to Holland honestly broke me. It’s so sad to still see in this day and age that someone can still be a victim of a hate crime.
It’s just bewildering to me since k-pop in general is a place where a lot of male idols do skinship to appeal to their audience. Doing games that require them to be close or almost kiss, some re-enacting romance scenes from movies, members doing certain acts on stage to get the crowd riled up, etc.
I’m heartbroken and hope they can find the person that did this 💔