on stanning "problematic" idols

for anon <3

what are your thoughts on stanning "problematic" idols? you don't have to answer right away btw! i'm just very curious about what you think because your answers are always so well thought out

Anonymous

  bonda

  Now

nonnie, this is something i think about a lot. i discussed it just a month ago with an irl, even (some excerpts from that below). i separated this post into sections just because there are....so many thoughts and topics here haha. i apologize in advance if it's disorganized or hard to read.

firstly, i have some principles of my own that try to use to guide my perception of it? here they are:

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

PRINCIPLE 1: that this activity does not hurt any other person.

as an isolated act or concept, stanning a problematic idol doesn't do harm to people around you.

PRINCIPLE 2: that this activity does not help the wrong people. (which would, in theory, indirectly harm other people and violate principle 1.)

in the context of stanning being listening to the music, watching the content, buying merch perhaps....these are indeed ways to put money in the pockets of the problematic idol in question. there are ways to minimize this, though, by not intentionally buying merch etc etc and reducing the amount of money that goes to the idol.

PRINCIPLE 3: that one is not encouraging others to engage in an activity that violates principles 1 and/or 2.

stanning a problematic idol by yourself would be very different from promoting and encouraging others to also stan that problematic idol.

VERDICT FORMED BY GUIDING PRINCIPLES

abiding by these three principles, i would say that yes, it's okay to stan a problematic idol. morally i'd question buying merch and albums and such while knowing the idol in question is problematic, but just keeping to oneself and stanning for your own personal interests, without involving monetary exchanges, is okay to me. by stanning a problematic idol by yourself, avoiding putting money in that idol's pocket, and not promoting that person/group to other people as "good," you'd be containing the impact of it. i think it's a complicated topic, as is most everything, but if stanning some particular problematic idol improves your mood or makes you feel good, and you're aware they are problematic and conscious of that when you make decisions related to that idol, that in my mind is okay.

QUALIFICATIONS AND CAVEATS

PROBLEMATIC FICTIONAL MEDIA VS. PROBLEMATIC REAL PEOPLE MEDIA:

it's hard to say it's like consuming "problematic" media, because that is fictional, whereas these are real people, but i think we shouldn't try to make ourselves miserable by playing mental acrobatics around it in our own heads when that doesn't actually impact anything. i think it matters what you keep in your head and what you externalize. and if you stan a problematic idol, then i'd suggest keeping it in your mind, keeping it internal, and preventing that from externalizing.

KEEPING DISTANCE AND PERSPECTIVE:

i wouldn't try to convince myself or other people that the problematic idol in question can be or is "good." it's better that we acknowledge it, and make it clear from the beginning to anyone wondering about that idol, that we do understand they have done bad things. a quick example of this is irene's scandal. there were a number of people to jump in a blindly defend her the moment the scandal broke out, and then there were people like me who were disappointed, who witnessed the apology statements and the way irene was treated (especially in comparison to male idols), and decided whether to accept the statements from that distance. (in my [reveluv] case, i still have a hard time equating irene to how i used to perceive her, but i think she was indeed treated particularly harshly because she is a woman and so by the second apology i decided to accept and let it go. i think what she did was wrong of course, but i believe in people growing and changing and to me the second apology -- you may not consider it this way, but i've never seen another idol put out a second apology before -- was a sign of sincerity and regret.)

i'm a very forgiving person in general, i believe in growth/change/second chances, and i do believe that sometimes we have to determine if we believe a scandal or not -- NOT to trivialize scandals, but to view them with both conscience AND reason. for example, i believe seungri's scandal and i believe irene's scandal because there is sufficient evidence for both, but i do not believe aespa's scandals because they are largely unfounded (excluding karina's texts -- that i believe). and then beyond all that, there's the question of how comfortable we feel stanning or continuing to stan an idol that has done this questionable deed, what our limits are based on what deed it is, a lot of things that are different at an individual level.

it's like the question of whether to engage in harry potter fandom or not, knowing j.k. rowling is problematic (the more i use this word the more trivial and meaningless it feels -- rowling feels much worse than "problematic" to me, what with the sort of influence she has). i know the fandom is still alive, and i know that a lot of people within it are very conscious of engaging in hp fandom in a way that does not give rowling a single cent of their money. and i know people who have stopped thinking about harry potter entirely -- me included!! but if i wanted to stay in harry potter fandom, if i was still attached in that way, i would let myself so long as my money does not reach the hands of j.k. rowling. and that's sort of a case-by-case decision to make.

i think this is the difference between a fan who might blindly defend an idol the moment a bad deed is unveiled vs a fan who is more hesitant, who waits for an apology statement and decides whether or not to accept it: distance and perspective. so long as we maintain that ourselves, i think we can make reasonable and conscientious decisions.

USING PARASOCIALISMS TO ONE'S ADVANTAGE:

an irl of mine (one of the smartest people i know and someone i really respect a lot) said to me exactly one month ago:

"I don't know how I feel about ppl getting so much criticism for stuff they did in middle school

"Tons of stuff i did and said in middle and high school were really not ok

"So as long as people have apologized to those who feel hurt, it doesn't bother me so much

"I think I'm a lot diff from most fans though like I'm someone who never wants to see an idol in real life

"So scandals, unless they are really bad, don't really bother me"

i....honestly think this is the way to go!! my irl brought up a great point: that we literally do not know them and they are, for all intents and purposes, entertainment for us. if you view them as media and not as Real People, if you consume their content as media intended for our entertainment (like you might a tv show or movie) and don't engage with the media as if these people have lives beyond what they portray to us....then as long as we are conscious and aware of our own actions regarding this decision, i think it's entirely based on individual prerogative whether to stan a problematic idol or not. (small caveat: even though you might pay for a tv show or movie, in the case of real people i would consider that viewing them as purely entertainment might exclude the monetary exchange part for reasons stated in principle 2 and throughout this 'qualifications and caveats' section -- for the purposes of likening it to consuming problematic things in fiction, we are reducing real-world impact.)

i hope this is helpful nonnie!! i'm flattered that you think my answers are well thought out <3 and i think it's sweet that you said i don't have to answer right away T_T i hope i managed to do this in a respectful manner, since it's such a sensitive/difficult topic? i understand the severity of idol scandals can vary and so this may not always apply to every situation, and i'm not sure i can account for every scandal with one system or perspective, but i hope this is useful from a general standpoint. thank you for asking such a thought-provoking question!! i do think this needs to be discussed more often so i'm glad you asked <3