Thread by @emdashliu, WELCOME TO EM'S PERSONAL KPOP PLAYLIST OF GENDER VIBES ~ COME ABOARD [...]

WELCOME TO EM'S PERSONAL KPOP PLAYLIST OF GENDER VIBES ~ COME ABOARD LET ME REGALE YOU WITH MY FEELINGS

okay actually before we get started, a couple of caveats:
- this is for the large part focused on boy groups, because this is my personal list & I personally dislike a lot of the male gaze-y vibes that permeates a lot of kpop girl groups

+ my personal brand of gender feelings focuses on queering amab ppl! if that is not your jam, that's fine! this is just mine

- i want to stress that being pretty & e asian & delicate =/= queer male presentation here, this is just how i, an e asian queer, vibe w/the genre

- LASTLY, i like mainstream kpop; mainstream kpop still doesn't have a lot of (out) queer folx; i am not trying to make a comment on the actual queerness of any of these featured kpop boys, this is just how i engage with the media i like~

(if you want to engage with queer kpop boys, consider checking out holland, the first openly gay kpop idol!!

neverland, def groundbreaking:
loved you better, a recent release! )

okay capiche? capiche. LET US BEGIN

there is no kpop gender vibes list without mentioning MOVE by Taemin

some notes:
- taemin has gone on record stating that he is explicitly trying to engage with androgynous presentation with this piece (and his oeuvre in general) and I Think That's Neat
- i like the duo version of this a lot, where he's dancing with koharu sugawara

HOWEVER in terms of lee taemin songs to break the gender binary to, may I also suggest DANGER as Necessary Reading

there is something about the glam rock vibes he has in this vid that makes my soul very happy; I like that everything from the heavy smokey eye to the hair to the accessorizing feels like he's pushing at the boundaries of even the usual kpop stage makeup stuff

taemin's voice is just very gender to me? he's sultry af and that makes my brain happy

stan taemin

Next up! This cover of Bad Guy by Eric Nam

- i like men who aren't cowards and keep all the lyrics of female songs they cover
- on first glance this is just a dude in a cardigan, but something about the... cheeky not quite sultry but teasingly demure delivery... just really Gets To Me okay

okay I am delivering a slice of my heart up to the timeline here, so please be gentle and bear with me... but...

AGUST D (by agust d)

agust d aka suga of bts aka min yoongi here has talked a lot about feeling invalid as an idol rapper, often due to the stigma that still exists around idolhood (i.e. boys wearing makeup, boys that only make music for girls)—

—and this track has him in all his blond haired, idol glory, giving a literal middle finger to that crap

there is something about the Big Jacket & platform boots and yoongi stomping around in his lithe, petite idol glory that... gets me somewhere tendy okay

this is also a bts number, what can i say, i love my boys, but up next!!!

Singularity by BTS V

I have So Much To Say about this track & this MV (turn captions on!)

- the idea of self as lover with the coat rack move, self as feminine, self as caress
- the deep and yet gentle vocals?
- fucking. robes. all the fun feminine affects taehyung puts on here, ophelia af vibes

- the lyrics + the fact that this song is titled singularity have always made me think of like a sci-fi bent tbh, all the lines about loss of self, creation & being created—I JUST HAVE A LOT OF CYBORG GENDER FEELINGS I CAN'T EXPLAIN IT
- the mullet. 'nuff said

UP NEXT ! ! !

T.O.P by fanxyred

- this is a girl group?? ?!?!?
- this requires some context of the HYPER femininity of kpop girl groups (just look up blackpink or twice or something) and knowing how... gender binary focused kpop is, but this group's whole Conceit is like let's make some hot boys... but girls

- i feel like i don't need to explain this one further
- for funsies, look at this performance two of their members did on a chinese performance show

(they're also chinese don't LOOK at me i'm TENDY)

when I was compiling this list, this entry was just "REN" no explanation attached.

Overcome by Nu'est

when I was learning about nu'est with @hanpersands, she sent me a link of a pic of them and was like "the one on the far right is ren" and I was like "the one next to that girl?" and she was like "no ren IS the girl"

okay this one i can't explain

Baby Don't Stop by NCT U

I don't get it either other than I think Ten and Taeyong both look like he/him lesbians here and that gives me weird gender euphoria ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

OKAY so this next bit I have titled in my list "subsection: SEVENTEEN GOOD" so these are all Seventeen songs & Seventeen members

first up, Falling Flower!

- soft boys + flowers = the best combination?
- i am deeply deeply into the weird little snippets suggesting weird body horror with all the flowers attached to & growing from the skin, the thorns, the chains, the idea of flower/ing/ as both beautiful and obscene

- a good intro to my love for xu minghao (aka the8 aka member of svt's performance line) here are some screencaps as demonstration of Why

Ergo, next: Falling Down by Minghao!! (he is also chinese, DONT LOOK AT ME IM TENDY)

- how do i express my desire to just Inhabit this MV without sounding creepy
- I Want To Be This MV

Maybe this section should've just been "seventeen performance line good"

Lilili Yabbay by Seventeen performance line!!!

- i like the eye makeup, it makes me happy
- i like the ROBES
- i like the fluidness of this, the androgyny of the shapes, the fleeting touches, the together-ness of it

this is a dance cover from another performance line member and... i also don't really have an explanation here other than dino???? god I Wish That Were Me

Dance Cover of Charli XCX's 5 In The Morning by SVT Dino

LAST BUT NOT LEAST this next bit is merely titled "my favourite kpop boys in crop tops moments" and I don't have any notes or smart things to say other than. crop tops. good. the queer masc vibes of a boy in a crop top makes me foam at the mouth that is all.

- a recent entry: jeon wonwoo has fuckboy energies but

- ACE ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

i love this whole MV but the relevant moment starts at 1.43

-> a live performance

- look this EXO MV is the best okay don't @ me kai can have rights sometimes

Obsession by EXO

- no one try to get me into nct off of this but ............ lee taeyong..................... i am looking respectfully

- last but not least, the master, the one, the only, this is PURE tinhatting but i refuse to believe this man is straight:

T E N

Okay this is the end of my very long thread, thank you for listening, I hope this was entertaining for everyone, I will now be taking questions

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