a thread of twice being empowering because some people don't understand this

let's start off talking about why they've always been female empowering : twice has a "cute" and somewhat "girly" concept since the beginning, however i think this undermines the true message behind their music.

"cute" and "girly" doesn't mean not empowering or stereotypical portrayal of women. if you think feminism is confined to the edgy, leather jackets, "i'm a bad bitch" idea, then you're only seeing one side of the spectrum of women empowerment.

twice focuses on women empowerment through means of embracing femininity. although on base level their songs like bright, possibly oversaturated upbeat and even childish songs, that's just base level

even though most of their fanbase is men, there's still a lot of young women in their audience and fanbase which they cater to in a different way than most other gg's.

not every girl or women is going to identify with the badass concept, because not every girl finds empowerment through being badass. in addition, badass is typically attributed with male characteristics, which can be very empowering, however, femininity is too.

take for example, how AOC puts effort into her bold makeup and style. AOC herself said that embracing femininity, something people/men will try to take from women is empowering. it's showing that no matter what you don't lose what you're true to just to prove a point.

for reference, here's the video, she talks about this around 1:04-1:59, other good spots are 5:08-5:45 and more

instead of abandoning femininity and taking up combat boots and the bad girl attitude, some people, like twice's young audience, should be told to embrace what makes you a women, no matter how much people tell you not to wear makeup or be stylish.

in addition, simplifying twice down to "girly and cute" is an oversimplification. twice has themes throughout their mv's and discography of friendship, vulnerability, sensuality, trust, optimism, and other empowering messaged often overlooked

let's take Make Me Go for example : the song is about a girl taking charge in a sexual encounter which is textbook women empowerment in feminism. Intercourse is considering something men can indulge in and take change in, but flipping this and making women the +

one in charge and indulging themselves is a very common way of empowering women and giving them power through knowing they are allowed to be selfish sometimes and do things which men are suppose to indulge in and not women are suppose to indulge in.

girls like us written by jihyo is another song about the things women and girls can do. It's one of the most obvious examples of their women empowerment and yet people still overlook it.

rainbow written by nayeon is about trusting yourself and knowing your worth : "don't let your head hang, there's nothing to worry about. you're worth it, trust yourself."

what you waiting for : "you're not just a pretty girl. show them what you're really all made of, girl."
polish : "your eyes, swollen from crying too much, become the power to live tomorrow.
if you look past the base level upbeat tracks, you'd see their empowerment.

stronger : "i don't want things like 'not allowed' and 'allowed' to be decided."
ponytail : "lift up your head with confidence now. like the main character of a fairytale." "you're not far from a miracle"

don't give up written by chaeyoung : "pick up your crayons, fill your heart's canvas. don't doubt your conviction. don't hesitate again."

although many of their lyrics in the past have been written about relationships or wanting someone, typically with he/him pronouns used (could represent men or could be like "Run" by bts where they use "girl" but it's actually referring to friends) +

These feelings are things many young girls go through. People don't suddenly become empowered and say "screw men, I'm good by myself" it's a process many women go through where they like or chase after a guy, but what matters is the progression from chasing after a someone +

to talking about how you don't need to focus on relationships, you need to focus on you. Why wouldn't they start off talking about not needing a man? Because their discography and meaning is similar to the progression which girls go through from being in love to realizing +

empowering things which young women slowly learn. Nobody starts off thinking "I'm an independent women who isn't interested in a s/o" many people in general will go through phases of being very lovestruck & then slowly realizing & appreciated independence and finding power in it.

girl pop/ cute concepts aren't always fluffy depictions covered with a rose-gold filter. women find empowerment in different things, not just badassery. I'm so sick of seeing people go off about twice not being empowering.

i apologize if there's any mistakes or bad wording on my behalf. I'll try and add on if there's a mistake or more information but sometimes i will misphrase things.

sources : https://twitter.com/dillynight/status/1277890398690480128
https://www.allkpop.com/forum/threads/female-empowerment-songs-by-twice.353897/
https://www.koreaboo.com/lists/8-female-empowerment-kpop-songs-remind-girls-can-do-anything/

+ genius english translated lyrics.
all photos taken included taken from online.

gonna add onto this thread with stuff from eye's wide open :